Where is Alec? A semi-live update map
Where is Alec? A semi-live update map
I am manually sending updates, so the map doesn't update frequently. Click the points to see when I posted them. See bottom section for tech details.
This trip has been in the works for well over a year. From purchasing a road bike, to dusting off my riding skills week after week, I believe we're finally ready to make this trip happen. A little over 360 miles in 14 days, with a bit of extra time for sightseeing and visiting family, our ride is taking us through the California Redwoods National and State Parks along Highway 1 down into our hometown of Santa Rosa. This roughly follows U.S. Bicycle Route (USBR) 95 along roadways and even some highways and dedicated bicycle trails. Feel free to join for any leg of the journey, and follow along as we get closer to home!
My friend Casey actually mapped all this out and shared it with me, so he gets credit for making these. He is using Gaia GPS, which is free to use for casual users who need basic functionality. Below are the mapped out days more or less. We reserve the right to completely disregard this plan. Also feel free to join us for any segment of the journey!
I wanted a tracking map to show my location along the route at various checkpoints, especially in areas where there is no cell service. Garmin has a solution to this, called Garmin inReach, but you have to buy one of their trackers for several hundred dollars, and pay a subscription fee every year. As unwilling to pay for subscriptions as I am, I explored different ways to accomplish this. I explored the idea of using APRS (a HAM radio packet service) to track my location on aprs.fi by using my Yaesu VX-8, but after mapping the repeaters in the area, I found that there wasn't viable coverage.
In comes a new feature out of the blue. In late 2024/early 2025, Google released an update to Pixel 9 phones that gives support for satellite text messaging when you don't have a wireless cell connection. Bingo. If I can update my location over text message, then I can always update my location on this map regardless of whether I have cell coverage. The only downside is that you have to do this big song and dance to align your phone with the Skylo satellite network and it takes a few minutes to send the SMS, but it does function. Google: my corporate overlord hero come to save me in the nick of time.
So here's what I've worked out for a standard workflow:
Use GPS Status Android app to control GPS fix and ensure accurate location
"Share my location" is two button presses once enough satellites are seen to get a location fix (usually 4-5)
Select SMS from the Share screen, and send this Share to my Google Voice phone number over SMS satellite messaging
Google Voice sends the SMS to my Gmail, which is then filtered and tagged with label:gv_location_update
Google Apps Script watches my Gmail for emails flagged with gv_location_update and parses the body for the longitude and latitude coordinates. It runs every 15 minutes.
Apps Script writes the coordinates to the attached Google Sheet as a history log
Apps Script then leverages the Maps Javascript API to generate a path between these points with date of receipt, and updates an embedded url that is in this webpage
Yes this is not how things are supposed to be set up, but for non-mission-critical work, it should be fun, and my friends and family can track my progress without spending any money! 🥳🎉