Your Garmin help, please

With Garmin's Live Tracking all the GPS device is doing is sending GPS info to the Garmin Connect app on a phone via BlueTooth. It's the phone that then uses its data connection to update the service.

Can't imagine (even with Garmin's level of fuckwittery) the GPS device being the problem. But being reliant on the battery in both the GPS and the phone, and worrying about having data coverage is going to be the bigger concern.

I've only used the Live Tracking once (on a run) to test it out and see what it gives (not a huge amount of info). If I go for a run on Sunday morning I'll try and remember to set it up and post the link here (the link stays live for 24 hours I think so it might not be great for endurance events anyway).

I meant for other rides here - training rides and audaxes where I don't have a 'race' SPOT tracker and my missus might want to know where I am.

Buy your own SPOT tracker. A SPOT Gen3 can be found for £80 or so second hand (eBay) and the service plan (for online tracking) is roughly ~£100 a year: http://www.findmespot.eu/en/index.php?cid=110

You can then use your own SPOT tracker in any of the big races (TCR/TransAm/TourDivide/etc).