We have been using Google Calendar on the event page so you can easily see when rides and other OCHOG events are coming up. How can you make the most of it though?

The easiest way to use it is to just click on an event, like the image below shows where I have clicked on the Nov 30, 2012 New Member Ride.

There are 3 areas of interest:

1. Click on the “map” link to get a map to the ride start location or event.
2. Copy the calendar event to your Google calendar. This will make a copy of this one event and place it on your personal calendar.
3. More details will sometimes reveal additional information about the event beyond the start time and location.

The problem with doing it this way is if an event changes for some reason, your calendar won’t get automatically updated. There is a way around that.

If you go into your Google Calendar, there will be a section on the lower left called “Other Calendars.” Click the little dropdown arrow on the right-hand side of the “Other Calendars” title and select “Import by URL.” Now, copy and paste the following URL into that box:

https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/rcnjg09bcfvr7ju6ds9jetkvds%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Now all of the OCHOG calendar events will show up in your calendar. You can select the color on that screen as well by clicking on the drop-down arrow next to the “OCHOG Ride Calendar” so you can tell OCHOG events from yours.

Now when events are added, changed or deleted, your calendar will automatically be updated.

But wait! How do you see this on your phone? Well, this assumes you are using Gmail on your iPhone, Android phone or Windows Phone using the Exchange connector. This method will allow you to sync your mail, events and contacts. It is usually better than the “Gmail connector” that many phones come with. Here is how you set that up if you haven’t already:

• Google Sync setup for iPhone, iPad and other iOS devices
• Google Sync setup for Windows Phone (Note – newer Windows Phone 7/8 devices will look different, but the data is the same)
• If you have an Android device, it can be different with each model, but it should be configured already since Android is a Google product

Once everything is syncing ok on your phone, visit the following link on your phone’s browser. http://m.google.com/sync Log into your account and select your phone. If you see multiple phones, use the one that has the most recent logged in date. Now select the calendars you want to see on your phone. Your personal calendar is on by default, and here you can see the OCHOG calendar. If you don’t see it, wait 30-60 minutes. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to show up. You can get step by step instructions at this page.

Now, you should have all of the OCHOG events on your phone and computer, all dynamically updated, so the only thing you have to worry about is making sure your bike has enough gas!