February 2023 - 4 km of swimming and new badges for Valentine and Lantern festival
Join the February challenges now in Garmin Connect. This time Garmin did not reveal the challenges early.
New in this month: A swimming badge for the full month!
Three month challenges - Stage 1
Full month challenges
February 15K
Join this challenge and record a 15-kilometer running activity in February.
February Step Month
Join this challenge and record 300,000 steps in February.
February Gains
Join this challenge and record a total of four hours of strength activities in February.
February Rundown
Join this challenge and record 50 miles of running activities in February.
Active February
Join this challenge and record 20 activities of at least 20 minutes each in February.
February Swim
Join this challenge and record 4,000 meters of swimming activities in February.
February Warrior
Join this challenge and record a total of four hours of yoga activities in February.
February Tour
Join this challenge and record 400 kilometers of cycling activities in February.
Weekend and week challenges
Join this challenge and record a 40-kilometer cycling activity from February 10-12.
Join this challenge and record a 3-mile walking activity from February 17-19.
Join this challenge and record 100 kilometers of cycling activities from February 19-25.
Join this challenge and record a 5-kilometer running activity from February 24-26.
Badges in February
Feb 5 - 2023 Light Up the Night, Record an activity on Lantern Festival, February 5, 2023. Countries: Mainland China (中国大陆), Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam
Feb 14 - 2023 Be My Valentine, Record an activity on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2023.
The old Valentine's badges are not available this year:
Feb 14 - Be My Valentine, Record an activity on Valentine's Day, RepeatableFeb 14 - Share the Love, Share your Be My Valentine badge on the day you earn it. Note that this one no longer is repeatable.
I don't see the 2023 Be my Valentine badge :(
ReplyDeleteValentine and Light up the night are not available yet.
DeleteThanks Andy
ReplyDeleteNot an amazing month... :/
ReplyDeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteCould you or someone help me with Zwift cycling? It is marked as Virtual Cycling and did not count for the 3 month badge. Changing activity type to Indoor cycling or only Cycling did not help. Any suggestion?
You need to change the device from Zwift to a Garmin device - have a look at www.fitfiletools.com. You will need to export the activity, change device, and reimport.
DeleteYes! I see, that's it. Thanks a lot. I use fitfiletools alredy, will be good for this purpose.
DeleteHey Andy, is there any way you can add these badges/challenges to a public Google Calendar? That way I can have all these on my google calendar with reminders. Thanks for making this blog.
ReplyDeleteGoogle calendar is a great idea! Actually you could create it also as a public Garmin Calendar event (and you'd also get the new badge for creating an event :)
DeleteA Google calendar is on my to do list.
DeleteCreating events in Garmin calendar will not work since it only supports single events like a race. Not events that span over several days and use multiple activities.
DeleteI have a request too! Can you add more muscles in my legs for the 15km challenge? Thanks!
DeleteTo have Google Calendar integration will be fantastic.
DeleteI would use that for sure as well
DeleteGarmin should ask Andy for feedback about badge challenges...... Great job Andy
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI concur
DeleteValentine's Day 2023 and Light up the night 2023 badges are there ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat! Thank you!
DeleteHi Andy, the Alpine Classic Badges is online, but the Alpine Classic Challenge is not yet published in Tacx.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your website, it's fantastic 👌 and I visit it regularly! 🤗
A small side note: for the two "WeFight 2020" Badges there were not 3 but 4 points each.
Thank you! Tacx badge added. The WeFight badges are updated with the correct number of points.
DeleteIs there a way to get it with a Wahoo trainer? Because if I'm correct I can't connect it to the TacX app, can I?
DeleteI just tried and the TacX app does not connect with the Kickr with BT. Unfortunately I don't have a ANT+ dongle so I think I'm stucked...
DeleteHi Florian, try installing Tacx app for Windows and then connect your trainer. It worked for me, while mobile app was not connecting.
DeleteHi Pokrych and thanks for your suggestion! I tried with the Mac OS app and it does not work, the trainer is not detected by the app using Bluetooth. I'll test with a PC to be sure. Which trainer are you able to connect and do you also use the Bluetooth connection?
DeleteCheers
Hi Florian, I use Bluetooth connection. My trainer is a Decathlon one - Think Rider X5 Neo. Even if you manage to connect, window app sucks :)
DeleteOh, I just see that the Alpine Challenge is already published after updating the Tacx App.
ReplyDeleteJust a technical note: it seems to be impossible to open the comment section on Desktop Chrome (Mac). I can only see a link to the comments but nothing happens when I click, so the comments are not even readable
ReplyDeleteIt has been like that for some, I reported a few months back that I could not comment using a windows device, but android apps are fine.
DeleteI've been trying to solve it since I also experience it. I've changed theme of the blog now and that fixed it so it seems to be something with the dynamic theme that isn't working.
DeleteThank you for all the work you put in to this. They were cutting it close this month!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTried to get the Lantern Badge by changing location in profile to mainland China but have not earned the badge after an activity. Anyone know what I did wrong?
ReplyDeleteStell mal auf Thailand um, ich hab es gerade bekomm.
DeleteThank you Mattias. Thailand worked 🤙
DeleteAfter you change the country, check that you see the badge as available. Only if you see it you can get it.
DeleteCountry Badge/None specific to Italy, if Garmin produces extra badges the same number should be available for each country.
ReplyDeleteBadges for specific watches / why would someone using the Captain Marvel watch score more points than someone using any precursor?
Tacx trainer badge / here too I find it absurd that those who use Tacx trainers get more points than those who use trainers from other brands.
The badges must be an incentive for physical activity not a marketing tool, rankings cannot be made if the points available are different for each participant. It seems unsportsmanlike to me and this behavior leads many to cheat.
You don't need to use a Tacx trainer to get the Tacx badges. All you need to do is to log the ride with the Tacx app. Any trainer will work.
DeleteEveryone can get the country specific badges since all you need to do is to change a setting in your account.
DeleteThis is cheating: switching countries to get a badge isn't right, using another app to get a badge isn't right, they're just gimmicks to get something that wouldn't naturally be available.
DeleteEditing the "fit" files to get the badges is also incorrect.
It should be a reward for physical effort, not for being smarter with the software.
Rankings make no sense if you don't know if whoever is before you is stronger than you or simply a cheater or lives in a country where they can score 20 points more than yours or maybe because they own 5 super hero watches.
Either we all play the same game or rankings should be abolished and everyone will find the incentive to increase their points without having to compare themselves with others.
The difference between living in a country with extra badges will not make much of a difference in the long run since it is just 20 points or so. What makes a difference is the physical effort. Do the challenges and you get like 20 points every month.
DeleteSo if it was just for 20 points why are there so many requests on how to get badges from other countries?
DeleteRanking aside, it seems that Garmin considers certain countries more than others, which is not correct since it has customers from all over the world.
Garmin makes great products, but this behavior is not very correct. They could generate country-related badges that don't give points, badge collectors would still be happy and the ranking would be more correct.
The same would be done with badges related to particular watches/equipments.
The number of points are very low compared to doing challenges and the other badges. Use my site and do the math.
DeleteWhy some countries got more badges is likely because the local Garmin departments ask for that. Another reason is because there are many more non religious big festivals and holidays in the Asian countries. In western countries most holidays are religious.
I disagree with you Andy, the tacX app is not compatible with all trainers and especially the ones from the concurrents (who said Wahoo?).
DeleteSure. There might be some trainer that can't send data over ANT+ or bluetooth but I can't think that any manufacturers would create such a trainer since it would limit the usability of the trainer severely
DeleteWahoo sends data over ANT+, right? Then it will work. Just get an ANT+ dongle. I use that with my trainer together with the Tacx app.
It doesn't matter how many points of difference, but the fact that there is a difference.
DeleteI tried to connect my Wahoo Kickr Core to my iPad mini (this setup works fine with both Wahoo SYSTM as well as Zwift) using the Tacx app, but the Kickr just won't connect or even show up (no other apps that might use BLE are running in the background)
Deleteis there another way to do this? I kinda want to avoid getting an ANT+ dongle and moving a windows machine to the bike.
According to this page https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/p/kickrdevicecompatibility KICKR Core support both ANT+ and bluetooth. Have you tried the Wahoo fitness app? I don't think it should make any difference.
DeleteSo I investigated as I had the exact same problem. Kickr Core trainer that I wanted to connect to the TacX app. The only way to do it is to use a ANT+ dongle and a PC. The TacX Mac OS app does not support ANT+ (wtf why???, my dongle is recognized by all other training apps).
DeleteApple products stopped supporting ant+ dongle a long time ago. Sometime after iOS 6 or 7
DeleteNot true, as my ANT+ dongle is recognized by all Mac OS training apps but TacX. The problem is the MaC OS TacX app, not Mac OS itself.
DeleteMaybe they are incompatible with iPhone only
DeleteI see the Alpine Classic challenge in Tacx, and I see each of the five rides. Have you been able to determine if the individual rides have to be completed in one go? For example, "Alpine Classic 1 - Col du Glandon" which is 22.7 miles and 4706 ft and Extreme. Does that ride have to be done all in one ride or can it be broken into multiple saved sessions to complete the ride? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to the Tacx app so I haven't tested it much. I haven't seen any paus function so I believe you need to do each ride in one go. What can be tested is what will happen if you just close the app. Will it restart from when you left off?
DeleteSee https://tacx.com/challenge/new-tacx-challenges/
DeleteAfter that, it should be possible to pause within an activity and continue later. However, I haven't tested it yet.
I'm on the bike now. Yes there is a pause and resume. I even closed the app and when I started it again it offered me to resume from where I paused.
DeleteI do know that you can pause a ride, but I share my trainer with other family members so we are logging off of one ID and logging back in as another on the same device when we take turns riding. I'm encouraged by the fact that you were able to close the app and then resume the ride. I'll have to test what happens if I log out and log back in.
DeleteI've done some more testing today. You can stop and save the ride any time. You can then start from where you left off. The ride will be split into multiple rides in Garmin Connect, but that is just what it is so that is correct behaviour.
DeleteToday I finished stage 3 and did the first 5 km of stage 4. Will continue and hopefully finish stage 4 on Friday. It is a long one with lots of ascent and estimated time for me is ~2.5-3 hours.
Thanks for the update - I'm looking forward to hear when you complete it! I think it will be a while before I attempt it, I am not physically ready for Extreme rated rides yet.
DeleteI completed the Alpine Classic yesterday. Everything worked perfectly. I could stop mid ride and save the activity and continue the next day so it shouldn't be any issues switching between users.
DeleteThanks for reporting your results. Glad to hear it worked and congrats on completing that challenge!
DeleteI have issue with Swimming challenge. I have both regular (Swimming) and more detailed (Pool Swimming) activities but tat does not track against the challenge. I need to add them manually as my Garmin Foreruner 235 does not have swimming activity. Can this be a problem?
ReplyDeleteEven not manually created. The same problem exists with hike (Garmin's built-in) that doesn't count towards the walk challenge. Seriously these are so easy to fix, probably it's a matter of configuration. The only problem is that nobody in Garmin seem to care :(
DeleteThat isn't an issue. That is per design. Hiking is hiking and walking is walking. If you consider your hikes to be walking then log them as walking.
DeleteIt is likely not easy to fix since hiking is a major type.
No, it shouldn't be that way. Similarly (i never tried) but i would expect that running challenges apply even if i used Trail Run or Track Run, and Treadmill (that could also count as walk i guess) or both Pool Swimm and Open Water should count for swimming challenge
DeleteThe difference is that all running types (trail, track etc) are sub types of the main type running. Walking and Hiking are both main types.
DeleteHi Andy. When I got my watch last year I was doing HIIT classes but was categorising these as cardio because I didn't know HIIT was an option. I have gone back and amended them to HIIT events now. It appears that I have been awarded the badges (for 25 and 50 HIIT classes) but not the points. Is this correct or am I wrong and just not noticed my points go up???
ReplyDeleteHard to say if it is correct or wrong. If you upload your badges to my site it will count the points for you from the badges. That count is independent on the count that is reported by Garmin Connect. If they are the same then everything is working and you just didn't notice that you got the points or maybe you lost some other badge. If you are switching countries to get badges it seems that sometimes those badges might get lost for some users.
DeleteCorrect as always Andy. Lost a Thailand badge with my editing. Thanks for your information. Love this blog
DeleteYou should be able to get the Thailand badge back if you change country back to Thailand and then edit the activity in anyway (eg the activity description)
DeleteThis might be a silly question, but if I sign up to the Feb Weekend 5k badge and do a 10k Treadmill run that weekend, will that acquire the badge?
ReplyDeleteYes. You will get the 5k badge for that run. Any distance (longer than 5k) and any running type works.
DeleteHi Tim, I had to chage the activity type to speed walking in order to get the badge. It didnt work if I left it as Treadmill run. At least for me, it worked that way.
DeleteAndy, thank you for all your effort here, I know it is time consuming and seems not everyone think of that.
Thank you.
DeleteThe badge this weekend was a walking challenge so it had to be logged as walking. Next weekend is the 5k running badge.
March is up, interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Writing a new blog post right now.
Delete