They are, in the detail, more precise, because they haven't been "down-sampled".
I'm not sure what you mean by this. I created the tracks in ridewithgps, then downloaded them from ridewithgps. Did you create yours using different software?
It looks like there has been a node-reduction in the offical GPX files, AFTER they were exported from RWGPS. This produces small inaccuracies in the GPX — the line "leaves" the road by a few metres every now and again as it carves a straight line where the road bends a bit. This is what I meant by "in the detail" — for pink-line followers then it will make little-to-no difference; for Garmin Edge users then there will be the occasional false "off-course" warning when using lo-res GPX tracks. However, the reduced node-count does mean the official GPXes will work on every device, no matter how old/legacy.
I also created mine in RWGPS by following your routesheet, turn-by-turn, while checking it. These are exactly the same precision as yours, in RWGPS. However, I provide hi-res GPXes — a version that is NOT down-sampled — as well as very-lo-res GPXes for legacy devices. And TCXes, which are also hi-res. They start from exactly the same point in RWGPS, but are processed differently
after export.
The problem is in helping riders understand which is the right version for them —
there is no easy answer to this, at least the first time they ponder the question. But those who
do know what they want, and do want a hi-res format, can get that from my page directly, or by exporting each individual track from your RWGPS event page themselves without the down-sampling — most riders just want a point-and-click solution, hence I provide the hi-res tracks in a one-shot ZIP file to save them the hundred or so clicks it takes to export all the tracks individually from an event page.
I have mentioned several times that all of the routes available — yours, mine and others — will get you there, and that, except in the detail (precision), all are as good as the others. I have also clearly stated that yours are the "gold standard"
For me, personally, TCX is the format of choice, because I use a Garmin Edge. TCX supports additional features that are not available in GPX and is probably therefore "slightly better" for Edge users, but that's just me, and it does depend on what each individual rider wants from the track. No matter, the lo-res GPX will still get users of the latest Garmin Edge device from beginning to end just fine, but without the "detail" and with the occasional false-positive "off-course" warning.
The one other tiny bit of detail that I have added is to route to the bike park at each control — this is from my experience of 2013 for some controls and a leap-of-faith at the new control-locations. The only control where finding the way in in 2013 was an issue was Brampton on the way north, in the dark — the junction outside the school was unlit and so incredibly hard to see anything on approach. By the time we came south the following evening, it was lit up like a disco!
