Touring - Detailed Bike Maps?

On my last tour I learned the hard way the value of having a detailed map of the area you're touring in. (I learned this by not having one and getting lost multiple times.) I'm hoping not to repeat that mistake. Where do you find really good maps? I'm specifically interested in the eastern U.P. of Michigan, which is where my next tour is (starting in a week and a half). Thanks for any help you can give.

I don't know specifically about Michigan, but try Rubel bike maps. They are great and can be ordered on line. Check with your state DOT they may have good maps, my state even makes a state bike map.

On my last tour I learned the hard way the value of having a detailed map of the area you're touring in. (I learned this by not having one and getting lost multiple times.) I'm hoping not to repeat that mistake. Where do you find really good maps? I'm specifically interested in the eastern U.P. of Michigan, which is where my next tour is (starting in a week and a half). Thanks for any help you can give.
A good place to start is always Adventure Cycling http://adv-cycling.org/cyp/list.cfm?s=Michigan&f=lState. From there you can drill down to all sorts of good info, including county maps http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_11223-22734--,00.html, (the complete set of UP maps is $12) although I doubt you could get them in a week.

I don't know specifically about Michigan, but try Rubel bike maps. They are great and can be ordered on line. Check with your state DOT they may have good maps, my state even makes a state bike map.


I think Rubel is Massachusetts Only, maps - and you're right... they ARE GREAT!

I just wish they'd print all of New England.

On my last tour I learned the hard way the value of having a detailed map of the area you're touring in. (I learned this by not having one and getting lost multiple times.) I'm hoping not to repeat that mistake. Where do you find really good maps? I'm specifically interested in the eastern U.P. of Michigan, which is where my next tour is (starting in a week and a half). Thanks for any help you can give.

A good idea will be to invest in a GPS. I swear by these and yes, you can still get lost but you'll always know which direction your destination is and whether you're headed in the opposite direction. If you can't get those maps posted by Georgebaby, this is a safer route to go. Unfortunately, it's going to cost money because you'll need a unit that can display a map with a good memory. Here are some tips.

Create your own route -- Don't rely on the GPS sofware to construct a route because the software tends to select fast highways. By creating your own "Way Points", you avoid this altogether and end up picking roads that are much safer. I store my points as the name of the street for which I'm headed preceeded by the number it appears on my list. So if Jones street is my first stop, it's stored as 1-Jones street. Pretty simple.

Get the software -- I use the Garmin unit and the software sold by the company but can get coordinates using Microsoft Streets and Trips. The difference with each one is the proprietary software allows you to download them to the GPS itself.

I was just admiring the state of Michigan and it doesn't look too hard at least from my perspective. There's so much OPEN SPACE a wrong turn can leave you miles away from your destination! A GPS would probably make this an easy trip for you don't need many "Way Points" as there are not too many turns. LOL. You can still have problems because when roads are like this, you don't know which ones are safe to travel until you get there. A road may look fine on a map until you see cars and trucks going 65 mph!

I wish you luck.

You can use google maps before hand and write out the route. It would be more easier I think.

I think Rubel is Massachusetts Only, maps - and you're right... they ARE GREAT!

I just wish they'd print all of New England.

I just googled them. I think you are right, Just Mass.

But I don't plan on moving, so I'm all set.

A good idea will be to invest in a GPS. I swear by these and yes, you can still get lost but you'll always know which direction your destination is and whether you're headed in the opposite direction. If you can't get those maps posted by Georgebaby, this is a safer route to go. Unfortunately, it's going to cost money because you'll need a unit that can display a map with a good memory. Here are some tips.

Create your own route -- Don't rely on the GPS sofware to construct a route because the software tends to select fast highways. By creating your own "Way Points", you avoid this altogether and end up picking roads that are much safer. I store my points as the name of the street for which I'm headed preceeded by the number it appears on my list. So if Jones street is my first stop, it's stored as 1-Jones street. Pretty simple.
...


I love the GPS thing also. I currently use an older Magellen Sportrak Pro (I've seen them on ebay for $100). With their mapping SW (~$100) you can define routes and upload them to the GPS. Depending on which options you enable they can highlight your intended route and show a straight line vector pointing at your next decision point (turn) in case you want to detour. You can also display points of interest like food, gas, hospital, etc. No fumbling with maps. They easily clip on your handlebars and are mostly waterproof. If you want something newer I would recommend one that supports memory cards, USB, and color. I have my eye on a magellan explorist 500 but garmin also has excellent units (having all the SW kind of ties me to Magellan).

On a related note I also use a Tomtom vehicle navigation system in my cars which could also potentially go on a bike. It is great for navigation. I can choose a destination, specify bike friendly streets, and let it calculate the route. Then it talks you there. I haven't tried the Tomtom 300 ($600) on my bike yet, and have no plans to, but it has 5 hrs of battery life and SD card maps rather than hard drive.

I've always enjoyed using the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer series, very complete. These list small back roads, fire roads, other dirt roads as well. Check them out here (http://www.delorme.com/atlasgaz/) , but buy them at your local x-mart as they will usually be less than the $19.95 that most are listed for on the website, plus you won't have to wait for shipment. Being that your not that far from Michigan your local store might even have the Michigan ones in stock. Oh yea, if you don't want to haul the whole book, just bend the staples & take out the pages that you need for the trip.

The welcome center of each state... or if you're out of the country, head to the tourist center. They have good maps, and they're free. Additionally, they can also give you verbal directions.

Koffee

The Michigan maps are available by county from the state

http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,1607,7-151-9615_11223-22734--,00.html