Recreational & Family - I hate MapMyRide - other options?

Since I've started cycling again, I've occasionally used mapmyride.com, which seems to work kind of well for searching for community posted rides. However, trying to use their Google maps interface to map out a route and get a cue sheet together is one of the most frustrating tasks I have ever known. All the ads and the marker functions slow the site to a crawl, and often I'll try and click and drag to move the map, which the site interprets as another waypoint.

There have got to be some better options out there, where are they?

Try this site,
http://ridewithgps.com/
the guys that are developing it are members here, it's free for now. I certainly get on with it better than MapMyRide.

You might ask the folks in the Road Cycling or General Cycling forums. They discuss this a lot.

Far as I know, paper maps are still being printed, and they work great for cycling. You don't even need to carry a computer and printer in case you decide to change your route. If you're an AAA member, their large-scale maps are terrific for cycling--I've used them all up and down the West Coast, plus in Arizona, New Mexico and elsewhere. Or you could just, you know, get on the bike and ride without a plan. I do it all the time.
Seriously, this is a job where computers may not be the best way. Don't get so caught up in the ride that you miss the riding. Just get on and pedal.

I recommend RidewithGPS.com as well - just tried them out after reading about it here, and it's way better than MapMyRide! Cleaner, faster interface, better depiction of elevation etc.

I'll agree with previous posters. I like RidewithGPS as well.

www.bikeroutetoaster.com (http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com)

www.bikely.com (http://www.bikely.com)

Ridewithgps.com. I've always had response time issues with the others (yes, ALL of them!), as well as some "creative" routing. Like taking me down the wrong side of the Columbia River (major highways on both sides), and then saying "you're on your own from here", when the obvious route was across a bridge and down the "right" side of the river. This'n's the best so far. Now if they'd just get the "import" function going so I could bring all my routes over from mapmyride...

SP
Bend, OR

I like ridewithgps.com. Seems pretty accurate too. I did notice some slowdown issues once I get pretty deep into making a route with lots of waypoints. But all-in-all, I like the almost freehand plotting style it allows when using the cycling mode to map out a route.

Pape maps are the way to go! They are accurate, easy to use have lots of details, etc....

Robi

I've just started using this: http://veloroutes.org/

No login account needed. Just type in a placename or zip code to search for existing routes, or narrow down the google map to your locale and create a route yourself. Save it and bookmark the URL if you want quick access to it again.

No muss, no fuss, no ads.

I use Google Pedometer.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Works for me.

Being a creator of http://ridewithgps.com I have to admit I am a bit biased, but, I feel our service far surpasses the other options out there. For one, we are working HARD to make this our fulltime job. As a result, we are continually working on great new features to impress you and get our service some serious attention. Additionally, we are more responsive to input than any of the competition! Lately our response time has been pushing out past a week (the volume of correspondence is increasing), but, we value your input and will always reply.

I don't have a great deal to contribute to this conversation (though I'm going to try RideWithGPS as a result!) -- I just wanted to say I'm glad I'm not the only person out there who hates MapMyRide! :)

I've tried Bikely (it was okay) and I've been having fun with the Loops function on Livestrong.com. However, RideWithGPS looks really cool.

And, of course, I'm all for paper maps, too ;) I just usually print mine from the internet :D

I have started using ridewithgps.com after reading this thread and I have to say it is really nice. So much better than mapmyride. Keep up the good work Cullen.

This is new from Google. I have not tried it though:

CNN story on Google Bike Routes (http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/10/biking.google.maps/index.html?hpt=C2)
MSNBC Story (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35799063/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/)

I don't know if Google Bike Routes is different from region to region but in my area at least it has rail trails so I don't have to steer my routes off roads and onto 'train tracks'. That's an improvement.

This thread is months old, but I finally got to try ridewithgps.com (becoming a dad for the first time kind of pushes other things to the side for a while). Cullen, the site is awesome. So much easier to use than MapMyRide, and so much more responsive. Great work!

I've noticed a couple of quirks, which mainly deal with strange routings that happen when you use the "follow roads" setting. For example, if I click on the left side of a street that Google Maps knows is divided, it thinks I've done a u-turn when I didn't actually. Sometimes clicking further down a street causes the mapping algorithm to take a couple turns that just aren't right - I apologize for not being able to describe this behavior better. Also, it doesn't seem to allow illegal u-turns. Other than those little quirks, I'm loving it so far.

I used Google maps yesterday, worked great !

www.bikely.com (http://www.bikely.com)

I'll second Bikely, but MMR has more features. I have many maps over at bikely, but I find myself gravitating to MMR now.

Since I've started cycling again, I've occasionally used mapmyride.com, which seems to work kind of well for searching for community posted rides. However, trying to use their Google maps interface to map out a route and get a cue sheet together is one of the most frustrating tasks I have ever known. All the ads and the marker functions slow the site to a crawl, and often I'll try and click and drag to move the map, which the site interprets as another waypoint.

There have got to be some better options out there, where are they?
Too many sites are putting huge ads that kill anything more than a year old an not connected to high speed internet.
Best is to dump Internet Explorer and install Firefox web browser (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/upgrade.html).
Then install Adblock Plus (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865) and NoScript (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722).
This will considerably speed up your web browsing and reduce the chances of getting a malware infection to near zero.
Your computer will thank you.

Try this site,
http://ridewithgps.com/
the guys that are developing it are members here, it's free for now. I certainly get on with it better than MapMyRide.

RideWithGPS is now my de facto standard for ride mapping sites.

My entire team uses it.