cycle2work

Say you want to do a one way 75-100 mile ride from Point A to Point B. Ideally, it would be nice if it were possible to use software to draw the route, and then be able to print out:

- a cue sheet (describing distances and turns)
- multiple map pages showing sufficient detail to help out if the cue sheet doesn't make sense, or if you need to go off the planned route for some reason.

I've tried a couple of web-based software solutions, but none seem to fit the bill. Do you know of something that works well for cycle routes?

I've used "Gmaps pedometer" at: https://www.gmap-pedometer.com and "Map My Ride" at https://www.mapmyride.com, but it is very difficult to print *detailed* maps from these programs. Printing the entire 75 mile one-way route on a single page is useless because there's not enough detail. The only way I've been able to get detailed multi-page maps (with say, about 10 miles of route per page) is to print screen shots of zoomed-in portions of the map.

What mapping software do you like for cycling routes?

Hocam

I like the elevation profile that Bikley.com offers but there isn't really a cue sheet option.

As far as maps for riding go, I have a set of detailed maps for PA, MD, NJ and Delaware that I just photocopy and highlight the route on, one of them has a topographic map superimposed. It's neat to see yourself slowly moving across the map as your pass streets and what not.

rodrigaj

I have often wondered the same thing. None of the online services do what you want because they are using the same foundation, Google maps.

In Wisconsin, the Bicycling Federation of Wisconsin publishes a set of maps, sold at bike stores, that are very good and include the bike trails. Check if your location has similar maps.

A que sheet from Bikely.com and BFW maps did it for me until I got my Garmin Edge 305. Now I no longer need que sheets, but like you said, for detours you still need a map.

zowie

DeLorme Topo is very good.

Dogbait

Bikely.com will make a cue sheet. First, create your route, then from the buttons across the top of the map, hover your cursor over show and select cue sheet from the drop down menu. It will make a cue sheet that you can print.

Mike45

I second Delorme Topo.

ericp_ca

I already have a Garmin Quest GPS which comes with MapSource NorthAmerica. You can draw a route and get detailed direction. This is car oriented and this thing is not meant to be printed for a cyclist. I have used it a couple of times, since I would not mount this Quest on my handlebar.

I use www.veloroutes.org for distance measuring and elevation profiles. This is a great site for sharing routes with friends.

Eric

supcom

Delorme TopoUSA is a fine product, but does have some limitations. If you take the time to get it configured correctly for your road preferences, it will usually do a reasonable job at automatic routing. It does generate cue sheets, though they tend to have quite a bit of extraneous cues. Often a stretch of road will generate multiple lines in the cue sheet at intermediate spots along that road. BTW, bikely's cue sheet function is really pretty good. Although you have to type in the cue text, bikely prints out a very usable cue sheet with good mileage data for each cue you enter. It's simple, but very effective.

Map printing with TopoUSA is not very good if you want significant detail on a long route. The problem is that as the map gets compressed, the detail shown is reduced. This is the same problem that the online map tools (google, yahoo, etc) have. TopoUSA does have a strip map printing mode that will print your route on multiple pages, if you like, but I find that feature to generate too many pages for most routes. Unless a route is overly complex, I don't use it.

By far, a good mapping program's best feature is the ability to make changes to a route and get quick recalculation of mileage and climbing profiles. Most online mapping programs, such as bikely, are very cumbersome for editing routes. Google maps new editing features are a step in the right direction, but google does not allow you to name and save routes created (yet?) so is good only for ad hoc exploration.

cycle2work

I have actually gone through the effort of:

1) Use Google maps to get driving directions from Point A to Point B (make sure to select "avoid highways")
2) Use the newer Google feature that lets you drag the route created in step 1 to select what appear to be less busy and/or more interesting routes than what was automatically suggested. That is, "fine tune" the route.
3) Print the driving directions.

Problem (as you noted) is that the route cannot be saved on Google, so:

4) Login to MapMyRide.com and redraw the route AGAIN using the Google driving directions as a guide. I can then save the route there for later re-use.

The reason I can't just draw the route using MapMyRide.com in the first place, is that I'm generally unfamiliar with how to get from Point A to Point B, which could be as much as 100 miles apart. Google maps with its "avoid highways" option at least can draw a rough draft of a route which can be tweaked (but alas, not saved).

I happen to like MapMyRide.com, but like I said in my first post, there is no facility for actually printing detailed maps. MapMyRide DOES automatically do a cue sheet, but I've learned not to trust the cue sheets it generates. MapMyRide also shows the elevation profile for a route, which is nice.

I took a look at Bikely.com, which others recommended. I only explored it for a few minutes, but it *seems* (correct me if I'm wrong) that you have to plot each point on a bend in a road. MapMyRide has a very useful "follow roads" option, that makes this unnecessary. Bikely.com users might want to check out MapMyRide.com

Overall, which online system you use depends on which set of bugs/limitations you can live with. Hopefully, they'll improve.

In the meantime, I'm going to try "Delorme Topo" - never heard of it before, but it looks good at first glance.

Oh, and a story:

I used Gmaps Pedometer https://www.gmap-pedometer.com, which is yet-another draw your route web program, to draw a 35-40 mile loop. Following the route, asphalt turns to dirt road. Ok, I can deal with that for a bit. The dirt road gets rougher and rougher until eventually it's completely flooded out, so I turn around.

Back home, I look for that nasty dirt road on maps.google.com, and it's NOT there.

Doing some Google searches, I learned that the freebie applications like Gmaps Pedometer, Bikely.com, MapMyRide.com and so on, while based on Google technology, do NOT use exactly the same maps that you'll see on maps.google.com. Instead they use an older set of maps provided by a different company than used by google.com.

I'm sure the maps are accurate enough for most situations, but it was an important lesson for me. That's why I feel better about doing the routing at google.com, then re-doing it at MapMyRide.com

Thanks,

supcom

Few, if any, mapping programs, tell you what the road surface is. In Texas and Oklahoma, where I do most of my riding, county roads can be anything from smooth asphalt to dirt. I use a couple map books that show the road surface for all the roads in each state. You may be able to find county-level maps online for your state.

In the end, there's no substitute for familiarization with the roads in your area. Failing that, relying on a single source of map data can be risky. I create a lot of routes and use a combination of book maps, TopoUSA, google maps, bikely, and Yahoo maps to supplement my own knowledge.

MTBMaven

I have been a big fan of National Geographic's TOPO! since it came out around 2000. I use it for hiking, mountain and road biking. Using it for road biking was difficult at first trying to draw a straight line with a mouse or touchpad. Then I learned from a forum to use the shift key. If you use the shift key it will anchor the route tool, allow you to move to a new location, release the shift key and the route will snap to your new mouse location. You can make really nice looking routes with smooth curves this way.

I am a geographer by education and GIS coordinator by profession so you could say maps are my life. I find TOPO to be a great little purpose specific mapping product.

mattm

veloroutes now has a cuesheet feature too: https://veloroutes.org/cuesheets/

bmclaughlin807

Try out routeslip.com ?

donrhummy

Use the good old method: string, a ruler, a pen and paper and a map.

seriously, gmap-pedometer is a good option and I think bikeradar.com now has a section for this.

tford

You can do this on www.roadbikerides.com.

You can print out the ride, there is a route profile, and other detailed info about rides.

lebronx

Another good option is https://www.openstreetmap.org/

bobbycorno

I've tried pretty much all of the online options, and by far the best is ridewithgps.com. It's a new product, so there are a few "undocumented features" (geek-speak for bugs), but they're very good about fixing 'em. Give it a shot!

SP
Bend, OR

Madsnail

Another one (recent I think) that was mentioned in a similar thread on the randon google group is bikeroutetoaster.com
Not tested yet, but it will do cue sheets, exports to GPS and uses either the google maps or the open street maps (cited above in this thread).
EDIT: I've just had a look at ridewithgps.com, this thing looks really good!