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-   -   on-line bike mapping (https://www.bikeforums.net/touring/674713-line-bike-mapping.html)

Kazarad 08-25-10 04:49 AM

on-line bike mapping
 
where is a good place to map out a bike path online? preferably one that covers more then the USA.

SBRDude 08-25-10 04:58 AM

I use http://ridewithgps.com to check the elevation profiles of any local rides, and I have used it to plot possible routes in Europe. The only thing I don't like about it is that you can't separate the route into daily stages (unless I just don't know how to do it). Other than that, it works like a champ.

Bentley6 08-25-10 06:16 AM

I use www.mapmyride.com. along with Google Maps.

valygrl 08-25-10 06:45 AM

Are you trying to *choose* a route or to *display* it?

As far as I know, there is no one good place to choose a route. Google maps added a very limited bike route feature, but it really just gives roads/trails that are allowed, not ones that are good. To figure out which the good routes are, you have to do specific research about the specific location. Most US States Departments of Transportation have some info on designated bike routes in the state. There are guide books and maps for cycling (Adventure Cycling, LOnely Planet, Pedaler's Paradise, Bicycling the Pacific COast are some examples) for specific locations. But i've never seen a site where you can just pick points and it gives you a good bike route. There's just too much involved with picking good roads, and it can be a personal decision, too. For example one person's idea of a great road might be as mountainous as possible, while someone else is seeking flat prairies or riverside roads.

In terms of display, google maps, mapmyride, ridewithgps, bikeroutetoaster... they all kind of suck, but you can make them do the job if you are patient. I use bikeroutetoaster for making courses to download to my Garmin 705 for shorter routes, but there's no way I would have the patience to do that for a tour.

There are also programs you can buy (Delorme Topo! and StreetAltas for example) that work better, but you do have to buy them and run them on a specific computer, not the www.



Hope that helps at all.

Machka 08-25-10 07:00 AM


Originally Posted by Kazarad (Post 11349792)
where is a good place to map out a bike path online? preferably one that covers more then the USA.

Are you looking for designated bike paths, or are you looking for good routes which a bicycle might take ... a bike route? And in which country?

drmweaver2 08-25-10 07:15 AM

http://veloroutes.org
http://bikreroutestoaster.com
http://ridewithgps.com/
http://www.bikely.com/
http://bycycle.org/
San Francisco bike route planner
http://www.bikemetro.com/route/routehome.asp
http://www.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/RRP_home_02_en.html
Cycle Routes UK - Cycle Route Planner
Route Planning « Bike Michiana
http://toporoute.com/cgi-bin/bicycle.cgi
http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindCycleInput.aspx
http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/cv.aspx
http://efa.vvs.de/bike/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en
Routeslip.com
Cyclestreets
Bike the ****s Netherlands
GPS Routes UK


Some other route planners which may or may not work for bicycle routing:
RAC Route Planner
ViaMichelin
London Route Planner
Mappy Route Planner
AA Route Planner
Tom Tom Route Planner
Multimap Journey Planner
Green Flag
Mapquest Route Planner
Maporama Route Planner
Expedia Route Planner


and on and on

Personally, I prefer mapmyrides.com which has already been mentioned.
YMMV

azesty 08-25-10 07:31 AM

I use ridewithgps.com but when I transfer the routes to my Garmin Edge 705, they are about 200 m out, but the GPS is showing me where I am.

Do others have this problem?

Are some sites better in this respect than others?

z

mr geeker 08-25-10 01:00 PM

google, bike iowa, trail link, and map my ride are all decent. state maps are good too. and never mock phone-book maps.

rogerstg 08-26-10 07:28 AM

Lately, cue sheets from ridewithgps have become inaccurate, often missing about 50% of the turns. Too bad, it used to be my favorite.

indyfabz 08-26-10 07:45 AM


Originally Posted by rogerstg (Post 11357246)
Lately, cue sheets from ridewithgps have become inaccurate, often missing about 50% of the turns. Too bad, it used to be my favorite.

I had a similar experience with Bikeroutetoaster. Found out about the site and gave it a try mapping 25 miles of a longer route that I am familair with and then making a cue sheet. It missed one turn completely and labled another a left when it really is a right.

As for MayMyRide, the elevation numbers are notoriously inaccurate. Some call it "CrapMyRide." The recent Grand Fondo in Philadelphia used it to map their routes. I looked at the century map and, being familiar with the roads, said "No way is there only 4,700 ft. of climbing." Tunrs out it was 7,000 ft.

Carbonfiberboy 08-26-10 08:36 AM

We use bikely.com

You write your own cue sheet, which is very helpful. Large library of other people's routes, in many countries, also very helpful.

It overestimates the climbing, but not too badly.

I don't care for the format of the cue sheets it generates, so I import them into Word and massage them into quarter-fold sheets with 12 pt type for my map case.

valygrl 08-26-10 11:33 AM


Originally Posted by drmweaver2 (Post 11350241)
...
and on and on

Personally, I prefer mapmyrides.com which has already been mentioned.
YMMV

nice list, thanks


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