Old 02-11-16 | 07:36 PM
  #7  
Ty0604
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Joined: Nov 2015
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From: Pacific Northwest

Bikes: 2017 Fuji Jari

Originally Posted by Sharpshin
I suppose Google Maps has its uses but in my experience it can stumble badly when it comes to the bicycle option, I'd guess the data base that drives it in insufficient when it comes to specific local conditions.

Plot a route across my city and half the time it will route you down major highway access roads and such with no roadside clearance for bicycles. Otherwise on cross-country routes it will send you out of your way to official "bicycle trail" routes which may or may not be worth it.

The clincher for me was day three and 170 miles into my TX-NY trip where it routed me down an eight mile backroad that first turned from pavement to gravel, and finally to three miles of unrideable loose sand. A passing thunderstorm right before that didn't help it any....

...neither did the Texas sun in June and the complete lack of shade.

...nor the slip on sandals I was wearing, or the hills.

...and guess what a 33 pound bike with forty pounds of gear and water on it weighs.

IIRC that three miles took me two hours

And even before that stretch, the road names listed on google maps for the turns I needed often did not match what the signs read at those intersections. Especially true on backroads where what appears to be the same road on a map can be called on the ground by different names for different sections.

Anyhow, after that sand experience I mostly used Google Maps to calculate mileage after the fact, dragging the route on the screen to the one I had followed.

I will say though that paper maps en route are getting durned hard to find in this age when everybody navigates by iphone.

Mike
Sounds like a terrible experience! You hit on one issue I've ran into: Roads that go by local names and have road signs listed as such. i.e. The road from Tacoma to Mt. Rainier is officially "Highway 7" and labeled on maps as such. On sections of it you'll find it labeled as "Mountain Highway," the local name, with no mention of it's official name. Enough to throw an out of towner off course looking for the correct route.

Originally Posted by Happy Feet
Yep to that. I use google to look at routes but then zoom in and use various modes like street view to check out suspect areas. One time the route finder had me going through all four leafs of a cloverleaf hwy overpass just to turn left.
Street view is a good idea. I don't drive any longer so can't say I know what a cloverleaf highway overpass is.

Originally Posted by treebound
I posted a reply in your Great Lakes section posting. Basically it looks like GoogleMaps does not recognize hwy53 as allowing bicycles, and the only road into your chosen campground requires using a section of hwy53 with no other obvious public roadways allowing access to the campground site. Hope this helps, I'm no expert on mapping so this is just my assumption on the situation.
Thanks for your help. I wasn't able to find a definitive answer on US 53 but my new route avoids US 53 so not too concerned with it. Would be good to know for the future though.
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