A question for those using RideWithGPS for navigation....

Last weekend I rode a route that a friend had mapped out in RideWithGPS. I did not have time to plot it out on Bryton's map app so I could have the names of the roads etc on my Bryton 530, but I was able to get the simple line to follow on the Bryton. But I wanted to have audible or legible instructions if possible, so I also tried navigating the route on my Android phone using RideWithGPS.

i have done this in the past, and it was easy. So easy, in fact, that I don't even remember how I did it.

i downloaded the route with no problems, hit the "navigate" button, and the map came up showing my location and my progress, current speed, distance traveled, etc. But it would not tell me where to go, nor show the route ahead. Only behind. No audible signals, of course.

So what I'm wondering is, was the route defective? Or did I have the wrong settings on my phone? Any theories?

If you hadn't said you hit navigate, I would say it sounds like you weren't navigating.

Yeah. In fact I stopped it a couple times and started it again, same result.

I have more confidence in my Garmin GPS than my smartphone map apps. Too many times I've seen that blue dot freeze while I'm moving only to have it jump around and then revealing that I had missed a turn.

And then on other occassions, the Google Map app would tell me to make a turn that wasn't part of the route when I started the trip. Somehow it had switched from driving navigation to pedestrian navigation.

Was what you downloaded from RWGPS saved as a ride or as a route? In my experience, a ride saved to RWGPS does not contain turn-by-turn information, whereas, a route (created with RWGPS) does. I have downloaded several rides, in the past, thinking that they were routes, only to find there was no turn-by-turn. Maybe others have not had this experience, but I can never get turn-by-turn directions from a ride downloaded from RWGPS.

[MENTION=234859]John_V[/MENTION], that is an excellent theory! I will look into that. I don't know how I could have made that mistake, but it sure makes sense. I'll see if I can repeat the error.

I use RWGPS all the time to navigate on my Samsung S7 (Android). I usually download a route I create or download a route from an organized ride (if that's what I'm doing).

It works extremely well, gives true turn by turn directions (both visual on the map as well as spoken) and you can leave your phone in airplane mode and it will still work well with the GPS signal. It notifies you of upcoming turns well before they happen.......again 1/4 mile prior......and again just before it's time to turn and will name the street or road. Additionally it's all clearly displayed on the map.

All this being said it does require more than the free basic subscription. It's well worth it if you do long rides in unfamiliar areas.

Make sure that you get the route from the owner's Routes page and not their Home page. If the ride you want is not in the Routes page, then it's a ride and you'll have to recreate it as a route in your own account. If you do open the map from the Home page, check to see if there is a cue sheet on the left of the map. No cue sheet = ride, cue sheet = route.

When I first read that, it took me a while to figure out where I got the route. I remember now: I searched for a 'permanent' route on the RUSA website, found the route I wanted, and it came with a link.

For what it's worth, here's the link:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26629347

I asked the owner how he created the link; but he did not remember.

It is easy to send the route to my phone from there, so I assume that's what I did; but I don't remember exactly how I did it.

Jeff does a really nice job on his RWGPS routes.

You should be able to delete your own posts. When you hit "edit", isn't delete one of the buttons on the bottom right?

He created it as a route (the normal thing to do).

You can tell because there's a cuesheet associated with it.

Another way of telling is by copying the route to your own RWGPS account. When you do that, you'll see the blue cuesheet flags.