Ty0604

Does anyone know if it's possible to force Google maps to ignore seasonal route restrictions?

You'd think they'd have an option for it. Most people plan summer trips in the winter.

Like now I'm trying to map part of my cross country ride that covers roads that are closed in the winter. I can't even drag the road to where I need to go. Instead Google suggest that I ride several hundreds of miles out of the way and then "walk" my bike over 16 miles of the Continental Divide Trail.

Slash5

I see several Google threads complaining about this so I'd have to say no, there is no mechanism for this.

CliffordK

I think I've had troubles selecting the McKenzie Highway with Google Maps.

RideWithGPS allows you to click along the route you intend to follow. So, just jump a few miles up the road and click again.

Ty0604

That's unfortunate. I found one way around it sort of. Select the car and change the "depart date" to a date after the roads have opened. A few downsides though; You can't add more than one destination and obviously it won't exclude roads bicycles aren't allowed on. Now only if the bicycle option the "depart date" listed that would solve everything.

Thank you for the input. I'll check it out.

a1penguin

Google maps sent me to Knoxville-Berryessa Road (from Hell). 1.5 lanes of mostly road full of patches, pot holes, dirt and about eight river crossings for 20 miles. The river crossings were cement slabs with no guard rails. Three of them had the river running over it. It's El Nino winter and we had rain the day before. It was frightening going over the crossings in my low-to-the-ground Honda Civic. And as this is a bona fide California wildlife area, there were no houses and needless to say, no cell coverage. And also no traffic at this time of year.

Thanks google.... NOT.

Ty0604

Yikes! So far I haven't had any bad luck with Google. We'll see how it does on my ~6K tour this year.

Looigi

+1. I've found cycling specific sites to be much better than Google in many ways. RWGPS is the one I currently use but I've used others nearly as good. I use the free accounts.

CliffordK

I just Googled Eugene to Portland, where it quite appropriately chose to route along the Oregon Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway.

Except for one minor detail. It didn't actually follow the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway route. And, even routed the bicycles onto the FREEWAY in one section.

For riding from Springfield, OR to Sisters, OR, it very much dislikes HWY 242. I had noted the issue last year. I hadn't thought that it was a seasonal issue, but rather that it tried to block out secondary roads. Remind me to check in the summer. Last year it was open for bikes and pedestrians for most of the winter. Maybe I'll head back that way the next time we get a week of sunshine.

I would think a company that does GPS routing (Strava, RideWithGPS, or MapMyRide would be able to incorporate heat maps into their routes. Nonetheless, there are lots of choices including hills and Urban vs Rural routes.

Seattle Forrest

I wouldn't trust something like Google Maps (or probably any other software) to decide a route for me over unfamiliar roads in other states. I'd want to research it myself, and I'd probably use Strava's heat map as much as possible to look for good cycling routes. Doesn't make it nearly as clear and obvious as you'd hope, but it's a useful tool and can be pretty helpful in places you just don't know.

indyfabz

When planning last year's tour in the Black Hills Google Maps picked a route between two places that incorporated what looked like a road. Some of it was actually a one lane, bumpy, unpaved track with a grassy hump in the middle. Part of it was available on Street View, but I guess the Google car turned around when things got too rough. Needless to say, I planned an alternate route.

CliffordK

Gravel touring is the next big thing. Get off the beaten path.

I've been hunting for new routes around here that go parallel to the main road. And, one of my biggest problems is determining public vs private access. Both online maps and printed maps seem to have problems with it.

Maybe I could convince the post office to provide me a map of their regular mail routes Anyplace a mail truck goes, a bicycle should be able to go

Seattle Forrest

Bet you were glad you did! By the way I camped in the Black Hills one of the times I drove coast to coast, it was the first time in three or four days I felt really good about my surroundings. What route did you take?

I've had the same kind of problem with OSM on my Garmin. Prefer to go out and see where I wind up. It's harder to find good routes through terra incognita than it should be.

indyfabz

I did a loop from Rapid City. Rode to Spearfish via Nemo and Deadwood the first day then through the canyon to Cheyenne Jct. and then to the Mickelson Trail to Hill City. Rode the trail to its end in Edgemont. Then it was on to Hot Springs for the mammoth dig site. From there I went through Wind Cave N.P. and Custer S.P. to Custer. Stayed in Custer a few nights and did loop rides, including Needles Highway. From there I did a short day to the KOA on SD 244, dropped my gear and did a loop ride through Keystone and Mt. Rushmore. Then it was back to Rapid City. I may have the individual route maps in RWGPS.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/105349...63744881/page1

Ty0604

Thanks for the input! I downloaded the free versions of Strava and Ride with GPS apps. I'll check them out. I have the paid version of MapMyRide and will be using that for my tour mainly. Only because my website is synced up to it and when I save my ride each day it'll post there for everyone to see. I think they might have an agreement with Under Armour because it's the only fitness app you can sync to the website.\

@indyfabz How has your experiences been with KOAs? I've never stayed at one on bike tour but will be staying at two on this tour. The Casper KOA in Bar Nunn, WY and the Canton/East Sparta KOA in Canton, OH.

I'm due into the Casper one right around Memorial Day weekend and they were pretty accommodating when I emailed them and explained I'd be on tour and wouldn't know for sure when I'd be in.

I thought I was staying at Custer State Park as well but my itinerary has me going to Comanche Park in Custer instead. Can't remember why or when I switched. Coming from Hot Springs. From there staying in Keystone and Wall, SD. Honestly I'm a little more excited to see the Black Hills/Badlands than I am about Yellowstone.

indyfabz

Might as well ask what it's like to stay at a Day's Inn or Red Roof Inn on any given day. They are all different, and the human condition can vary depending on the time of year.

For example, I will be starting and ending a MT tour at the Missoula KOA for the third time. It will be moderately crowded on a weekday in mid-June and probably fill up when I end the tour two Saturdays later. It's pretty sedate, and most of the tent sites are away from the RV sites. I always get a special tent site that is fenced off and has a partial overhang to keep you dry. The grass at the site is thick and well cut. My biggest complaint is that they need to turn up the hot tub water temperature.

The KOA I stayed at in SD, on the other hand, was combat camping at its finest. None of the tent sites offered any shade. (I was quite lucky that the day was cool and breezy.) Lots of vehicular traffic. Loud kids riding bikes all over the place. Massively crowded pools. Loud drunks with their beers taking over the hot tubs. Bad service in the restaurant.

While I have never stayed there, I have ridden past the KOA in Butte, MT. The tent sites are visible from the road, and the entire place is right next to I-90. I read some less-than-flattering on-line reviews about the place and decided to book a room at a cool, old hotel/motel in the center of town. Will be staying there again this June.

BTW...Keystone is about as "tourist tacky" as you can get. Lots of tourists waddling around eating ice cream and French fries. Periodically they have fake gun fights in the street. When I did my loop ride from the SD KOA to Keystone and then around to Mt. Rushmore I took Old Hill City Rd., which runs behind the KOA. About 1.5 miles before Keystone I passed a nice, quiet campground. Had I known about it I would have stayed there instead.

cyccommute 

The Ride with GPS site also lets you plot straight lines. I've found this allows me to plot routes where Google (and Ride with GPS) doesn't say there are routes. This is mostly jeep roads and mountain bike rides.

Another trick you can use with Ride with GPS is to plot a section using "driving" as the mode of travel. You can mix "bicycle" and "driving" modes as needed. this is particularly helpful her in the west where we have to ride on interstates sometimes and Google generally doesn't allow for bicycle mode on interstates.

You do have to be careful with Google maps. Prior knowledge of the area helps or just being able to read the map. For example, on my 2015 tour, Google routed me from Milford PA to Dingman's Ferry on an 8 mile route that included 1100 feet of climbing instead of the 5 mile route on the Federal Road along the Delaware River that had only 200 feet of elevation change. When I got to the point where Google said go up, I said "Why?" and took the perfectly wonderful Federal Road.

Google maps is still a pretty good resource. Just don't follow it blindly and don't be afraid to find a different route or backtrack.

cyccommute 

I would agree. Some KOAs are absolutely wonderful and some aren't. But the same holds true for other private campgrounds and even public campgrounds. It is what it is. Generally speaking, all commercial campgrounds and many public ones have tent ghettos. They site the tents as far away from facilities as possible and as far away from the RVs as possible. One...being away from the RVs...is a blessing (most of the time) and the other is a curse.

Sometimes, however, being in amongst the RVs can have it's rewards. Sometimes the RVers take pity on the crazy carless person and strike up conversation. They are generally nice people.

I would suggest to anyone who is touring with a smart phone to get the Allstay Camp and Tent app. They also have a website. It's an incredibly complete database of campgrounds around the US and Canada. I only stayed at one campground in New Jersey that wasn't on the database. Oddly enough, I'm not sure how they get their data. I stayed at a really nice little campgound...the Shady Rest... in Gibson, PA that was on the list. When the woman asked me how I had found it, I told her that it was on the Allstay app and she had no idea what it was. She never listed it nor had they ever contacted her. But the app had all the information about the campgound with links to their website.

It really is a great tool for bicycle touring.

indyfabz

Oh yeah. In NH, a man with a trailer couldn't believe I was sleeping in my small L.L. Bean knock off of the SD Clip Flashlight tent and forced me to come to his site for beer and hot dogs with his family. In CT, a woman with an RV gave me pie.

On the flip side, a few years ago in MT some guys camping and fishing returned to their RV next to my site, got out of their truck with open beers in hand, then proceeded to drink more and run their generator late. I heard one of them ask another whether the noise might be bothering me. I could here one of them basically respond "I don't care." They were drunk enough that I didn't want to say anything, and I was so tired that I was able to sleep though the noise.

Ty0604

Thanks for the input. I'm staying at Grizzly Bear Campground off of Highway 16A. It doesn't come up when you do a Google search of it. It's south of Keystone. Possible the one you passed? The link below has a map showing where it's at. I had heard Keystone was a lot like Jackson Hole. A tourist trap pretty much. Old Hill City Road runs into Highway 16A near "downtown" Keystone I believe.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/wps/portal/fs...r%20Campground

You can do the same on Google Maps in terms of changing it to a car and then changing the "depart" date. This is how I ended up finding my route. I hope they add this feature for bicycle travel or a "ignore seasonal route restrictions" tab.

I'll check the app out you mentioned. I'm staying at a place called Shady Rest too but this one is in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.

cyccommute 

I've found that the Ride with GPS is a bit more flexible than regular Google maps. It allows you to change from bicycle to car to draw lines within a single map. For example, this map is the bicycle route for going from Larkspur, CO to the Tomah Road exit on I-25 south of Denver. It's a 6 mile detour around I-25. But bicycles are allowed to ride on the shoulder of I-25 in this section of the road from the Larkspur exit to the Tomah Road exit.

If you switch to the "driving" mode when you hit the end of the bicycle route at 1-25 and map using that mode, you can use I-25 as part of your route and shorten the route by around 3 miles. As far as I know, you can't mix modes like that in Google maps. There are a number of places in Colorado where this happens.

And, as I said above, you can also switch to draw line mode and force the map into any route you want. This comes in handy when plotting routes that exist but Google doesn't know about them. This route is an example of that. The leg of the trip along Middle Quartz Creek exists but Google doesn't have it in their data base. If you look closely on lower part of the route, you can see that it is made up of a series of straight lines. The other parts of the map follow roads and were made using the bicycle route function.

CliffordK

Then again, route choice may depend on one's mood at the time.

I've been hunting for new routes between Eugene and Sisters, Oregon. My next route attempt will probably take me 50 miles out of the way, and perhaps an extra 4000 or 5000 feet climbing. But, if it works out, it will replace 50 miles of miserable road with 100 miles of pleasant riding (plus a little gravel).

Ty0604

Thanks for the input. I wasn't aware of the draw line mode. I can't view your link though. I get this error:
[h=1]THE ROUTE YOU ARE TRYING TO VIEW IS PRIVATE.[/h][h=2]IF YOU ARE THE OWNER, MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOGGED INTO YOUR ACCOUNT. OTHERWISE, CONTACT THE OWNER. IF YOU CAME HERE FROM ANOTHER WEBSITE, CONTACT THE OWNER OF THAT WEBSITE ABOUT THIS PROBLEM.[/h]Any chance that you'll be doing that between now and May?

CliffordK

Yes,

A pretty high chance.

I'm wanting to get some climbing in before April.

I do want to explore the McKenzie Pass some. I made it to the top this time last year, but this year is a very different year, so all bets are off on whether it is passable.

Here is my proposed Springfield to Westfir, to Cougar Reservoir to McKenzie Bridge, more or less. I know that the North Bank road along Lookout Point Reservoir is gravel (very flat), or at least it was quite some time ago.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/12305353

I'm having troubles convincing RWGPS to allow routing along HWY 242

Here is my last ride from Sisters to Walterville.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/6135475 (to be replaced or updated at anytime in the future).

I did explore a bit.
Notes:

• Cougar Reservoir to Finn Rock, VERY COURSE GRAVEL, but passable some Rosboro property, marked as open to non-motorized vehicles when no current work in the area.
• Road from Finn Rock to Nimrod, but the Nimrod bridge has been de-decked, and is not passable. So far I haven't found a route to Goodpasture road from there (backtrack).
• Goodpasture bridge to Leaburg Dam, low elevation roads do not connect. I did make it through at higher elevation (some private roads?) with some gravel. I don't recommend this route at this time.
• Just west of the Leaburg Dam, pick up the first EWEB Canal road. Gravel, but a very good path. Unfortunately one can't select the route using RWGPS. Continue on the canal road for several miles until you get to a steep slope just before the end.
• Short jump on 126, then hit Holden Creek Ln.,
• From Holden Creek Ln, hit Deerhorn Bridge and Deerhorn Rd to Hendick's bridge.
• Short backtrack on 126 across Hendrick's bridge, the jump over to Camp Creek Road, and into Springfield.

cyccommute 

Jeez! It didn't have to yell at you! Sorry about that. Try it now.

Ty0604

If you do and want someone to join, let me know. I might be free. My April is pretty slammed (Boston & Bend Marathons) but March is pretty open except the week of March 19-26 I'll be backpacking.

Your route looks pretty good. I've never ridden very much on gravel so not sure how my bike would do on it. Since I run only with rear panniers my front tire isn't the best for gravel I would assume.

I'll take a look more closely at your route this evening.

It works now, thank you! I'll check it out more closely when I'm home tonight.