Has anyone found really good software for mapping old and new routes? I'm thinking primarily for road biking here, but I saw a product called "National Geographic Backroads Explorer" that was a combination of topo maps and road maps. The maps are 1:100000 scale... is that enough detail? Anything out there that can give information on how "hard" the route is as far as climbing and descent goes? Seems like that would be pretty useful.

As far as how hard a ride is going to be you'll definitley need a topographical map...I've never seen a combination topo geographical. You may have to get both.....hmmm, maybe I did see one at CompUSA

Try TopoUSA by Delorme. It has digital topo maps of the entire US including roads. The software will do automatic route finding based on specified endpoints and intermediate waypoints. You can specify road preferences so the route finding avoids interstates and favors backroads, etc.

Once you have a route, the software will show you the elevation profile.

I use this program extensively for route planning. It costs about $100.

supcom,
I've been going back and forth b/w the National Geo USGS state maps, and the Delorme. Does Delormes give the same scale as their state map topo books? It seems that the National Geo maps are more detailed than Delormes.

The problem with using map software to create your route is you can never tell how safe the road will be when you get there. When using this software, I often find myself on a road with trucks and cars moving at 45 -60 mph!!

Why not simply use a GPS. This way you can create a route as you go instead of being dependant on a road map. Here's what I mean.

I get longitude and lattitude points from the software (Microsoft Streets and Trips) I then plug these values to my GPS and it will point me to the destination I want to go. If the road gets too fast, I can go around a highway and choose backroads while not losing sight of my destination.

1/100,000 is detailed enough for road bike route planning with rough elevation profiling, it is not detailed enough for offtrail hiking unless coupled with GPS IMHO. The topo maps have roads, but are not updated like road maps are so often they can be out of date. I have National Geographic 'Topo State Series' products and Maptech 'Terrain Navigator', wish I had the Delorme too! National Geographic has the best quality topo maps, they are direct scans from the USGS maps, Maptech and Delorme have better 'software manipulation' capabilities, specifically 3D.

I have Try TopoUSA by Delorme and I LOVE it. Easy to use, great for altitude profiles, prints the directions.

Since I'm working on hill climbs I like the profiling best. I get total ft of climb, total ft descent, average grade - the works. I have all my favorite routes mapped out and am finding hew ones all the time. TopoUSA is well worth the money.

If you have any specific questions about the program, IM me or post the question.

That should be "PM me or post the question." sorry.