Maps... online sites and apps?
 

what mapping software do y'all use for route planning? I've been using google maps (spent about 4 hours yesterday just playing with routes and whatnot - it was as bad as looking up a word in the dictionary and still messing around with it an hour later). But when I try and map out a route, and fiddle with it to get away from the highways, I can't add another destination without losing the changes I made. What do y'all use?

I'll do another post for gps/tablet usage...

Seriously, am I asking too many questions? I don't want to be a pest, but I do want to, um, get up to speed as quickly as I can. I had planned to be walking across NC right about now, so starting afresh is not what I expected to be doing. :notamused:

I use Google maps to get a rough idea of routes and distances.

And I use paper maps for the details.

Oh yes ... I also use this for the elevation feature:

Google Map Pedometer / GMaps Pedometer for Running, Walking, Cycling, and Hiking

+ 1

Andrew

I use Google Maps. I just try and plan it one leg at a time, so that Google will show me my options. On my iPad, to do a trip with multiple destinations, I use an app called Maps+. It's really just another way to access Google Maps, but I find it more functional for planning some routes.

I also will use GPS Visualizer to take a route in Google Maps and turn it into a file that I can import into MotionX GPS, which is another mapping app I use. MotionX GPS doesn't help me plan routes, but it does help me store them. It also lets me download map data in case I need to access it when I don't have internet access.

Another program I'm fond of on the iPad is Maplets, which lets you download pdf maps that may be available for the area you're traveling in (like most state parks will have a pdf map of the park, and some counties have bicycle maps). If the map presents the data in way that Maplets can work with, Maplets will show your location on the pdf map.

It's always my intention to carry a paper map as a back up, but I don't use it for route planning anymore, and sometimes I forget it entirely.

Google maps when I'm at my desk at work trying to figure out how to spend my evening and mapmyride.com on my phone on the bike.

A problem I have encountered with Google maps is dirt roads are not distinguished from paved. Also Google has routed me on rail to trails that were still just ballast. So Google for me is just a general direction reference. I also rely heavily on Gazatteer atlases when available. I don't have GPS so I carry paper maps. You don't have to plan your route in super detail. When you are out there cycling, local people are more than happy to help you with a route to your immediate destination.

This stuff is so very helpful, y'all! I appreciate the info and wisdom. They say that you get good judgment from experience, and you get experience from bad judgment, which is true, but you can also get good judgment from folks sharing their own experiences and their own good judgment. That's what makes forums like this so valuable. :)

I've run into this many times as well. When the roads are dirt but smooth, it's kinda nice, as it helps keep me where the traffic is low, but sometimes the roads are coarse gravel, and then it is kind of a bummer.

De Lorme maps inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicators, Street Atlas USA, Atlas and Gazetteer, Topo North America, XMap, Digital Map Data, and Professional Mapping Solutions - DeLorme

Ordinance Survey maps Great Britain's national mapping agency | Ordnance Survey

+2 It does have a few glitches but it does what I want it to do...

I tend to get better results with Automobile mode but with "Avoid Highways" option set and then occasionally dragging the route or inserting a waypoint- than I do with Bicycle mode. Are you getting those dirt roads in bicycle mode or automobile mode, since I don't really get many dirt roads.

Good question. Your suspicion is right in that I usually use bicycle mode. I'll try car mode and "avoid highways" for comparison. Thanks for the tip!

On different topic:

I used to use RidewithGPS, but ever since learning how to get a GPX file from Google Maps, using GPS Visualizer, I've found that to be more convenient.

Especially with older model dedicated GPS devices. I call the bicycle modem nanny mode. It tries to avoid taking you down busy roads. Many times I have caught it taking me miles out of the way just because it thought a certain section of a road was too dangerous.

I think the best combo is:

Ride with GPS or Google Maps at home.

On tour a dedicated GPS and a tablet with CoPilot.

The dedicated GPS that I use takes AAA batteries so I never need to worry about a charge. The tablet is great for planning or looking for alternate routes while on tour.

It would be nice if Ride with GPS or Google Maps would give you auto routing based on elevation. Google Maps does give you various optional routes and you can look at the elevation gain on your own.

Yes, ridewithgps for route planning. It's easy to "undo" and "redo" to try alternate roads.

I wrote up an overview of the ridewithgps features in this thread.