Route planning is the dogs danglies

[Sillyoldman]

Since I was a nipper I have always loved maps. I would pour over them for hours imagining how the road would look like in real life.

Now with GPS on the bike the ability to plan a route and discover new roads you never knew existed is just fantastic, made all the better by the integration of street view into the route drawing software. No need to try imagine what the road is like, you can do a virtual recce.

I do have my favourite routes but am getting more adventurous as my distances increase. My Garmin 800 and Ride with GPS is revolutionising my riding.

Technology really does sometimes make massive differences in a good and useful way. That said, I do still like a paper map, but not on the bike.

 

[Risex4]

I dont think I've ever agreed and disagreed with a post so vehemently!

I too have a strange fascination with cartography. When Im stressed and fixating on one problem it gives me a distraction. When Im down and feel like all the worries in my own life are getting too much, it gives me perspective. When Im aprehensive about where Im going, it guides.

But going out cycling with a pre-planned GPS route just seems wrong. My rule is simple; look at the map as much as you want before you leave, but once you're out its your recall of landmarks or the signposts that will get you home again. Thats the fun for me atleast.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry, I agree with Sillyoldman! I like doing the map reading at home, and when I'm out I want to ride and look around, not think about navigation.

 

[snorri]

I want a cycle trip in territory new to me to be a bit of an adventure, an exploration of sorts, I certainly don't want to retrace a route I have already covered on Streetview.
OTOH, Streetview has its uses in the dark days of winter when I can retrace the route I took in the summer sun and revive pleasant memories.

 

[Norry1]

I'm with both views. I love being able to set up a route following all the smallest roads on the map and knowing I'll have a good ride. Having said that, sometimes I just follow my nose and see where I end up. That can work really well.... or end up on a dual carriageway.

 

[Sillyoldman]

I want a cycle trip in territory new to me to be a bit of an adventure, an exploration of sorts, I certainly don't want to retrace a route I have already covered on Streetview.
OTOH, Streetview has its uses in the dark days of winter when I can retrace the route I took in the summer sun and revive pleasant memories.

It still is a adventure snorri. I am not following the whole route on street view, just dropping onto roads to see how they look and to check out tricky looking junctions. So I use street view to ensure I have a great ride on the type of roads I want to ride on.

 

[coffeejo]

Another map / planning fan here. But without a GPS system.

I plan the route using paper and online maps, use streetview for the junctions so I know when to turn (3rd left doesn't compute in my brain - much easier to know that it's left after the farmhouse with the post box in the wall or whatever), memorise the turns (and write out the directions and print off a map if it's a long route as a back up) and then head out and enjoy.

I have to learn things by rote or I end up heading completely the wrong way. I can't even give directions to people without starting at the beginning. Very embarrassing when you consider that my father was a sailor and my mother's one of those annoying people with a compass in her head.

*settles down with to work out today's ride*

 

[Cubist]

I can sit with an OS map and read it like a keen reader reads a book. However, I am just discovering the joys of GPS route planning, and of course couldn't resist the fantastic offer available..... unlimited printed OS maps for less than a tenner for 12 months.....
http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/os-getamap-50-off-subscription-expires-31-03-2013.126632/

I may also add that route planning and following is a bit different off-road, I like to take a GPS now, but it's always backed up by the relevant OS map...you need to be able to find escape routes and alternatives for when you discover the nice bridleway you followed on Mapometer.com has nowtaken you to a vertical precipice........

 

[billy1561]

Never really tried the route planning, must give that a go.
I have been indebted to my 800 more than once when i have been in the middle of nowhere after just riding about miles from home.

 

[Risex4]

I suppose I should qualify my initial viewpoint by saying that holds as long as Im on home territory; if I was on holiday somewhere else in the Uk or abroad, then I'd probably adopt a map/GPS approach aswell.

I do also appreciate the power of StreetView for pre-checking junctions and commiting their image to memory.

Its just that at home here in the Westcountry, I feel I should know most place names dotted around and their relevance to one another, and therefore assisted navigation on my own doorstep is a bit of a cheat.

*settles down to plan out finer details of route today*
*remembers he booked dentists and various other chores at inconvenient hourly intervals*
*gets up again*

 

[Boris Bajic]

All ths new-fangled techno-wizardry is a great abomination and a dark cloud of false utility that spreads across our conscious mind like the fog on the moors.

A map. A bicycle. A pet marsupial for entertainment and help with puncture repairs. A bottle of water. Nothing else is necessary.

I am right. Dissent in this matter is unacceptable.

Carry on.

 

[jdtate101]

The best feature for me with modern GPS devices is the ability to find your way home when you get lost riding new roads. I too like to explore new areas but sometimes get into the back of beyond, and it's nice to just instantly get the Garmin to plot a route home for me. I usually just follow it to a familiar road then go my own way back, but that lack of worry is a nice feeling. Another nice feature of online route planning for me is being able to see the route profile as I build it. If I want to go hill hunting I can, or if I want to run on the flats, that too is very easy to do. Yes you can do that with an OS map, but it's less tangible.

 

[ColinJ]

I bought a GPS after having had my pleasure of an audax '200' seriously eroded by the amount of attention that I was having to give the route sheet rather than the glorious countryside that I was riding in!

I was set to ride 'A Mere 200' in Cheshire but when I saw the complexity of the route, I immediately bought a copy of MemoryMap (which included a fantastic UK-wide seamless OS Landranger map (minus N.Ireland)) plus a Garmin Etrex GPS. The alternative was to try not to make any mistakes navigating over 200 junctions in an unfamiliar area. On the day, I encountered many riders going the wrong way, some of them several times as they went past me in the opposite direction or emerged from the wrong side roads!

I never regretted buying the GPS. Having to stop and take a map out every few minutes on wet windy days does not appeal to me.

Once I have ridden a route a couple of times, I tend to remember most of the turns anyway, but it is nice to have the GPS for backup, and if necessary, a map for backup backup!

I use Streetview for checking out potentially confusing junctions in advance, but otherwise ride new routes 'blind'. It is nice to use it to look back on rides afterwards though.

 

[HLaB]

I like to plan roughly where I'm going the night before too and hopefully not have to worry about navigation the next day either. I also like to look at the tracks of my ride as it helps build a mental map in my mind.

 

[Trickedem]

I too love maps (to the extent that I have about 50% of the UK on Landranger maps), I'v even helped draw maps back when I used to do a lot of orienteering. However, when I got back into cycling in a big way just over 3 years ago I found that navigating using maps was a real pain. I planned a lot of routes using various websites then copied them onto pages copied from a large scale road atlas. Every hour or so I would have to change the map over in my waterproff bag attached to the handlebars and I also found that I would lose time at tricky junctions or when I went off course.
Eventually I bought a Garmin 800 and it transformed my cycling. I can plot routes in the comfort of my home or office, taking the time to look at alternatives so as to avoid A roads etc. Then simply copy the route onto the Garmin and it will provide turn by turn instructions for the whole route. In the last couple of years I have ridden several DIY Audaxes of up to 600km, and I have also ridden loads of tours both in this country and abroad. Being able to ride along confident that you are not going to get lost or delayed is brilliant. Later this year I will be using my Garmin to ride to Brussels and to do London-Edinburgh-London and there is no way I would want to do it any other way.
My site of preference for producing rides is www.bikehike.co.uk because it shows the OS map and allows you to pick routes that are on proper roads. I have found with Ride with GPS and other apps that they use google maps and sometimes can route you down farm tracks, byways etc. On Bike Hike you can also put controls in place and these can be written along with the route to the GPS. This is great for Audaxes, as you can seen on the data screeen the distance to the next control and also get a warning when it is approaching.