Route Planning

[Onthedrops]

Which Apps/websites do you use for planning rides?

Have tried Ride with GPS which does seem a good platform for looking at the routes and discovering the varying gradients to be encountered whilst out on a ride.

Any preferences apart from just getting out there and riding?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

ridewithgps. Have rwgps as a connectIQ widget on my garmin so any routes I plan can be downloaded directly.

 

[rivers]

I use Komoot and Ride with GPS. I have paid for the full version of Komoot and use the free Ride with GPS

 

[PK99]

Which Apps/websites do you use for planning rides?

Have tried Ride with GPS which does seem a good platform for looking at the routes and discovering the varying gradients to be encountered whilst out on a ride.

Any preferences apart from just getting out there and riding?

Ride with GPS - intuitive to use and great range of maps.

 

[Littgull]

Cycle.travel.com is a fantastic route planning site. It gives you very quiet scenic routes and has the options to choose of 'paved' or 'unpaved'.

 

[neil_merseyside]

Cycle.travel is very good and can send routes direct to Garmin Connect (or download as gpx) so is also very convenient. THe route planner chooses the least trafficked routes and can be set to paved or unpaved, and sections can be toggled between as well.

 

[kenmiles]

Another vote for RWGPS

 

[cougie uk]

Are these much better than Garmin connect ?

 

[PaulSB]

RWGPS which I use as a paid for version. Komoot from time to time, usually when I need to share with other Komoot users, with one region paid for. I've yet to find a good reason to pay for the full Komoot package.

I keep meaning to try cycle.travel.......

 

[Blue Hills]

I keep meaning to try cycle.travel.......

you really should, particularly in your neck of the woods - it's great - at times following its routes you can feel that you've stepped back in time so little traffic do you see.

(or gone teetotal - its algorithm has a knack of keeping you away from pubs)

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Lots of discussion on this topic accessible by using the search function.

Routes are subjective - what I may like you may not.

You don't say what type of riding you are doing, nor how you will navigate - paper, maps, phone, gps.

My advice would be to try them all, locally, on places that you know and judge for yourself what suits you best.

Be careful in that some have different functionality such as road/mtb etc., some apps change their "free" functionality from time to time and any all-in-one (plan & navigate) apps tend to need internet access to make changes or reroute once moving.

I use most of the apps depending on location and need but trust, favour and highly recommend cycle.travel. I strongly, strongly discourage Komoot but I tend to be in odd places touring.
Each planner will have their quirks.


One app I'd recommend to anyone is Osmand. Clunky with a steep learning curve and not with the greatest planning, it can be a godsend if away from home and need to get to X. It will work offline, store a load of info in points of interest and will work offline. It can be used as a navigator (on the phone) or to transfer the gpx file to a unit.

 

[Milkfloat]

Used to be plotaroute, but now switched to Strava for ease of use, transfer and sharing.

 

[fossyant]

Are these much better than Garmin connect ?

They are all very similar. I currently use Connect with my Edge Explore - I do tell it road or MTB. So far 100% success even if it did mean crossing the A55 on a cattle bridge in Wales - it was passable on a road bike . Connect does show routes used by cyclists. I've used most of the apps and they are all good. It's just very easy to sync Connect with my Explore

 

[cougie uk]

Yes I'm using the popularity routing and also having a look on Google Street view for bits I want to double check.

It's awful if you have a route that you want to edit though. Usually easier to start over. But that could be me.