How Do You Plan Your New Routes?

tiredofwhiners

Bikeroutetoaster here - the lack of adverts after using an Ad blocker makes it pretty speedy.

teisetrotter

I use the British cycle mapping. Hit ctrl P and sort of follow it. Must admit though I will be upgrading to a GPS, the Bryton to me looks a better option .......... although I seem to be in worrying minority on that point.

wheezee

The automatic route planners for cycling are great 'til you're miles from home without a map, and you find yourself on an unrideable (with a road bike) bridle path.

Gizmodo

wheezee wrote:

The automatic route planners for cycling are great 'til you're miles from home without a map, and you find yourself on an unrideable (with a road bike) bridle path.

This is a good point, on at least 3 separate occasions I've planned a ride with a web site that uses Google maps as its source and been told to turn into a closed, un-maintained road. Now I use ridewithgps.com and switch between Google and OSM to check the route.

Reane_Machine

Teisetrotter wrote:

I use the British cycle mapping. Hit ctrl P and sort of follow it. Must admit though I will be upgrading to a GPS, the Bryton to me looks a better option .......... although I seem to be in worrying minority on that point.

I agree with the Bryton issue. Been thinking of getting one as a 'gateway GPS' before I go full Garmin. They get decent enough reviews but everyone else I know/see has a Garmin.

badly_dubbed

Gizmodo wrote:

[url]Http://www.ridewithgps.com[/url]

yup +1

use this when i dont know the area

AchillesLeftKnee

Depends entirely on how new the route is really. Mostly, I'll take a good look at streetmap.co.uk (I like OS maps) then head out, using the Edge 800 as a backup in case I get properly lost, and to find the sort of rural roads that lack any proper identifying characteristics. If it's all in a new area I sometimes put a route together in BaseCamp, but that's a rarity.

Most of my rides involve a degree of make it up as I go, so following turn-by-turn just spoils it for me. Stopping when I've got loads of leg left feels silly, as does dragging myself round something pre-planned when the body\mind\weather\traffic\whatever isn't playing ball.