# Best cycle route planner



## jimbo40 (18 Jun 2011)

Hello

Can anyone suggest the best on line cycle route planner. I am particularly interested in one that will give the least challenging route between two points, as I enjoy cycling but am getting too old for long climbs. It doesn't have to be a free service, I'm happy to pay.


----------



## srw (18 Jun 2011)

I don't know of any paid-for sites, but (as long as it's working) bikehike.co.uk is your best bet. It gives you OS maps with proper contours alongside google maps, not just the vague impressionistic google shading that other sites give you.

You still need to do the hard work of defining a route yourself!


----------



## vernon (18 Jun 2011)

There is no best route planner - they all have deficiencies. It's a matter of trying several and finding one that suits your needs best.

I don't think that there is a planner that takes gradients into account.

However ViaMichelin has a bike option that chooses quieter roads.

If used in conjunction with something like Map My Ride you can see the profile of the route selected by viamichelin.

Bikehike.co is ok if you access it early in the day before the daily OS mapping quota gets used up and it disappears off the the screen until the following day.


----------



## billflat12 (18 Jun 2011)

"Transport direct", route planning contains cycle-paths an bridleways , only plans up to 50k at a time though, maybe worth a quick look and is so simple to use ?

http://www.transport...CycleInput.aspx


Results come with detailed zoomable maps, give gradient profiles, turn by turn directions, & a gpx download of your route.


----------



## doog (18 Jun 2011)

Bike route toaster gives gradients

http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com/

Go to course creator, choose your course and the summary will give an elevation chart, ascent height etc as well as distance. I used this extensively to plan a route from Spain to St Malo.


----------



## srw (19 Jun 2011)

I can't get on with Bike Route Toaster - it's ugly, clunky and under-specified. Of the professional sites my favourite is mapmyride.com.


----------



## andym (19 Jun 2011)

No this isn't the usual 'what's wrong with using a map?' post, but the map itself should give information that will help you quickly rule out the really big or tough climbs: Michelin maps (and the viamichelin.com site) usually give elevation data and the system of chevrons gives a guide to road gradients. Topographic mapping is also available for many countries (and there's OpenCycleMap). Google's terrain view is also helpful.

Elevation profiles are useful though once you have settled on a likely route - or at least likely options.


----------



## AhThisFeckinThing (22 Jun 2011)

I use this one, its quite handy and suits my needs

http://ridewithgps.com/

javascript:void(0);


----------



## borcan22 (24 Jun 2011)

bikemap.net


----------



## TheDoctor (24 Jun 2011)

Another vote for ViaMichelin.
Just been using it to plot a route from Epernay to Bar-sur-Aube, via Troyes and Lac d'Orient.


----------



## Stuart Mac (3 Jul 2011)

I used www.ridewithgps.com to plan London-Edinburgh solo ride. Worked really well to plan gradient and total climb exposure. 

One thing I did do after day 1 though was put my Garmin in my bag as bike satnavs are crap and I quickly realised half the fun and adventure is finding your way with a paper map, it's also the only way you learn about your route and have an awareness of where you have been. The bloody thing also threw me a 15 mile dummy on day 1 of 5!!!

Plan on a website, print the relevant info but navigate using a map, its a much better touring experience.


----------



## andym (3 Jul 2011)

Stuart Mac said:


> I used www.ridewithgps.com to plan London-Edinburgh solo ride. Worked really well to plan gradient and total climb exposure.
> 
> One thing I did do after day 1 though was put my Garmin in my bag as bike satnavs are crap and I quickly realised half the fun and adventure is finding your way with a paper map, it's also the only way you learn about your route and have an awareness of where you have been. The bloody thing also threw me a 15 mile dummy on day 1 of 5!!!
> 
> Plan on a website, print the relevant info but navigate using a map, its a much better touring experience.



Were you using the Garmin in route mode? IME this never works well. However there's nothing in the Book of Rules that says you have to use a satnav this way: you could equally download your planned route in the form of a track or waypoints - or simply use the GPS as a position/elevation check.

Nor is there anything to say you can't use a GPS in combination with a paper map. The GPS has the ability to zoom in for detail, and you can carry much more detailed mapping than would be feasible in paper form, while a paper map is good for providing an overview.

Always knowing where you are, never worrying about whether you've missed a turn - I know which touring experience I prefer.


----------



## Stuart Mac (3 Jul 2011)

Andy, I think I had mastered the basics with it, it was a garmin800 and was a really good training aid. To be honest the minute I got an I-phone and loaded cyclemeter fir £4.99 it sort of made the satnav redundant for me. I bought a boardman computer for £30 off eBay as well so I'm pretty sorted for what I need. Sold the Garmin and reclaimed the £300 it cost. 

They are good but as long as you have a battery back up the iPhone does thejob as a check on where am gps wise and I enjoy working out position on the maps (even large scale maps which only show basic road layout)

Want to do London-Gibralter next year (not on an organised event) so need to start thinking about that.

Cheers
Stuart


----------



## pshore (3 Jul 2011)

I use bikeroutetoaster. 

One warning, gradients. sure, all these sites have height data, but they are not fine grained enough to predict short sharp hills like those in Devon.

I just got back from a week long tour around Normandie and the metres climbed was three times predicted on brt. Wales was more like double.


----------



## doog (3 Jul 2011)

Stuart Mac said:


> I used www.ridewithgps.com to plan London-Edinburgh solo ride. Worked really well to plan gradient and total climb exposure.
> 
> One thing I did do after day 1 though was put my Garmin in my bag as bike satnavs are crap and I quickly realised half the fun and adventure is finding your way with a paper map, it's also the only way you learn about your route and have an awareness of where you have been. The bloody thing also threw me a 15 mile dummy on day 1 of 5!!!
> 
> Plan on a website, print the relevant info but navigate using a map, its a much better touring experience.





I used a Garmin etrex Legend Hcx for my recent Girona, St Malo tour (760 miles). I used AA lithium batteries that lasted 6 days a pair - so didnt have a problem with charging etc. Following my pre loaded tracks made the trip a walk in the park (apart from the hills / mountains) however what I enjoyed was studying the following days leg on the map. The Garmin made negotiating big towns easy but as you say the map gives a greater overall outlook and adds to the experience.

My worry with maps was the price but I got a Michelin 1:200 000 map of France for £8 from Amazon and ripped out the relevant pages (the whole book would be too heavy to take)


----------



## andym (4 Jul 2011)

Stuart Mac said:


> Andy, I think I had mastered the basics with it, it was a garmin800 and was a really good training aid. To be honest the minute I got an I-phone and loaded cyclemeter fir £4.99 it sort of made the satnav redundant for me. I bought a boardman computer for £30 off eBay as well so I'm pretty sorted for what I need. Sold the Garmin and reclaimed the £300 it cost.
> 
> They are good but as long as you have a battery back up the iPhone does thejob as a check on where am gps wise and I enjoy working out position on the maps (even large scale maps which only show basic road layout)



So in fact you are still using a GPS/satnav. Just one in an iPhone.

I have an eTrex Legend. Runs on AA batteries (a pair of rehargeable ones last a good couple of days so charging isn't an issue. It's also much more water resistant than an iPhone - I can leave my GPS on an the handlebars in a thunderstorm, which I definitely wouldn't do with an iPhone. 

I definitely wouldn't pay £300 for a Garmin 805 - but that doesn't mean that all 'satnavs are crap'.

I can see the day coming when smartphone-type devices will make dedicated GPSes obsolete - or at least products for a niche market. But I don't think we're not quite there yet. Software like cyclemeter will track your route, but a decent dedicated GPS with decent mappingwill do a lot more.

Carefully planning a route only to find that the GPS recalculates it and sends you down an A road when you've specifically set routepoints to go another way is a unfortunately a common 'gotcha' that probably happens to everyone. It's worth spending some time using the GPS before you set out on a long tour.


----------

