# Garmin Etrex 30



## clid61 (2 Feb 2016)

Considering getting one for uploading planned routes onto it , and using as a navigational aide . Opinions and advice welcome from any users. Cheers


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## Deleted member 23692 (2 Feb 2016)

They are superb and often overlooked for the edge series

Unless you need a barometric altimeter and Ant+, then save a bit of cash and get the eTrex 20.

Both will run Open Street Map quite happily


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## clid61 (2 Feb 2016)

Was looking at the 20, glad you mentioned it , cant see me needing a barometric altimeter and Ant + this side of doomsday


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## Deleted member 23692 (2 Feb 2016)

I've been happily using the 20 since it came out and it's been faultless, and equally at home for hillwalking, cycling or recording accurate survey lines for work.

Maps come from either https://www.openmapchest.org/ or https://talkytoaster.co.uk/


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## Ian H (2 Feb 2016)

Having standard AA batteries is a bonus for long-distance riding.(or walking). Francis's gps website is brilliant for setting it up.


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## clid61 (2 Feb 2016)

User13710 said:


> I bought one last year (Edit: it's an etrex 20), but despite several attempts both by me and by others who are usually good at this sort of thing I can't even begin to understand how to use the thing. I am seriously thinking of getting rid of it. I have heard from others that they can take forever to get the hang of.


How much ?


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## Ian H (2 Feb 2016)

User13710 said:


> I bought one last year (Edit: it's an etrex 20), but despite several attempts both by me and by others who are usually good at this sort of thing I can't even begin to understand how to use the thing. I am seriously thinking of getting rid of it. I have heard from others that they can take forever to get the hang of.



As mentioned above.


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## outlash (2 Feb 2016)

Another Etrex 20 user here and can't fault it. The only thing I would mention is get the official Garmin handlebar mounts for it, I bought a couple of cheap ones off Ebay so I could use it across all my bikes and it fell off several times. Still works fine though, gives you an indication of how tough it is. FWIW, I use velomaps: https://www.velomap.org/


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## Deleted member 23692 (2 Feb 2016)

I echo the above comment about cheap ebay copies - they won't hold the unit securely.

Never had a prob with the genuine ones. Even when hacked to make an out-front mount...


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## Blue Hills (2 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> They are superb and often overlooked for the edge series
> 
> Unless you need a barometric altimeter and Ant+, then save a bit of cash and get the eTrex 20.
> 
> Both will run Open Street Map quite happily


+1part of the reason the 20 is often overlooked for cycling is that it is quite clear that many cycling shops don't stock it. It's too much like good value. Two points OP - if you get one, use a lanyard. The mount is generally very good but i discovered after a few years trouble free use that it isn't perfect. My 20 bounced off last week and has gone away to be repaired/revived. Point 2 - now superceded by the 20x.


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## Blue Hills (2 Feb 2016)

User13710 said:


> I bought one last year (Edit: it's an etrex 20), but despite several attempts both by me and by others who are usually good at this sort of thing I can't even begin to understand how to use the thing. I am seriously thinking of getting rid of it. I have heard from others that they can take forever to get the hang of.


see above re francis. I know what you mean. The instructions are pretty much non existent. But it is very good. Francis is your guide.


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## GrumpyGregry (2 Feb 2016)

User13710 said:


> I bought one last year (Edit: it's an etrex 20), but despite several attempts both by me and by others who are usually good at this sort of thing I can't even begin to understand how to use the thing. I am seriously thinking of getting rid of it. I have heard from others that they can take forever to get the hang of.


See now there I am with you all the way, sister. I have mastered abour 5% my Etrex 20's functionality. But that 5%? Just wow!. I thought it had gone wrong on LonJOG but it turned out I had unpopped the microSD card when changing batteries. And that day in Rutland we found a bit of road where, according to opencyclemaps at the time... well... here be dragons. I will never forget Simon saying to me on the day we were going to be late for lunch "Off you go Greg. You have two splendid characteristics which we need. Assertiveness and a GPS"


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## mmmmartin (2 Feb 2016)

it took me a couple of years to finally master it but my etrex vista hcx has been brilliant in many european countries and a great help on loads of audax events. so much so that i bought a spare on ebay so when the original broke, which it eventually did, i had a spare. but i've moved on to the Garmin gpsmap 64 which has a memory several times the size of the vista hcx (10,000 waypoints not 500 - good for long audaxes following a track).

i think to really get to understand what they'll do you need to have someone explain it, then that person needs to spend a day with you on the bike so you get to use it yourself. for instance - how to get across an unknown town using a gps is a useful skill (look at its map, and tell it to take you to a small village just on the other side) - but then you need to set the "routing" to "delivery" - not "bicycle" cos it takes the pretty route, not "car" cos it likes main roads, not "walking" cos it follows footpaths and not "emergency" cos it does strange things. those on the Lowlands Tour in September will recall when we went round the back of someone's house along a small footpath cos Gordon had his gps routing set to "mountaineering" after his walk through the Alps. But both for following a pre-set "route" and a pre-ridden "track" they are pretty good. I like a paper map as well, though, for the overview.

for cycle touring it's indispensable i think. i use Garmin maps (expensive at £60) cos the routing is more efficient, Open Street Map (free for the first nine panels and £10 for life after that) is good but routing not so good, and the Open Fiets Map (free) are good but i think they definitely need a paper map (€25 for all of Benelux on waterproof paper) in sight at all times.


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## vernon (3 Feb 2016)

clid61 said:


> Was looking at the 20, glad you mentioned it , cant see me needing a barometric altimeter and Ant + this side of doomsday



I've had the Etrex 20 for several years and I've used OpenStreetMaps to navigate across France, Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia plus Washington State, Vancouver Island, Idaho and bits of Montana. It's operated faultlessly and is often overlooked as it's rarely flagged as a cyclist's GPS. It's my most useful cycling accessory.


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## GrumpyGregry (3 Feb 2016)

mmmmartin said:


> it took me a couple of years to finally master it but my etrex vista hcx has been brilliant in many european countries and a great help on loads of audax events. so much so that i bought a spare on ebay so when the original broke, which it eventually did, i had a spare. but i've moved on to the Garmin gpsmap 64 which has a memory several times the size of the vista hcx (10,000 waypoints not 500 - good for long audaxes following a track).
> 
> i think to really get to understand what they'll do you need to have someone explain it, then that person needs to spend a day with you on the bike so you get to use it yourself. for instance - how to get across an unknown town using a gps is a useful skill (look at its map, and tell it to take you to a small village just on the other side) - but then you need to set the "routing" to "delivery" - not "bicycle" cos it takes the pretty route, not "car" cos it likes main roads, not "walking" cos it follows footpaths and not "emergency" cos it does strange things. those on the Lowlands Tour in September will recall when we went round the back of someone's house along a small footpath cos Gordon had his gps routing set to "mountaineering" after his walk through the Alps. But both for following a pre-set "route" and a pre-ridden "track" they are pretty good. I like a paper map as well, though, for the overview.
> 
> for cycle touring it's indispensable i think. i use Garmin maps (expensive at £60) cos the routing is more efficient, Open Street Map (free for the first nine panels and £10 for life after that) is good but routing not so good, and the Open Fiets Map (free) are good but i think they definitely need a paper map (€25 for all of Benelux on waterproof paper) in sight at all times.


I once used my HCx to navigate a Luton van to Stoke Newington. I forgot it was set to bicycle. Had to make a few U-turns away from London traffic-free cycle routes before I turned it off!


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## clid61 (3 Feb 2016)

Thanks chaps just bought 2nd hand off CEX website £70 happy days !


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## Vantage (3 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> I echo the above comment about cheap ebay copies - they won't hold the unit securely.
> 
> Never had a prob with the genuine ones. Even when hacked to make an out-front mount...



That's bloomin gorgeous! How?


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## Deleted member 23692 (3 Feb 2016)

Vantage said:


> That's bloomin gorgeous! How?


Cheers 

It's just a K-Edge Garmin edge mount with an Gamrin eTrex mount modified to fit... that's just a case of reducing the depth and corners to fit in the circular recess of the K-edge. The bolt is a stantard ¼" Tripod thread - on a couple of bikes I've got a Garmin Virb tripod mount on the underside to clamp everything together, but on the road bike there's just a nut. The MK2 version has a couple of extra grub screws to stop the mount rotating on the single bolt.

As there were countless prototypes before I arrived at the final version, I'm not sure on the exact process/order of things without disassembling it. If anyone is interested I'll take one apart and attempt a knock together a 'how to'.


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## Bobby Mhor (3 Feb 2016)

I use a RAM mount for mine..
I do a bit of geocaching on some of my runs and having the Etrex on the handlebars and the warning beep is more than handy. 
Talkytoaster Look and Feel maps used here..


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## clid61 (6 Feb 2016)

Its arrived! Looks brand new, downloaded manual and going to have a play later, any tips hint more than welcome ta


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## Deleted member 23692 (6 Feb 2016)

First thing I recommend doing is going through main menu screen and dumping all the obvious ones that you'll never use - items like man overboard, hunt and fish, photo viewer etc, etc. It just makes it so much easier to use

Mines currently down to 10 items for the original 27.


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## Vantage (6 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> dumping all the obvious ones that you'll never use - items like man overboard, hunt and fish, photo viewer etc, etc. It just makes it so much easier to use
> 
> Mines currently down to 10 items for the original 27.



Unless you're riding to the lake to go fishing where you see a fellow fisherman fall off his boat into the water and need a photo as evidence


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## iandg (10 Feb 2016)

Another happy etrex 20 user. +1 to getting the genuine mount, never had it come loose even off road.


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## iandg (10 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> First thing I recommend doing is going through main menu screen and dumping all the obvious ones that you'll never use - items like man overboard, hunt and fish, photo viewer etc, etc. It just makes it so much easier to use
> 
> Mines currently down to 10 items for the original 27.



Thanks. Hadn't considered that - makes a lot of sense


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## iandg (10 Feb 2016)

Ian H said:


> Having standard AA batteries is a bonus for long-distance riding.(or walking). Francis's gps website is brilliant for setting it up.



Website as quoted by Ian really is a good idiot's guide to setting up a GPS

http://www.aukadia.net/gps/


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## clid61 (10 Feb 2016)

Help, been on Francis site. Cant find anything help me out , set settings as per his settings advice. My map looks nowt like his , lots of detail missing


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## clid61 (10 Feb 2016)

I have 3 maps , all enabled .Worldwide DEM basemap. NR. OSM streetmap andd digital globe DEMO.JNX edit its the etrex 20


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## LetMeEatCake (10 Feb 2016)

As you probably know, you need to install maps to the device - either free or paid for. Of your 3 maps, it sounds like the OSM one is the only one that will have any useful detail (the basemap's just a vague overview of the world - very little detail at all; the digital globe is a demo of Garmin's "BirdsEye" stuff - I think it's just the Eiffel Tower). Did you add the OSM one, or was it there already? It's possible that it's not a map of the area you're in so you're just seeing the basemap.

It's worth installing Garmin's BaseCamp software (free) and connecting your Garmin to your PC - should let you see more easily what's installed and what it's for. If you do need a new map, the aukadia site has notes on getting OSM files onto your eTrex: http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lwg_32.htm


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## clid61 (10 Feb 2016)

LetMeEatCake said:


> As you probably know, you need to install maps to the device - either free or paid for. Of your 3 maps, it sounds like the OSM one is the only one that will have any useful detail (the basemap's just a vague overview of the world - very little detail at all; the digital globe is a demo of Garmin's "BirdsEye" stuff - I think it's just the Eiffel Tower). Did you add the OSM one, or was it there already? It's possible that it's not a map of the area you're in so you're just seeing the basemap.
> 
> It's worth installing Garmin's BaseCamp software (free) and connecting your Garmin to your PC - should let you see more easily what's installed and what it's for. If you do need a new map, the aukadia site has notes on getting OSM files onto your eTrex: http://www.aukadia.net/gps/lwg_32.htm




Hi yeah the osm was there already , I disabled the other 2 and now have no map at all . Ill get and SD card at the weekend and down load A UK map to it . Cheers for your help much appreciated, methinks Im gonna need more before the weekend is out !


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## Deleted member 23692 (10 Feb 2016)

I've just bought an eTrex 35 Touch for a bargain price of £150 because the owner couldn't fathom it out. 

It comes preloaded with a hell of a lot of junk which I'm trying to dump/disable... god knows how many geocaches and different maps which I can't see me ever using, along with several 'profile' screens which I really can't see the point of. There is the option to use 'classic view'.. but that defeats the point of getting a newer one.

I'll have to see how I get on, but in the near future there might be either an eTrex 20 or 35 for sale


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## andym (10 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> It comes preloaded with a hell of a lot of junk which I'm trying to dump/disable... god knows how many geocaches and different maps which I can't see me ever using, along with several 'profile' screens which I really can't see the point of. There is the option to use 'classic view'.. but that defeats the point of getting a newer one.



There's an option to change the order of the items in the main menu. Put the stuff you want (eg Track Manager and Waypoint Manager) at the top and then just leave the rest alone. It might come in handy one day - or you might never use it. Either way it's not going to cause you any problems. Ditto you can select which items you want show in the Page Sequence - I have Map, Main Menu and Satellite in mine. These mean you can flick easily to the bits you want.

I'd concentrate on working out how to use the features you want to use - eg it's worth spending sometime going through the setup options - eg units, screen brightness, backlight timeout, track recording intervals and a few more. The other set of important options are under map setup: zoom levels controls whether waypoints are visible or not, data fields controls things like the display of speed and time. It's also worth spending some time with the Find menu to find POIs.

And as always, and I know this is boring advice, but it really is worth spending time reading the manual. Yes I know where's the fun in that? But it's cheaper than selling the device at a loss because you haven't taken the time to read the instructions.


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## Deleted member 23692 (10 Feb 2016)

Cheers @andym. I've been using GPS/GIS for a good few years professionally so don't have any problems working/setting it up. I just don't like all the junk that it comes preloaded with. It would be nice if more stuff was optional, but I spose that's part and parcel of having a multi-discipline device that trys to be all things to all men.


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## andym (11 Feb 2016)

Ffoeg said:


> Cheers @andym. I've been using GPS/GIS for a good few years professionally so don't have any problems working/setting it up. I just don't like all the junk that it comes preloaded with. It would be nice if more stuff was optional, but I spose that's part and parcel of having a multi-discipline device that trys to be all things to all men.



Yeah. I guess it's a bit like all the stuff that comes with computers: if you're really techie you probably could get rid of it, but otherwise you just have to file it under 'life is too short'.


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## Deleted member 23692 (11 Feb 2016)

andym said:


> ... if you're really techie you probably could get rid of it


That's be me 

Anyhoo, I'm slowly getting to grips with the 35 touch, and dumping the bloat at the same time. Overall I quite like it


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## willem (22 Feb 2016)

I am a happy user of an Etrex 30. It is mall and light, relatively cheap, and most of all, it is frugal with (AA) batteries. With good quality Ansmann rechargeable batteries I can ride for up to five days without changing the batteries. Therefore, for shortish trips all you need to take are a few sets of spare rechargeables. If you go for a month you may want to take a small charger. Even so, there is still no need for the hassle and expense of an EWerk or similar.


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## doog (22 Feb 2016)

willem said:


> I am a happy user of an Etrex 30. It is mall and light, relatively cheap, and most of all, it is frugal with (AA) batteries. With good quality Ansmann rechargeable batteries I can ride for up to five days without changing the batteries. Therefore, for shortish trips all you need to take are a few sets of spare rechargeables. If you go for a month you may want to take a small charger. Even so, there is still no need for the hassle and expense of an EWerk or similar.




Im still on the etrex Hcx Legend. until it breaks I guess but the things bombproof. I use lithiums and like you get 5 full days on a pair...3 pairs got me from Spain to the UK and 5 pairs (for a tenner) got me 1500 miles around Europe.

Its still an art to work out and download a tour after all these years but to me that's all part of the planning process and the enjoyment.. its well worth the effort mind.


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## clid61 (24 Feb 2016)

Update : Downloaded and put onto SD card Uk map and Morocco map , very impressed ! Now finding out how to plot routes I can follow ,on Basecamp and upload to device , again any tips welcome


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## andym (24 Feb 2016)

clid61 said:


> Now finding out how to plot routes I can follow ,on Basecamp and upload to device , again any tips welcome



Bear in mind that if you do a route in Basecamp (or wherever), the unit recalculates it so the route you get may not be the route you thought you had planned. I think (but it may have changed) that the units uses different algorithms from Basecamp. To make things more complicated the route may be changed if you are using a different map on your unit from the one on your PC. The most reliable option is to convert the route to a track (I usually plot a route using the route tool and then convert it to a track).

Always zoom in enough so you can see exactly what it is telling you to do. Always double check the route that the software has calculated.

I'm sure you're thinking 'yeah yeah yeah, whatever' but really this could save you a lot of hassle.


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## Recycle (6 Mar 2016)

clid61 said:


> Update : Downloaded and put onto SD card Uk map and Morocco map , very impressed ! Now finding out how to plot routes I can follow ,on Basecamp and upload to device , again any tips welcome


My information may be out of date (I have a Garmin Oregon 450t). Newer devices may support routing better than the older devices, but uploading planned routes from Basecamp invariably exceeded the number of route points allowed by the device and were unuseable. The only workaround I have found is to upload as a track, not a route. Garmin routing in my experience is crap.


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## Blue Hills (6 Mar 2016)

Recycle said:


> Garmin routing in my experience is crap.


a very sweeping statement. You just have to ensure, as others have said, that you are not asking it to route over too great a distance. Maybe absolute max 20 miles. In practice this is not a great problem. Unless you have just crash-landed from mars you probably know of other stuff en route to your final destination and can ask it to take you there. You may also of course have already entered these intermediate points. I have the etrex 20 and though the processor could be faster i generally find it excellent.


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## Recycle (6 Mar 2016)

Blue Hills said:


> a very sweeping statement. You just have to ensure, as others have said, that you are not asking it to route over too great a distance. Maybe absolute max 20 miles. In practice this is not a great problem.


Not true with a Garmin Oregon 450t. I haven't managed to do plan any urban journey of 10 miles or more without the route crashing, which rather limits the scope of the device.
If I remember correctly there is a limit of 50 route points (may be different on the Etrex). Routes I plan using Basecamp exceed this limit so frequently that I have given up. Using the native route planner on the device is torturously slow and has put me on some very unpleasant roads.


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## Blue Hills (6 Mar 2016)

I don't know that model but just looked it up - maybe a way cheaper Etrex20 would be better. You can use substantially more than 50 points in effect on the Etrex20 though I can never remember the limit - always have to look it up. I generally use point-to-point" routing between points which relieves the unit of most on-route calculations. It probably thanks me for it as I have a habit of wandering off the route to look at stuff and it would then be recalculating all the time. When I want to get back on route I zoom out and look for the magenta line on my openfietsmap or select one of the numbered route points I know is ahead and then get the Garmin to route me to it.Once I am at that point or nearing it I slot back into the point to point route. I use this system a lot and am now very comfortable with it. I do use the unit's inbuilt routing a lot to get me across London and it works pretty well.

PS - I have an idea that on point to point routing you can maybe have 250 points - that is ample - you can define a damn long route in country areas with 250 points. Just checked one of my routes on Basecamp - Manchester City centre to Whalley, Lancashire - about 170 points - I worked the route out on cyclestreets/basecamp and on the day I rode it, although most of the route was unfamiliar and some of it on obscure tracks, the Garmin never put a foot wrong - I just kept pedalling.


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## Trickedem (6 Mar 2016)

+1 on the genuine mount. I have an eTrex 30 and it is a great bit of kit. I couldn't get the routing/turn by turn instructions to work, so I just show a line on the map. I have an 800 which I use for turn by turn instructions.


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## Basis (11 Oct 2017)

Ffoeg said:


> I echo the above comment about cheap ebay copies - they won't hold the unit securely.
> 
> Never had a prob with the genuine ones. Even when hacked to make an out-front mount...
> 
> View attachment 308991


Did anybody rebuild this mount and has a kind of a "manual"?


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## RobCyclist (13 Oct 2017)

clid61 said:


> Hi yeah the osm was there already , I disabled the other 2 and now have no map at all . Ill get and SD card at the weekend and down load A UK map to it . Cheers for your help much appreciated, methinks Im gonna need more before the weekend is out !



Mate, if your still checking out maps. I recommend giving this website a try for your etrex. http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/

I have been using the maps from this site, for a long time for my etrex 30. I use it for touring and very very impressed. Choose the Routable Bicycle option. They have all the national, european and local cycle routes on them. 

You can search for supermarkets, fast food places, campsites, hostels, and there's an option for bike shops under the autoservice... it's open source data so lots of people have contributed to it. Really good site for maps and it's free.

Rob


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