# Electronic mapping



## Codboy (12 Feb 2011)

A high proportion of my rides tend to be popping over some moorland in the Dark Peak using trails and bridleways that are not always recorded on the printed OS map (ancient rights of way etc.). So, I've been spending time on my pc using Google Maps, GeoNames etc. because of the zoom level and I want to try and find a decent method of recording my cycling routes.

I then found gmap.pedometer which allows you to plot your ride and gives you the 'flat' distance, however it doesn't record the url for future reference. (The save function is broken and nobody is updating the site)

So, does anybody else use anything better which will allow me to save the url and my rides.

Cheers
Codboy


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## S_t_e_v_e (13 Feb 2011)

I use bikehike.co.uk to plot my routes - using a combination of satellite maps and OS. I then download them as 'kml' and store the routes in google earth.

There are a lot of online map sites that allow you to save the maps online and share them with others, try googling...


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## Codboy (13 Feb 2011)

Thanks Steve,

You have just vindicated the whole purpose of these forums. Bikehike.co.uk is just what I was looking for.



Cheers

Codboy


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## GrumpyGregry (13 Feb 2011)

+1 for bikehike, esp with the OSMcycle map option. I save my routes on my dropbox account so I can access them anywhere.

and if you've got GPS tracks of the non OS marked mapped rights of way and you are certain of their legality you could add them to the opencyclemaps maybe?


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## ColinJ (13 Feb 2011)

One point about using online mapping sites for _road_ routes ...

They seem to use the same databases that a lot of SatNavs are programmed from. The problem is that some ancient rights of way look might look like roads on an old map, they may even be called 'roads' but the reality on the ground here can be very different. You can understand why an Indian graduate sat in an office in Mumbai digitising the data is going to make a mistake ... 

Here's just one local example which catches SatNav-using drivers out, and will catch you out if you use the wrong map to plan your road rides! Double-check with an OS map or Google Streetview.

Hudson Mill Road, Jack Bridge

Here's a close-up of some of the signs at the end of the 'road' (and still motorists try to drive down there!). Note that local villagers have taken to adding signs of their own.







The top of the bridleway actually does give access to a couple of farms, but lower down could _not_ be mistaken for a road, but people still try and drive down there! Here's a photograph taken further down in wintertime (and it gets narrower, steeper and rockier than that!) ...






Here's another 'road' which people insist on trying to drive HGVs and White Vans down, despite a plethora of signs telling them not to ...


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## ufkacbln (13 Feb 2011)

The problem is compounded by the use of a simpler database model.

The OS data and others have a wide range of road classifications.When NavTeq and co transferred this data they "lumped these together" hence a road that is sown as white on an OS map will be the same as a yellow road when it comes to SatNav.


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## ColinJ (13 Feb 2011)

Cunobelin said:


> The problem is compounded by the use of a simpler database model.
> 
> The OS data and others have a wide range of road classifications.When NavTeq and co transferred this data they "lumped these together" hence a road that is sown as white on an OS map will be the same as a yellow road when it comes to SatNav.


Ah, I see!


Fancy a quick drive down London Road anybody?


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## Codboy (13 Feb 2011)

Some very interesting and amusing information about SatNavs and road classifications....... thanks

I don't use SatNav and rely on the paper OS maps and the visual aid of online maps to help me remember / plan the routes.

This evening, I've been playing with Mapmyride which after a couple of hours, I have concluded that it was a complete waste of my time. After mapping todays run, the site then proudly announced that someone else had produced a route near me.............. which turned out to be in the US and not down-town Peak District!

I would like to share the routes with my fellow cyclists and bikehike showed promise, but unfortunately you can't save the url.

Any other suggestions out there?

Cheers
Codboy


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## Cardiac (14 Feb 2011)

Cunobelin said:


> The problem is compounded by the use of a simpler database model.


The problem is compounded by drivers that can't don't think for themselves.


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## ColinJ (14 Feb 2011)

Codboy said:


> Some very interesting and amusing information about SatNavs and road classifications....... thanks
> 
> I don't use SatNav and rely on the paper OS maps and the visual aid of online maps to help me remember / plan the routes.
> 
> ...


Why don't you buy Memory Map OS Explorer Peak District V5 1:25,000 and plot your routes offline? OS at 1:25,000 is probably the best mapping that you are going to get access to on a computer.

You can plot a route anywhere you want. Memory Map doesn't have any concept of roads or bridleways - it's up to you to plot routes somewhere sensible. If you choose to plot a route across a lake, it would let you! 

Memory Map has an option to save in GPX format which is the standard format to swap route files in. Either upload those route files to one of the many mapping websites, host them yourself e.g. on a free blog, or just email them to your mates.


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## benb (14 Feb 2011)

Endomondo is ace


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## MockCyclist (14 Feb 2011)

Bikehike uses OS mapping and it used to be possible to save the url until the OS made some legal threats.

Bikeroutetoaster is good, the lack of OS mapping is more than made up for by the inclusion of openstreetmap, cyclemap and satellite views. You can save and share routes.


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## pshore (15 Feb 2011)

Codboy, it sounds like you are the perfect person to do some OpenStreetMap-ing. (you don't need a GPS for it)


I have similar issues in my local area with OS maps being out of date and well, not good enough. I now record any paths I discover in OpenStreetMap and then they become visible in online maps like BikeRouteToaster, BikeHike and OpenRouteService. You can then use your data and other peoples when plotting routes in those apps. My immediate area's offroad mapping is way better than OS maps.

You don't need a GPS to enter your data into OSM because you can trace over satellite images. What's more important is recording the rights of way classification (eg bridleway) and if it is a track, gravel etc.

If you get into it, you can use an online app called Where's the Path to compare OSM/OS/satellite maps side by side so you can see where the missing paths are.


If you have a sense of adventure, it can become a real way of life and gives you a great excuse to mountainbike places you don't normally go to.


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## Muddy Ground (15 Feb 2011)

Maplins do a little GPS device called an i-gotU for about £30. It just records where you've been, which you download to their @trip site. Or you can cut out the data and post it anywhere else. It is quite a small device, so no issue to take along and if it gets broken off-road, you've not bust your £350 smart 'phone. I tend to strap mine to the handlebar stem as then it gets a good signal, but allegedly you can just pop it into your backpack.

Here is one of my postings onto the site: http://www.a-trip.com/tracks/view/69066

I tend to use OS maps plus look at local blogs for route planning now, or go on the web for things such as the @trip site if I'm abroad. Google Earth sometimes helps, but it can be years out of date. I'm not a great fan of sat nav on my bike - tend to find I just end up looking at the screen instead of riding. Also do not discount the MTB guide books or MTB magazines you can get in Waterstones, WHSmiths etc. - quite often the people that write them really know their stuff and can find good local routes that, well, locals have dismissed. 

www.muddyground.blogspot.com


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## Kirstie (15 Feb 2011)

I use Tracklogs (OS mapping) with a Garmin Edge 305 for all types of cycling. I'm not sure what you mean about rights of way and bridleways which aren't marked on the OS map. Has anyone else come across this phenomenon as I thought all rights of way were marked on OS maps....?


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## PpPete (15 Feb 2011)

+1 to OSM.... you can edit the worldwide map, which helps others in the future.
If others in your local area have already recorded most of the local bike paths you can help by checking them and, by uploading you gpx track to the site, enhance the "reliability" of the data. 

If everybody does it, then when you go to a new area, you can use the data to plan some great routes.


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## PpPete (15 Feb 2011)

pshore said:


> If you get into it, you can use an online app called Where's the Path to compare OSM/OS/satellite maps side by side so you can see where the missing paths are.



One fun thing about that site.... you can toggle back to the 1940s OS mapping to compare....utterly fascinating, thank you pshore.


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## Codboy (15 Feb 2011)

Some pretty sound advice. I am going to spend a couple of days playing with a few of those online options as I do intend to share routes when I find the right method. Thank-you to all contributors.

I do own a SatNav and enjoy technology, but the preparation is part of the enjoyment of getting off trail and hitting those marked and unmarked rights of way - The UK is littered with ancient trails and paths (salt tracks, miner’s paths, ancient trails etc.) which have not been adopted by authorities and so don't always appear on modern maps.

I do have access to quite a decent library of local maps and like all riders should, I try to respect the law.

Cheers
Codboy


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## Codboy (18 Feb 2011)

Stumbled across this review from Makeuseof.com today which just happens to have a review of 8 website that have cycling maps.

Just thought that I would share this with the thread.

Cheers
Codboy


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## Codboy (20 Feb 2011)

Okay, this is my first attempt to create a decent route using GMaps Pedometer Click here.

Its not bad. I like the elevation feature, but would likle to add text or images to annotate the route.

Any thoughts?

Cheers
Codboy


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