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#1
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map sites for bike routes
hey all
is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? the map sites I've seen only provide the start & end points, not the ones in between routes. |
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#2
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In article ,
Dilbert Firestorm wrote: is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? Are you asking about anywhere in the world? |
#3
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just general riding in the neighborhood. I'm trying to get back into
riding after several years. I didn't want to waste gas & time driving around with the trip odometer to figure out how many miles this route would take me. I mean the map websites can do with points a & b for each segment of the route,and you have add up the miles for each segment of the route. its cumbersome. If that is what I have to do, then so be it. |
#4
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is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell
me how many miles a bike route would take up? What type of cycling, what country and what approximate distances are you talking about? When I ride a bicycle tour, I'll ride 60-100 miles a day for a week or more. When looking at routes for that type of ride, I do the following: 1) Use a PC mapping program. I'll tweak my preferences to say "avoid interstates" and adjust the miles/hour on the roads to favor medium sized US highways. This gives me an approximate route I can use to get a size for the trip and something I can then adjust. 2) If there are tricky spots such as bridges crossing the Mississippi, I'll look things up on the web and if necessary ask in a newsgroup. Some states have cycling maps and information online. 3) I'll use state highway maps to pick rough routes. Intuitive things like "roads following rivers and railroads are sometimes flatter than ones that don't" or "US highways that go parallel to Interstates can be good choices" help me adjust routes. These can fail (e.g. when the interstate is under construction and all the truck traffic is detoured onto the parallel road...) but are a good starting point. 4) I'll ask people along the way. Many of them are motorists only, so I tend to: (a) Ask the same question to multiple people. If I say, "how far to the next landmark" and get answers of 2, 4 and 11 miles (it happens :-)), then I'll assume it is somewhere in the middle. (b) Ask relative questions. For example, "Is road X hillier than road Y?" in cases I've just cycled X...will help me more than "Is road Y hilly?" since I have no idea what they might consider hilly. 5) Make sure my route has enough alternatives so I can adjust depending on weather, mechanical problems and road conditions. For example, for a one-week motel trip, I will not have reservations anywhere (unless in some peak season or there is only one motel in town)...but instead look up in advance towns with motels and keep a list of towns along the way. Web sites such as http://www.motelguide.com list Mom-n-Pop motels and are otherwise indicators of towns with motels. Similarly, I tend to start bicycling early in the day and plan on finishing approximately mid-afternoon. This is early enough motels haven't filled up and if I need to ride an extra 45 miles I still have enough daylight to do so...Same thing with camping, though in western USA frequently have more alternatives there... --mev, Mike Vermeulen |
#5
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"Dilbert Firestorm" wrote in
message ... just general riding in the neighborhood. I'm trying to get back into riding after several years. I didn't want to waste gas & time driving around with the trip odometer to figure out how many miles this route would take me. I mean the map websites can do with points a & b for each segment of the route,and you have add up the miles for each segment of the route. its cumbersome. If that is what I have to do, then so be it. Check with your local bike shop and/or local bike clubs. They have already scoped out the best local routes...no need to do all that work on your own. GG |
#6
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On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 18:05:19 -0500 in rec.bicycles.rides, Dilbert
Firestorm wrote: is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? the map sites I've seen only provide the start & end points, not the ones in between routes. for europe, michelin has a great web site. i used it in combo with an old michelin road atlas to plan my TDF trip, and then bought a michelin road atlas when i arrived in paris. a lot of cyclists use the michelin road maps. for the US, i suggest getting a PC mapping program that includes USGS maps so you have contour info. |
#7
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Dilbert Firestorm wrote:
is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? I haven't found a web site that does cycling routes very well. When I'm scoping out a new ride, I use TopoUSA, which includes elevation: http://www.delorme.com/topousa/default.asp The road database is pretty good. It's very accurate on distance, but it tends to overestimate total vertical. -- terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/ |
#8
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just general riding in the neighborhood. I'm trying to get back into
riding after several years. Depending on where that neighboorhood is, you can try... (1) PC mapping programs. They are reasonable at getting distances of a cycle route. (2) Local bike shops/clubs may have posted rides and routes. (3) In some parts of the country, you'll find books of the sort "25 rides in Massachusetts" or "50 rides in the San Francisco Bay Area". --mev, Mike Vermeulen |
#9
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Terry Morse wrote:
Dilbert Firestorm wrote: is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? I haven't found a web site that does cycling routes very well. When I'm scoping out a new ride, I use TopoUSA, which includes elevation: http://www.delorme.com/topousa/default.asp The road database is pretty good. It's very accurate on distance, but it tends to overestimate total vertical. -- terry morse Palo Alto, CA http://bike.terrymorse.com/ would street atlas do the trick? does topousa include street atlas or this like a seperate thing? |
#10
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if your lucky enough to live in California, here is an excellent site
http://www.bikemetro.com/home/home.asp "Dilbert Firestorm" wrote in message ... hey all is there a map site that lets you create your own routes that would tell me how many miles a bike route would take up? the map sites I've seen only provide the start & end points, not the ones in between routes. |
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