BobL

I'm interested in something for ride planning. Maybe open a local map, click along roads, and get distances? Not sure I want to have my phone with me and watching a map or listening to "turn right in 200 yards" like a navigation app.

I looked at the electronics, lights and gadgets forums and it seemed specific to that. Since I'm a 50+ guy, I think of this as my home forum.

indyfabz

ridewithgps.com lets you plot routes. I use them to plot tour routes. I then make cue sheets, which I call my PGS--Paper Guidance System. No interest in having to worry about constantly charging my phone.

NealH

Check out the forum on Adventure Cyclist. Best place for that type info.

BobL

That's a very attractive website. How does it work? Is it a paid subscription? Ads? (They didn't say anything about my ad blocker.)

My intended use is rather plain compared to the rides they show. I live in a suburban area and want to map out some regular rides - maybe places I don't know of - to add some variety while avoiding the busiest roads in the city. This isn't planning an extended tour for long distances. Just out and back rides that might go 20 or 30 miles.

Thanks.

AmFaeEmbra

I started off with the free version but am now on the lowest priced subscription as it gives you some extra whizzes and bangs.

You can make your routes private, available only to friends, or to everyone.

To find other folks' already plotted routes near you, you can search within a selected radius from your start point - very handy.

There are various map formats for you, ordinary street map, satellite, Ordinance Survey ( in GB), OS cycling, and there's an option to go "off-road" i.e. not follow a designated road if there's a glitch in the mapping software.

Wildwood 

It's all flat around you. You can't go east.

Since you don't want a phone on or more advanced info from the ride (HR, power output, etc), I would stick to a map and your watch. Remembering the route can be an exercise in memory retention and brain stimulation. But there are Apps for that, too.

BobL

Sure I can.

You sound like my wife. Sure I could use a paper map, but that wasn't the question.

Thanks for playing.

Wildwood 

It’s all about choices.........

Wildwood 

I hate to be a thread killer.

Bump.

The advantage of no electronic devices and/or phone holders and crap is a cleaner set of handlebars and therefore more useable positions.

that'll get somebody to respond.
let me look for a pic.



On a fendered bike



On your mountain rider with triple crankset



On your distance roller with padded bar tape



Just cause clean lines are easier on the eye.

canklecat

Check out chasingwatts.com. A local club leader just switched to it from Ride With GPS and Map My Ride. Apparently it has what most cyclists want. Only problem is it's iPhone only for now, although the website says an Android version is coming.

I don't often use navigation aids on-the-fly. When I do it's Google maps. I often need to reroute due to traffic, construction or flooding. Google maps handles rerouting easily, even when I bumble around lost.

Maps.me and other apps based on the freebie OsmMaps can't gracefully handle those impromptu route changes. And the other apps offer voice navigation, etc. only in the paid versions. I don't use 'em enough to bother with a paid version. But most folks I know who've used Ride With GPS and Map My Ride like 'em.

BobL

I already have a wired bike computer and a headlight/daytime running light on my handlebar. It's not so much that I'm trying to keep from having clutter, it's more like I'm trying to keep it from growing. Another disadvantage to having the phone on the bike is the display isn't really good in daylight. It's a rather old phone model (iPhone 6s) but I think what really makes it hard to read is my polarized sunglasses.

I have stopped many times to check the map to see where I am but I don't think I could do that while riding.

That said, I had originally intended this for route planning - figuring out good places to ride regardless of the winds. As you implied the other day, Wildwood, the layout of of the city is largely north south so most of the busier roads are north/south. That leaves me to ride east/west if I want to avoid traffic as much as possible and those routes aren't as long.

BlazingPedals

MapMyRide lets you export a .gpx file. Does that help?

BKE

"Space Coast", not hard to figure where you are. I thought you might get more flack, (Wildwood tried 0) but then again "50 is the new 30" and you are just asking to be directed to the best place to handle your needs.

My 2 cents is that you must not get out much (see highlighted). Wife and I are looking for houses in that (HUGE) area to relocate, and GOOGLE regularly so I think it should suffice. If not, ask the local Soccer Moms. No doubt, they do "Out and back trips in the 100's"

BobL

Thanks for the input. I've come to the conclusion that nobody particularly understands what I'm asking and why, which is fine. Totally my responsibility. As someone says, it's impossible to write in such a way that nobody could possibly not understand. That said, that place RideWithGPS looks useful.

Space Coast - I live about 30 miles south of the Kennedy Space Center. Between the Atlantic and the swamp, is about 10 miles on a straight east to west line here but I could ride north/south forever. I'm about three miles from the Atlantic, on the mainland, and my typical ride takes me out as far west as I can go around this city.

The area, though, is like a fractal maze of neighborhood roads. A complication is that most of the neighborhoods don't connect to each other and that funnels traffic back onto the other roads. There are thousands of possible routes if I poke around. I'd like to have a handful of routes that aren't heavy vehicle traffic and allow me to get out for an hour to 90 minutes. More routes to minimize boredom. I could sit with a street map, scale, and dividers, and pick out routes, doing it all manually. OTOH, if I could get an online map, click on a bunch of spots get the total distance, undo, change the route, and do it with less effort, that sounds better.

My wife and I used to ride together as our main recreation. We'd ride every day after work (and nights from September through April or thereabouts) and usually both days of the weekend. A weekend might find us riding to KSC or down into the next county south. We were hit by a pickup truck on a bright, sunny morning back at New Year's of 2000. Dec. 30, 1999 to be exact. I got lucky and walked out of the ER four hours later, but she had incredibly intricate surgery and was in the hospital and rehab hospital for a month. We got back on our bikes by April and continued to ride until somewhere around 2011 - I think - then just kinda stopped. Just bored with it, I guess. Last summer, I got interested in getting back on the bike and have been riding since about the end of August. She has not been interested in riding again so it's something I do by myself.

When you say you're planning on relocating here, about where are you looking? Or does the exact city matter much?

BKE

Afternoon Bob. First off, so sorry to hear about the past accident, glad you both recovered. And to think, that was way before everyone (toddlers included) became addicted to their smart devices, even while driving.

As for the fractal maze comparison, that is exactly what I think when Google Maps shows me the properties that my wife finds out there on the current market. Makes my stomach queasy thinking about living in one of those crazy mazes. In fact, they are so much so, do you think an APP exists that could actually give you what you want with any accuracy (kinda like using an older GPS that hasn't been updated)?

Daughter is in Daytona and we're 5 hrs. away, just wanting a more reasonable drive time to visit her and we want the beach like she has (out her door and we're set up on beach in about 20 mins.). We're open to anything from Port Orange down to let's say Port St. Lucie. Biggest problem is that we have about 6 acres now and we do have neighbors that we can see, but I'd probably dislocate my shoulder just trying the get a stone into their yards. So once again, thinking about living like that unfortunately makes me somewhat ill.

Good luck with your search Bob,

BKE.

BobL

That's quite a range - about 150 miles from Port Orange to Port St. Lucie. With the range comes more flexibility, along with more difficulty in figuring out where to go. Filter that with the kinds of things you like to do or you'd like to see. We watch pretty much every launch from our side yard. Once the rocket is in flight for a minute, it pretty much doesn't matter where you are along the coast. OTOH the only time we've seen the SpaceX return engine burns to recover the booster was because it was a night flight and they came back to land on the KSC instead of their ship at sea.

It's such a varied area, from very rural to crowded, that it's hard to come up with places to point you to. For sure there are larger parcels of land out west in Melbourne, although I don't know they match your six acres. These are not the fractal neighborhoods. These are west of I-95, near the big lake in the city, Lake Washington. On the other hand, there are probably areas just as nice within 30 to 50 miles that aren't as expensive. On the west side of the lake, there are options, too. I think they're expensive in the Melbourne area because the area has had a lot of job growth in aviation and with the private rocket companies being within a 20 to 30 mile radius. There's also a pretty healthy electronics industry here.

Still, it's still a small city - 70 or 80,000 people. It's not a place full of nightlife although I think you're probably not looking for that.

Back to the original topic, I did a little looking around at iPhone apps, and I think I'll sign up for the free version of RideWithGPS. I intend to do the route planning at home, and either bring notes or just do my best to remember, but I'll keep an open mind.