DTownDave22

I know this is a bit of a 1st-world problem here & one that is understandable due to safety for cyclists on the major roads in the U.S.


Google Maps for cycling directions now will pretty much do whatever it can to NOT route on any major road (one I'm talking about here as an example is 3-4 lanes, 45 MPH, though used to be 35 MPH). It's not ideal during busy times for one road in particular but I do ride it but is not bad on the weekends on one road in particular.


This is partial venting but also curious if anyone else has experienced a similar problem and if there is any type of workaround. The only workaround I have found is using driving directions (with avoid highways selected) but this kind of disallows a single go at making directions/route with cycling only infrastructure incorporated in such a route.


I've been planning routes for a while and like to get an idea for the distance but also will use Google Maps as a preliminary route creator before creating a GPS route file on another website (usually in Ride With GPS or Strava) in part because Google Maps shows road closures/construction and it's usually decent in accuracy regarding construction.


As far as I can remember, Google would keep me on major roads but it no longer wants to keep me on main roads now and I will have to baby the route and edit the route, put in 5-10 extra destinations than I would otherwise to keep the route in line where I want it to go and it's incredibly cumbersome compared to what it once was and while not useless, very inconvenient and more time-consuming.


If I have to constantly considerably slow down for stop signs every so many feet where the sight lines are not great to treat them as yield signs, roads are kind of ******, then those alternate routes are not actually that great for longer-distance cycling/timing as I was considering trying such routes to be honest, but I've tried it over the years and they also end up slowing down at major road crossings due to lack of traffic lights.


It's understandable because of how plenty of major roads are not that safe for cycling, and I'm preaching to the choir talking about how most infrastructure is atrocious in a lot of the U.S. for anything but lots of cars moving fast. This particular road could be worse though and I am pretty vigilant safety-wise/don't ride this particular major road at night really as one example.

Troul 

if there are sidewalks along that 3-4 lane area, would switching to "walking" enable the route?

I do not like how most maps put cycling out of the way, by a long shot when the shorter option usually is not any more or less risky/safe... yet it can be a difference of punctures & 30 minutes going the "suggested" route... It's different when the effort to propel forward is done by a machine not a pair of legs.

Steve B.

Maybe don’t use Google. I use Ride With GPS to create my road routes, others have great success with Kamoots. Both give you the ability to make the route go where you want it to. Far more flexible than Google.

mtnbud

I find Google Maps with the cycling option to be helpful, but not foolproof for just the reasons you've mentioned plus it'll sometimes put me on gravel. Depending on the bike I'm using, gravel can be great or a no go. Using Google Streetview when available can be helpful, but nothing beats first hand knowledge. I also appreciate a good physical map. There are other apps out there, but I'm not super familiar with them. I'll often use more than one program and compare them, then bring up the route on Google Earth.

This last summer I attempted a traverse through a hodgepodge of privately owned timber property land only to find all three of my mapping programs were incorrect. My buddy and I eventually had to resign ourselves to changing directions and completely altering day 1 and 2 of our trip in order to get back on course.

Pop N Wood

This site is excellent, a good alternative to google

cycle.travel | route-planner and maps - traffic-free & quiet roads

Finds bike lanes with feedback from users.

indyfabz

You can drag and drop points on the route between your origin and destination to edit it to you liking. No need to make a bunch of shorter routes.

wolfchild

I use google maps but only to get a general idea of different options and routes that can take me to my destination. I never ever follow the most direct and shortest routes on google maps. Most of my rides end up being longer and taking more time than what it says on google maps. I just link up various roads, trails, MUPS and streets to plan my route. Every ride is customized to whatever I feel like doing. You don't need to follow exactly what google maps says.

Calsun

Route safety depends greatly on the time of day and the day of the week. Too much to expect from software programmers that use a auto produced database.

I was surprised though with my Garmin GPS in Germany where it provided a unique route for a pedestrian that was quite different than for a car as it had a database that showed areas restricted to pedestrians and bicyclists. My Garmin RV Trucking unit is also better than any other routing application as I could input the total length of my tow vehicle and a trailer and it would route me to avoid turns or U-turns that could not be made with a trailer in tow and there is routing that avoids low underpasses if that is a concern.

KerryIrons

It's been several years now and at the time I sent Google Maps an error report (which took months to correct) but on one of my favorite routes, they took me off a deserted paved county road and put me on a deserted gravel county road. Both rejoined a few miles later and were the exact same distance. Up the road a ways on that ride they took me off the paved, low traffic state highway and put me on a two track under a power line. This was before "gravel" was a thing. Google Maps is a good tool, but it is far from perfect. I use RideWithGPS where I can toggle between Google Maps and OpenStreetMap to figure out what is going on. You really have to verify any mapping program.

pdlamb

Since you're using RWGPS and Strava, check out the heat maps on those two sites.

Local cyclists have a better idea of good roads to ride than some AI running in air conditioned barns on server farms.

UnCruel 

I haven't found anyone's road bike routing algorithm that can be trusted blindly. They are useful as suggestions, but in the end, I only trust routes I have laid out manually.

Steve B.

Having to use “Add Stop” to draw a route is a PITA. RWGPS and others where you click on a location on the map is so much easier and faster. I never use Google to create manually drawn route.

Black wallnut 

There is a bridge in Central Washington on Interstate 90, the Vantage bridge. Until just about a year ago it was the only crossing in miles. The detour north was about 75 miles and the detour south about the same. Not a single cycling mapping platform would allow a user to create a route across the bridge without manipulation. (putting it in manual mode, iirc) WE now have a crossing 7.5 miles to the south, The Palouse to Cascades Trail.

Best advice is see if whatever mapping or route planning software you are using has a manual mode. It can be time consuming depending on road density. Searching routes on Strava or RWGPS or another tracking app might also give you a result that accomplishes your objective.

Leisesturm

A four lane 45mph arterial is exactly the kind of road I WANT a cycling routing app to avoid! I don't understand the o.p.'s frustration. If you want to use the road, use it. Google can't stop you but I'm not sure why you would expect it to suggest it to everyone else using the app. I DOUBT any of the other 'cycling routing apps' being suggested will route you onto a four lane arterial either. And a 'create your own route' app only works if you know where you are going. What if you don't? Most times when I use Google Maps it is precisely because I've never been to that place before and I want to be told how to get there. TL;DR; The car routing with highways disabled is as good as it gets for o.p. purposes. Not sure why that idea is being rejected.