mev

I have noticed several otherwise free apps also have paid subscription services, e.g.
- Mapmyride
- Strava
- Ridewithgps

I am not a fan of subscriptions sucking away money every month and so far have avoided these and many other non-cycling subscriptions (e.g. no cable TV but over the air antenna...). However, I anticipate my next extended trip where I'll be on the road for multiple months. Hence, I am curious for those of you who have subscriptions to some of these services - what is it you have found most useful and what you do with them?

As an example, I explored a little what I could do with free versions in terms of creating a route and downloading to my GPS device. It was probably my naive first approach but it seemed like I was exposing limitations in all three examples above with doing that for extended time, e.g.
- Mapmyride seemed to create *.gpx files that didn't directly load in the Garmin Connect app to go to my device - something about converting file format perhaps but I didn't go much further
- RidewithGPS let me create one route and transfer it with free version but somehow I needed to clear that route before doing it again
- Strava didn't let me create routes at all without a trial of their subscription service.
Perhaps this was my naive understanding of the apps or perhaps I was running into legitimate limitations but that was one of the few features I could see on the lists for paid versions that seemed more interesting. Along the way, I found an app that seemed to do what I wanted for free anyway (maplocs).

So anyways, for those of you who use some of these paid subscription stuff and also go cycle touring - what is it you use them for and what do you find valuable enough to keep paying your subscriptions...

Yan 

Mapy.cz allows you to create saved routes. It has an excellent map that shows contour lines and bike paths (it's based on Open Street Maps), and also shows the elevation profile of the route. It is free and accessible via both computer and phone app. On the app you can download the map onto your phone so it works without mobile signal.

Tourist in MSN

I also do not pay subscriptions. I have paid a few one-time purchases for software, but do not pay for any software with recurring fees.

Komoot is another option you might consider trying, I use it on my phone. The free version can be used on-line or on wifi to generate routes. Some of the routes I have gotten looked pretty weird, so I sometimes forced it to pick a different route by adding one or two points in the middle of a route. I have not tried to transfer data from it to a Garmin, so I do not know if that can be done on the free version, I also do not know if that can be done on a paid version. The times that I followed a route that it generated, I noted specific points along the route that I could use to ride past. I do not recall what you get for the paid version since I never paid it.

Maps.Me is another I use on my phone, but the few times I tried routing a bike route on it, it gave me poor routing. Car routing has often made more sense, but that might put me on a high speed highway where bikes are illegal. I like to have this app and the maps it generates on my phone more for reference. I can download maps where I have wifi use that off line. I use the free version. I have road maps in my Garmin with a small screen, but my phone has a 5 inch screen and I prefer that if I am looking at options after dinner at a picnic table on where to go the next day.

When I am planning the next day routing on a bike tour and trying to figure out what my destination should be, I usually compare in this order, (1) paper map, (2) Garmin GPS routing using tour bike option, (3) Garmin GPS car routing, (4) Komoot (if I have wifi), (5) Maps.Me car routing. On a long tour, I have used each of these, and yes sometimes the route that looked best on a paper map was better than the electronic routing options. I think that electronic options try to put you on a state or provincial road before a local road, but sometimes a local road is a better more direct route.

djb

Im planning to be trying out routes that will require a dedicated gps unit, so will be getting one in the next while, and my first time using this sort of stuff really.--so I too will be learning about all these apps and what you can do, what you cant etc etc.
Look forward to hopefully learn something here.

gauvins

When i've researched this question, a few years ago, one of my top concerns was to be able to be fully operational offline. It means, (1) offline maps, (2) offline routing service, (3) offline transfer from phone to navigation device (smart watch in my case). And obviously worldwide coverage and preferably free, and if not, reasonably priced.

So I've settled on Locus pro (Android only).

I am using v3.x, a one time purchase of a few $, certainly well earned by the devs. I also tend to purchase their map bases, but you can use openmap files or purchase a subscription giving you unlimited access to their maps library.

Prior to a trip, (1) I plan routes with brouter (desktop), which I think is unrivaled for that purpose, and then usually (2) work out the details on my phone and (3) save daily routes for the entire trip. Last, (4) I'll push routes on my watch. When on tour I'll often review the day on my phone and if need be, edit the course and push it to my watch.

Tourist in MSN

I should clarify a point I made in my previous post on using my Garmin for routing.

I do not use a Garmin cycling computer, instead I use a general recreation grade Garmin GPS, specifically a Garmin 64. If I tell it to go to a specific point, it will give me a route to get there but I have these routing choices:
.

• Direct routing (as the bird flies)
• Automobile
• Motorcycle (I have no clue what the difference is between motorcyle and car)
• Cycling
• Tour Cycling (this option is more likely to put you on bike trails than plain cycling)
• Mountain Biking (not sure how this differs, I have not used it),
• Pedestrian Walking
• Hiking
• Mountaineering
• ATV/Offroad Driving.

Most of those options I have never tried. I am almost surprised that they left out Equestrian as an option since they have so many other options.

Thus, when I said I compare car driving and tour cycling, I have the ability to compare those two options on my GPS. It will often give me different routes to follow under those options, and sometimes the car option looks better on the map.

Sometimes when I did not like a route it gave me, I instead pick a point part way to my planned destination and see how the route looks to get to that intermediate point, sometimes I do that instead. Then when I get to that intermediate point, I then tell it to navigate to my final destination.

Example: On my last tour, there was one day I decided to ride a bike trail almost to my destination, made that decision based on paper map. It was raining (lower visibility), most of the roads had no shoulder, it was a holiday so most drivers might not be used to driving on that road, thus I felt the trail would be a bit safer. And the trail would be flatter as it used to be a railroad. So, when I got to the trail, I then told my GPS to take me to my destination using Tour Cycling. The problem was every time the trail intersected a road, it told me to turn onto the road but I wanted to stay on the trail, eventually I told it to stop navigation to silence it, I just used the map on the screen to tell me about where I was, I had the paper map on my handlebar bag to tell me where I was compared to my destination. I kept going along the trail and when I got pretty close to my destination, then I re-activated the routing to tell me where to make turns.

L134 

An inexpensive option is to use a subscription service only for the period of time one needs the services that require a subscription. I have done this several time with RidewithGPS. Start the service when I have use for it, put a reminder on my calendar to cancel it after the need has lapsed, use it on my tour, cancel it when I'm done or when the reminder pops up on my calendar. It only cost a few bucks which seemed like money well spent to me.

raybo

I want/need real-time navigation. This is only available with a subscription. Last year (2022), I paid $8 to ridewithGPS for a month of premium membership to get that capability on their iPhone app. I'm not sure that you have to create the routes on rwGPS too, but that is what I did.

These days, I use cycle.travel for my mapping needs. It is particularly good in the UK and Europe.

mev

Yes, this is essentially what I am exploring. I anticipate being on tour for multiple months so I am open to getting/cancelling a service only during the duration of my trip. However, since I am not a regular user of some premium services I also don't know what I am missing.

What feature was useful to you in RidewithGPS that makes sense to turn on premium service?

Edit: The other thing I am exploring is:
- So far I've used my Garmin mostly as an odometer and a clock while I am riding - and as a recorder of the overall trip so I can see maps and statistics later.
- I realize there are additional capabilities on the Garmin for navigation. I do currently navigate using GPS but with either (a) paper maps or a (b) written down index card (consulting Google maps day before from laptop and writing it down) or (c) with intermittently with offline MAPS.ME on phone/tablet to check something tricky that comes up while riding.
- However, when I tried using navigation with Garmin I wasn't impressed with the choices it made. It tends to squiggle with different little roads/paths in places I am as likely to go directly. This should only be an issue for places where road networks are dense and less in more rural areas with fewer choices - but those also happen to be places I might consult my offline MAPS.ME

- So that had me experiment with mechanisms of creating a map elsewhere using the laptop and putting it on the Garmin since it would be on anyways in odometer/clock/recorder mode...This also had me wonder more broadly of other services to be aware of...

robow

If one is using just their phone and not a dedicated gps, I like Ridewithgps and their audible directions and will subscribe for maybe 6 months when I'm touring. Though if you're running along a highway with a lot of noise, it can be easy not to hear your cues, but then you do have your visual map as well.
Are there others that have audible directions when off line and free on your Android phone ?

L134 

OK, my experience with mapping services is that, no matter which, if I know where I am they will often direct me a way I would not choose myself whether I am driving, walking, or riding. If I know where I am, I ignore the directions and go my own way. If I don't know where I am, I follow the map. If I'm driving, all I care about is getting to my end point. If I'm riding, I care about the safety of the route, what's to be seen along the way etc as well as getting to my destination. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think it matters what mapping service one is using on a bike - you are going to get choices you probably wouldn't make yourself if you knew your own way. So, I generally have not been terribly happy with using any electronic mapping service for turn by turn directions on a bicycle whether subscription or not.

What the RWGPS subscription got for me that I valued was an OFFLINE electronic route or map that I could pull up without having wifi or cell service. I did not use these for turn by turn navigation. The first time I used RWGPS on tour was with ACA digital maps of the GDMBR downloaded into RWGPS on my iphone. I kept my phone in airplane mode in a pocket. When I reached any unmarked fork in the road, I would stop, pull up the map and the phone GPS would locate me precisely on the route map allowing me to make the correct decision on which fork to choose. Phone back in the pocket until the next decision point or an occasional check to make sure I was still on rout if I was getting nervous. I now have a Garmin 1030 plus to which I can load my maps and that is what I now use but I don't really expect it to determine good routes for me that I follow while riding. The advantage of RWGPS on the phone is that the downloaded map is easier to view and scroll around in on the phone, otherwise, I no longer use RWGPS as described and just use the Garmin instead. I am a bit uncertain as to what exactly you are expecting that the Garmin can't do. I don't expect Strava, RWGPS or Garmin Connect or any other such service to be able to make the same decision I would make on routing, especially on a bike, if I were intimately familiar with where I was. Even researched ACA routes have directed me in directions I questioned. I research Google maps, Garmin Connect, ACA, RWGPS then make my best guess as to which might be the best way to go. I've resigned myself to the fact that riding in urban areas I am not familiar with is a stressful experience interrupted by frequent stops trying to figure out how to get out!

mev

@L134 what I do today is likely similar to what you also do...
1. Before the ride, often the night before, I will look at my paper maps or bring things up on a laptop screen to get the general idea. I don't completely map out turn by turn directions but coming into an urban area I will have a rough plan e.g. follow this major avenue into point X, then get on an urban trail to cross to Y and then come into city center Z to find a likely hotel, etc.
2. During the ride, I have those rough plans in mind - and occasionally might need to check on offline maps to make sure I am hitting the rough waypoint. In my case, I will power up a phone/tablet and bring up MAPS.ME as an offline map. Still not turn by turn but more cases when my rough plans from night before hit a snag (e.g. road construction) or I want to do a detailed check. After that the phone/tablet is powered off and I continue. What is valuable here is having a GPS signal that places my location together with the offline map on my Android phone.

I don't expect GPS navigation to have identical choices to what I might pick, but I also know I have some preferences. For example, if I ask Google Maps for directions and I browse the map and see it jumping with a multitude of turns and perhaps picking up a short stretch of path here and then back there... I will not necessarily pick that convoluted path but instead see if I have some more straight lines to keep following the same general parts. Often I am willing to make a tradeoff for a more direct route for something in principle could be better but has a lot of turns and seems to pick short trail bits...

However, I do find when experimenting with my GPS is if I ask it to navigate it makes a lot more of the turns and occasional jobs off a more straightforward routing...

So what I was curious about is whether I could do the equivalent for place I haven't been before. In the evening before ask a program to pick its route but then I straighten/simplify some of the route choices to be a little more direct and fewer turns - and then let that get loaded into the GPS to see if that is any better.

john m flores 

I use the open source OsmAnd for my on-bike navigation. There's a free version that allows up to 7 map downloads (i.e., 7 states). There are also paid versions that include unlimited map downloads, map updates, weather updates, and other features.

It's a pretty complex app with a lot of customizability, i.e., I have it set up differently for motorcycle navigation than bicycle navigation. And every once in a while it throws you a nonsensical navigation instruction, i.e., turn right, make a u-turn, turn right. But if you can get past that and set it up, it's quite nice.

I've used OsmAnd pretty steadily since around 2015 and got a paid version because I like supporting companies whose products I use. Otherwise, they'll have to resort to other means of revenue (i.e. ads) or go out of business altogether.

raybo

I have a poor sense of direction. When I tour, I take wrong turns all the time. I finally settled on an off-line mapping app (Pocket Earth) that allows me to upload GPX tracks and will show me where I am (GPS without cell or internet service). While this shows me where I am and supposed to be, it doesn't provide any cues, so I only know I've gone off course when I stop to check it out.

That changed on my last trip (Ireland, Sept. 2022) when I used the RideWithGPS app audible navigation cues (two different tones). It was like night and day. I still took many wrong turns, but I was alerted to that fact after no more than 50 feet. I no longer had to stop and check the map at turns and didn't get lost. The obvious problem with this is the battery drain on the (in my case) iPhone running the app.

What changed was the addition of a rim dynamo (PedalCell) that allowed me to use the real-time navigation without worrying about running out of phone battery. If you are interested in more detail about this, I wrote an article about how real-time navigation made my touring experience so much better.

OneGearIsEnough

The full functionality of the RideWithGps route builder, which I have found is the best of all the various route builders, and the ability to use the routes offline, both require the (small) monthly subscription. It's definitely worth it to me.

I pay for Strava primarily for the Beacon feature, and a few other "premium" things. Strava is the only "social media" site I use (no Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) so it's worth it to me.

Philosophically, another reason I pay the relative modest amount of money for these services is because I find them useful, and I know they wouldn't stay in business if they didn't charge money for them. How do I know this? I own a software business and make my living creating and selling software that I charge a monthly fee for. There's a reason almost no software company operates on the old model of pay-for-it-one-time: You can't make enough money that way for the business to be sustainable.

HobbesOnTour

I'm probably not answering your question but I'd come at this from a different point of view, namely that it doesn't matter too much what others do, what's more important is what you want to do and how to do it.

I was on the road for 2.5 years and subscribed to two services - Cycle.Travel and iOverlander - not because I needed to to be able to use them but because I got value from them .

I also had Komoot (a one off payment many years ago) and found it to be a disaster. Its only use for me was locating specific addresses.

I use Strava to record each day (from a GPS) and upload photos to it. (also serves as a backup of my photos.... Read on). That is free.

I sometimes use RWGPS (free) for searching out routes close to me for a bit of exploration.

I depended heavily on Cycle.Travel (online), Osmand (a one off payment several years ago, now subscription based) (offline) and iOverlander (both) for routing and finding accommodation or other interesting places. Each of those is quite regional, Osmand & iOverlander using effectively user supplied in.

Honourable mention to Google Maps for the ability to store maps (and saved locations) that will work offline. Never use for bike navigation.

However, I had tested out various apps and services before departure, learned what worked and didn't, and figured out what way I wanted to use each app.
Before investigating what's out there (because it is very complicated) first figure out what is wanted and needed.

Things get more complicated when a web based program works or looks different to an app based program. So practise on what you will be using on the road.
Any subscription service is liable to be upgraded or changed, especially the free ones. That can be a PITA on a long tour.

A subscription that you may want to consider would be some kind of online backup of photos etc.
Having misplaced a phone I was locked out of Google for 10 months before I could finally regain access. I "lost" all my photos, notes and copies of important documents (like insurance).
Also, any accounts that I had used Google to access were also locked!
In hindsight, for such a long journey, an external, online, backup would have been advisable.

Worth bearing in mind that pretty much any app, especially route planners, will operate differently in different places and it is no harm to have extra options available.

For reference, I was in the US, then south as far as Ecuador, then Spain for another 9/10 months and only used a cheap, Android phone paired with a GPS.

rm -rf

I have the pay version of ridewithgps, partly to support the site and partly because I draw lots of routes and the premium features are useful to me.
I thought you could make and save multiple routes with it's free version? Most local riders just have the free version.

Garmin navigation
I really like using my Garmin Edge for navigation. I can make very complicated routes to ride the best roads, instead of keeping the turns simple for paper or phone-in-pocket navigation. It pops up a map thumbnail as I get close to the turn, and also tells me when I got off course.

Osmand+ This offline map app is great for browsing the area when I'm out riding and want to change my plans or to see what's nearby. It stores the maps in the phone, so I only need a view of the sky for GPS locating. It launches in just a few seconds. As I zoom way in, there's more detail to see.
It can be used for turn-by-turn navigation, including voice prompts.

eastbaybob

I live in Thailand and when touring enjoy going slightly off the beaten path. I’m a paid member of Strava as I use it everyday, and for touring they have a heat map that comes in handy when trying to figure out if certain routes actually go through or come to a dead end. Mostly for just general navigation Google maps using the walking directions works fine and in more navigational heavy environments I will turn on the turn by turn navigation.

mev

As a follow up from my original post. Tried free version of Komoot and it worked reasonably well.

Also got a subscription to RideWithGPS. The desktop version does an OKish version of what I otherwise do with Google Maps. That is let it pick a route and then straighten out squiggles to make a more direct route that still avoids limited access roads or busiest highways. A lot of that isn't needed in more sparsely populated areas in the west where Google Maps auto route avoid highways does a good job. However in more urban areas the combination of adjusting routes and heat map info looks like it can help. Some of that comes with free version but also nice to have multiple routes.

I'll be on the road for a six month tour so will try using subscription for that period and cancelling after.

Aerohip

I've been planning my routes on Komoot and sending them to my Wahoo Bolt 2 for the past few years. It's worked really well for me.

str

I am happy to pay for my RIDEwithGPS subscription, that's an excellent app for route planing. But I also do not go to the bakery and ask for free bread.

njkayaker

You might not be adding a name (so, it keeps saving using the same name).

The "Route Planner" page is for creating new routes. Routes that you've saved are under "Routes" (in a list).

The free version of RWGPS is very useful (if you don't need to use the RWGPS app).

You could also subscribe for a few months.

Garmin Connect is free.

You are missing something.

You can create multiple routes with the free version of RWGPS.

https://ridewithgps.com/plans

njkayaker

Yes, you can create multiple routes with the free version.