suncruiser

Setting up for my first minor (major for me) tour and I can't seem to get Google maps on my phone to let me plan my route on roads that allow cyclists... Riding from Flagstaff, AZ to Glendale, AZ and every time I try to set this up it runs me straight down the I17... I know we can't ride the 17 and was planning on using 89A into Sedona and then through cottonwood. Trying to get roundabout mileage in.

Anyone use a different app to plan routes? Android phone.

I apologize if this is the wrong forum for this

boomhauer

Use google maps satellite view to see it the route you want has a shoulder.
Works for me.

jamawani 

Use RideWithGPS - - set to bicycle mode.
Most of the roads you will use have a Streetview option.
(Sometimes bike mode puts you on dirt to avoid highways - always double check.)

HobbesOnTour

Hi ,
cycle.travel | route-planner and maps - traffic-free & quiet roads is not an app, but you can use it on your phone, although I find it better on a computer.

Simple to use, nifty features such as clicking on any individual point on the route and being able to see a streetview of that point, dragging to change the route and download gpx as well as turn by turn directions.

Handy hint for planning between 2 points - select the round trip option for 2 route choices.

I also like OSMand - that is an app.

**Disclaimer! I've only used these in Europe!!

Frank

indyfabz

Search Google Maps for car directions, but under options select "avoid highways." Result is a 192 mile route from city center to city center.


Not all roads are available on Street View, especially out west.

Aushiker

Another vote from me. Use it all the time.

fietsbob

Big Picture, ..Map, not App..

maybe use the phone to not get lost along the way .

(I never needed one, still don't.)

gauvins

interesting resource.

I personally use gMap to get a rough idea for a trip, but rarely if ever to design the actual route, because, in my experience, it is less than satisfactory.

I've had better luck with bRouter. Works offline on Android as a Locus Pro service. There is also a web interface. Elevation profile is an invaluable information that assists decisions wrt stages (i.e. 60 miles on the flats is very different from 60 miles with an average gradient of +3%).

jamawani 

Not to mention that there are, really, just two broad options:

1) Hwy 89A south to Prescott, Hwy 89 to Wickenburg, US 60 into Phoenix metro(!)
2) Mormon Lake Rd to Long Valley, Hwy 87 into Tempe (wrong side of PHX)

Option 2 might be better, but lots of Hwy 87 is 4-lane, albeit with good shoulders.
Option 1 has tough riding on US 60, also 4-lane, plus additional busy 4-lane sections.

Bicycles are permitted on I-17 outside of metro Phoenix.
I try to avoid Interstates, but have ridden them when there is no other option.
They usually have wide shoulders and are safe - but with nasty traffic.
Why bike tour just to hear traffic and smell diesel?

I wish Arizona had more back road options - the state does not.
Plus, with its fast-growing population, the main roads have lots of traffic.
The only positive is that AZ DOT is good about providing paved shoulders.

Here's the AZ DOT bike map:
https://www.azbikeped.org/downloads/D...User-Map-1.pdf

Note - there's a thin line in the middle that represents traffic, wide edges represent shoulders.
I disagree with AZ DOT's description of low, med, and high traffic.
Their's is Low < 2500 < Med < 7500 High
Mine is Low < 1000 < Med < 2500 < High < 5000 < Crazy, esp. with no shoulders
And I have 100,000 miles of riding.

Given that most Ariz roads have higher traffic levels, shoulders are very important.
That's why I suggest Option 2 over Option 1 -
Mormon Lake Road is sweet once you get away from Flag.
And Hwy 89A in Sedona country is narrow in many places with oodles of traffic.
Unless you need to buy some crystals or have your auras adjusted, I'd go with 2.

Eggman84

So if you don't want to go straight down I17, then put in waypoints like Sedona to take a different route. All maps will generally route you on the most direct route for a given distance. For example, if you want to go from Washington DC to San Francisco, no mapping app is going to route you through Texas or North Dakota, so if you want to go thru one of those states, then put them in as a waypoint. Also note that to avoid I17 completely between Flagstaff and Glendale will require a very convoluted route (there aren't many parallel roads for much of the distance). No map app can make a road where their isn't one (though they sometimes try)

Enjoy your ride.

gauvins

bRouter suggests a different route, more to the west. I've taken a very quick streetview, where available, and it looks like a very quiet secondary road.

Someone familiar with the area may want to comment on the segments that appear to be forest roads.

jamawani 

This is why apps are not necessarily your friend.

The above map indicates mostly unpaved roads - some no longer existent.
Also, even though there is a dirt road on a map, many times it is a private ranch road.

Ranchers in the West encounter more trespassers than ever with these apps.
Not only is it illegal to use someone's private ranch road - it is dangerous.
These roads may have washouts, sand draws - certainly dead-ends in the middle of nowhere.
And who ends up having to do the rescue?

mev

I do it somewhat differently in the western USA than in the east.

Often in the west, I end up on the major US highways with an occasional gap where I ride a rural interstate because it is the most direct route. In the west, outside urban areas, I haven't had many difficulties with a combination of (lack of shoulders + heavy traffic)* Sometimes one or the other but rarely both. In the urban areas, I need to find ways to pass the populated suburban areas with heavier and sometimes high-speed traffic.

So what I do is:
1. Pick Google Maps with an "avoid highways" to get a general idea. This most typically picks up the major US highway choices that aren't interstates. If that is too far out of the way, I might route myself a short piece of interstate.
2. Coming into a major metro area like Phoenix, I'll check the "strava heat map" to see where local riders are cycling and pick a more common route from that set.

In the eastern USA and parts of the south, I've found it more common to have US highways with high traffic density and not much shoulders. So here I take some more care to look for "street view" or find others journals of routes they have cycled.

(*) Every once in a while in western USA, I'll encounter a US highway with both high volume traffic and lack of shoulders. So occasionally will sanity check journals just in case. Here is a good example of a journal from a section of Montana road that I otherwise avoided: https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/...id=467156&v=MM

gracehowler

2nd vote for ride with GPS, I also agree with MEV, often takes a lot of web time, google street view has been mentioned already, helps keep us off the gravel and dirt roads.
R&J

jamawani 

Your link is from riders who did this stretch June 20, 2016.
I rode it June 18, 2016 - - and I have ridden it a few time before - - since 1987.

It's not that bad - not my favorite, but doable. Plus there's Hwy 284 on the other side of the lake.
There are wide shoulder for 85% of the way from Helena to Townsend.
The shoulder narrows down with poorly places ruble strips in one section, but doable.
And, yes, traffic is pretty intense - especially later in the day.

Here's what I posted -

"Since it was still early, I decided to do US 287 on the west side of the reservoir rather than Highway 284. Shorter, plus I had the perfect direction of a light tailwind. Years back the road did not have a shoulder all the way and was pretty scary - given the traffic. They have a three-foot shoulder now in that section - but with a rumble strip taking up the middle. Although the traffic was fairly light, I had to concentrate to ride the bee-line to the right of the rumble strip. Got into Townsend by 10:00 in the morning and proceeded to while away the entire day there. How can it be 28F yesterday morning and 94F this afternoon?"

The poster here may not know, but Fridays and Sundays are often the busiest days of the week.
There is almost always some commuter traffic - even in rural counties in the morning and evening.
But, in general, the peak traffic times are 11a to 5p. Riding early is the best way to reduce traffic.

Oh - - and Montana DOT bike map:
https://mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/docs/bike_map.pdf

rhm

I use a combination of RideWithGPS and Strava. Strava has an option to use "most popular" roads, which means most popular roads used by Strava users, so you tend to get roads that aren't too terrible for cyclists.

You have to look at the satellite views, though; and to be sure I always spot check any route with Google Maps street view. Google Maps (and therefore many other apps based on it) include roads that don't really exist. I've seen a lot of this in the NJ Pine Barrens, mainly because I'm pretty familiar with that area; but elsewhere it's common as well.

hartmame

I’m using plotaroute.com

jamawani 

For me it's more like plodaroute.com. ;-)

Eggman84

Are RideWithGPS and Strava really applicable for touring? How many times have you found you can connect the "locals favorite loop rides" into something useful for touring, particularly if you are avoiding larger metro areas? I find these two apps being for the go fast crowd, not touring. Could be wrong though.

Aushiker

I have just 10 days of bikepacking fairly remote country mostly riding beaches, 4WD tracks and minor roads. All plotted in https://ridewithgps.com and then downloaded to my GPS. Did the same with my Holland Track ride last year (remote 4WD track) and with my 3,000 km outback ride.

If that is not for touring then I guess you are right then Mind you I don't use Strava for plotting routes but will probably do so in the future where I need to get through cities or large towns.


Barker Inlet Beach by Andrew Priest (Aushiker), on Flickr

Eggman84

The only thing I know that RideWithGPS adds that Google Maps doesn't is the ability to download GPS waypoints to an electronic devise. Oh, and I guess constantly being bombarded with suggestions to upgrade to the "premium service" is also a benefit. But since I don't use GPS, and I find constant pleas to "upgrade" annoying, I find it not useful. In other ways, I find RideWithGPS less friendly than Google Maps. With Google Maps, you can print out directions, send to your phone, save them and retrieve from any device connected to the web, see (and print) elevation profiles, print map with turn by turn instructions, and depending on scale it will show street names - something RideWithGPS doesn't).

But it really comes down to what map utility (and that includes just learning to read and use good old paper maps) a person feels comfortable with. I use Google Maps for planning and route finding in cities. On tour, I like paper because it easily allows me and my wife maximum flexibility; we can stick to some schedule made months ahead or chose our route based on current conditions and things we discover only from being on tour.

Alxbr

Thank you for the tip for the "most popular"

Very interesting feature!

Cresthoodlum

The Strava heat map is a useful tool for looking at routes. It is especially helpful to see whether a cyclist has previously traveled through remote, lightly-traveled back roads.

https://labs.strava.com/heatmap/#8.6...65682/hot/ride
Select Activity Type - Cycling

Aushiker

+ 1 Didn't realise it was there.

MarcusT

I use mapfactor. free app. With that you can customize the roads you want or don't want. I was able to avoid major roadways, but did not select the small roads criteria until it took me on a cowpath