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Ride planning and navigation apps?

ilikefood

ilikefood

Active member
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Location
San Francisco
Moto(s)
Suzuki DR-Z400SM, Ducati Multistrada 1100S
What do you all use to plan and then navigate rides? I'm looking for something that will let me:

1. Define whatever route I want to follow ahead of time. This could be either on computer or phone (I'd do that day before or whatever).
2. Navigate my pre-defined route on my phone during the ride.

I don't care about traffic info, I don't want my route to change, I just want to plan what roads I want to ride, and then get directions for that route on my phone. Navigation would need to work when I don't have cell phone service.

Seems pretty simple, but what app (this would need to be a phone app, so navigation works on the phone) would allow me to do this? Paid apps are fine.
 
ilikefood said:
What do you all use to plan and then navigate rides? I'm looking for something that will let me:

1. Define whatever route I want to follow ahead of time. This could be either on computer or phone (I'd do that day before or whatever).
2. Navigate my pre-defined route on my phone during the ride.

I don't care about traffic info, I don't want my route to change, I just want to plan what roads I want to ride, and then get directions for that route on my phone. Navigation would need to work when I don't have cell phone service.

Seems pretty simple, but what app (this would need to be a phone app, so navigation works on the phone) would allow me to do this? Paid apps are fine.
Click to expand...

I'll only give you this advice. If riding offroad, don't attach your IPhone to your bars. Many have damaged the camera.
 
After hearing a lot about this Calimoto, I tried the free version. Before I type anything else, I'll offer this caveat. My experience was just that, my experience. Maybe my phone wasn't up to it. Maybe it was a meatware issue. It promises a lot, but in my experience it mostly hung and crashed. YMMV.

I mostly use Google Maps on my phone and helmet communicator, and have had the experience of it "improving" my route for me, but maybe there's a workaround for that. :dunno
 
anytwowilldo said:
I'll only give you this advice. If riding offroad, don't attach your IPhone to your bars. Many have damaged the camera.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I've heard of the problems vibration can cause for phone cameras. I ride paved roads, and I use a phone holder with a good vibration isolator (Perfect Squeeze), and that has been great, no problems.
 
flying_hun said:
After hearing a lot about this Calimoto, I tried the free version. Before I type anything else, I'll offer this caveat. My experience was just that, my experience. Maybe my phone wasn't up to it. Maybe it was a meatware issue. It promises a lot, but in my experience it mostly hung and crashed. YMMV.

I mostly use Google Maps on my phone and helmet communicator, and have had the experience of it "improving" my route for me, but maybe there's a workaround for that. :dunno
Click to expand...

Good to know. I just tried Rever, and for route planning on the computer it sucks - soooooo slow, and the map on the computer doesn't actually show roads, just a satellite view, totally useless.

Yeah, I want something like Google Maps, where I can just drag the route, but then have it saved to follow later...
 
ilikefood said:
Yeah, I want something like Google Maps, where I can just drag the route, but then have it saved to follow later...
Click to expand...

Give Calimoto a shot. Maybe it was all user error.
 
I use Google maps to plan a route. Download GPX or KML file and copy it to my GPS device. I don't use phone for navigation anymore after my iPhone stopped working properly after using it for navigation mounted on handle bar for little over a year. In fact Apple recommends not mounting phones on motorbike handlebars.
 
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Indio said:
I use Google maps to plan a route. Download GPX or KML file and copy it to my GPS device. I don't use phone for navigation anymore after my iPhone stopped working properly after using it for navigation mounted on handle bar for little over a year. In fact Apple recommends not mounting phones on motorbike handlebars.
Click to expand...

How do you export or save the route from Google Maps? I tried to find a way to save a route but haven’t found a way that works.
 
I'm not sure if we have the same use-case, but it sounds pretty familiar to me, so I'll just share what is my thing and what I found:

my thing: I find a section of the road, and from there I want to get this way, then that way and finally go there. If I turned wrong way, I want the map to reroute me back to the original route. I want the map to navigate me to the beginning of my route as quickly as possibly. If there's alternative scenic route to "quickly as possibly", I want to know that.

There's no mapping that I tried which solves that.

Garmin ads/promo show as if they do, but it's very shallow version of what I want. You could have a chain of checkpoints, you could ask Garmin to have a "scenic" route, all that is possible, but it cumbersome and you can't do it off the device, and the search is horrible-terrible-no-good.

I ended up just mentally choosing check-points, finding them on the phone and sending the destination to Garmin. Something like Apple CarPlay but for the bike might be good enough, I mentioned it back here https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=10974831&postcount=27 but don't have personal experience with it.
 
Indio said:
I use Google maps to plan a route. Download GPX or KML file and copy it to my GPS device.
Click to expand...
This is what works best for me and the way I've done it for over a decade. I stretch the route line as needed until it takes all of the roads that I want, then send it to a web site that converts from Google Maps to GPX. I'll save the GPX file, then copy it into my Garmin Zumo. It works great for dirt roads that I want to go on.

The problem that I have with trying to use a phone is that I'm often in areas with no cell service. It was that way in California and that's how it is in Idaho too. My GPS pretty much always has a signal and will guide me on the desired route.

I have lots of good routes saved up, plus a few that I've acquired, like the BDR routes for every state that has one.

=== Edit ===
To answer one of the questions above: https://gprivate.com/658m1
 
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I've started playing around with RoadStr, but it seems targeted mainly at cars not bikes. Same same, but different, but same. I dunno.
 
Sounds like "over planning" to me. Ride routes change all the time for a variety of reasons. All riders should be thoroughly familiar with the areas in general well before the start of a ride.

House rules need to be laid out- last person ahead waits for the first person behind at all turns- or not. The larger the group, the more like cat-herding it becomes. For large multiday rides- we "planned" only for lunch here, hotel there, dinner is at x time- and everyone did what they wanted on the ride. Slower riders or those who liked taking pictures just aren't going to work with folks that are into faster riding. So gathering for chow was a great way to still socialize. Rinse/repeat the next day.
 
I use Ride with GPS, it's a bicycle app but I've used it to set up routes. It gives you turn by turn prompts. After a turn it will say turn left in 6 miles and when you're a 1/4 mile away it will advise of the turn coming up.
 
berth said:
I'm sure I'm not the only person that's grabbed a AAA map and a highlighter and "just went".
Click to expand...

Indeed. The cool thing about most of California- you can always head east or west and hit some major road in less than an hour. No such thing as really "lost".
 
Google.

As you mention, pre-plan a route on computer. I will click the share button to produce a link. Email it to myself, click it from email app on phone.

It will indicate your route as long as you have a clear view for GPS and you've saved the map pre-ride by downloading.

I've ridden coast-to-coast via this simple method. Going that far, Google will balk at too many waypoints. No problem. Make multiple segments and store the links.

Got Bluetooth to helmet?
 
I plan my route using Furkot, export the trip as a .gpx file to my desktop and then tranfer the file into my Garmin GPS.
If I'm on a long trip, I have a small laptop that I use to plan the next day's ride. This allows me to upload the .gpx file to my riding partner's GPS.
 
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