Does anyone have any good apps to create a route then load to Garmin sat nav? I find basecamp a faff so what does everyone use to create a run and load that to their device?
I remember trying this technique (well explained video) and it's not bad on shorter routes but I found you still need to have some understanding of basecamp as well. The main problem is the difference in the mapping which can create anomalies, it's slow to create the route and that it creates too many points if the route is too long. Rather than draw a line with a mouse (which is hard) you can use my maps in Google to create 'directions' from A to B then just keep adding destinations (major towns etc), there is a limit of about 10 places before you need to create a new map. You can pull the lines around to make sure you are on the road you actually want to ride. Once you have this transfer it to Basecamp as described. I just tried this with a route I'm planning for next week and it was actually pretty good. This is the google maps page which I then exported as a .kmz file. Imported this into Basecamp and converting track to route And finally the route in basecamp I haven't tried importing it into the Sat Nav yet as I don't want to meet up the routes I already have there. Probably a quick way to work on a route, but I will still add in Waypoints in Basecamp after major towns and junctions to keep you on the right route before I transferred it. This is my actual route I'd plotted before trying this, as you can see there are a lot more Waypoints:
Being a skinflint and reluctant to subscribe to MRA, the app doesn’t have the functionality to use the same mapping for Garmin and TomTom. I don’t understand Basecamp well enough to create a route with shaping points so I can modify the route. The way I use to get around these limitations is to create the route in MRA and then import it into Basecamp where I can recalculate and optimise to my hearts content. It’s taken me several months to get my head around something that works for me but it does work (finally !) Andy
I did all that and played about with it for months. Still wanted to route me back to my hotel to start the route we were already on. That Basecamp must have been developed by someone with learning difficulties.
Here is a another simple way in Basecamp if you already have a rough route, which is a bit 'cleaner': 1. Create a new folder and new list (it's really important to do this to keep track of things) 2. Initially place your major waypoints (right click) where you want them, name them something like WP01, WP02 etc. You can also add some text, e.g. road name, lunch stop.... Zoom right in to make sure you put them right on the road, not off to one side, or the correct lane of a divided motorway. 3. Once you have these go to the Create Route button, drag your first waypoint (WP01) on this, then drag WP02, let it create a route, double click this and then drag each extra way point underneath WP03, WP04 etc. 4. Once you have the basic route, zoom in and check it hasn't sent you down any odd goat tracks or a different road. Sometimes you need to create an additional waypoint (WP06a), then slot this between WP5 and WP6. If it starts drawing straight lines just click the little cog and Recalculate Route. 5. You can always have another window open in Google and use street view to check any roads it's sending you down look like a farm track 6. Finally change the Autonomy to something more sensible and transfer this to your device, open the device, import the route and double check it. I find this is where most anomalies crop up. 7. Once you are riding the Sat Nav might try and make a 'short cut' but you can usually ignore it if you have enough Waypoints set just after major towns or junctions. Occasionally you might have to use the 'skip waypoint' if it keeps trying to turn you round
I wouldn't disagree with you, but it does make sense eventually. This is because your first waypoint was near the hotel, probably in the car park, and as you didn't go past it it was trying to send you back there. Solutions: 1. When you start the route on the sat nav it usually offers you a choice so choose the second waypoint in the list 2. When you plot the map initially in Basecamp make the first waypoint 100m down the road you want to go on (it will then say please drive to highlighted route and guide you there) 3. Use the 'skip Waypoint' option (this changed my life when I discovered it)
I have the Tomtom now and don't have any of that aggro. Plot the route, shape it and sync to device. Simple.
So as an example I just compared creating a Google maps and conversion, then set Waypoints and created a new map in Basecamp. This is the Google version, exported to KMZ, then changed from track to route, I used this as a base to create some new waypoints Here is the same route in basecamp These are the waypoints I created Start creating a route Drag the start and WP01 onto the route This is the first section in Brown, the green line is the Google maps version Changed the line colour to Magenta, added all the Waypoints in number order. You can see some sections are different from the green Google map The route wants to take me across the ferry So I add a new Waypoint, drag it into the list And this reroutes me You can see the route is a bit different from the green Google route, I look closely at a couple of the roads by pulling up a window with google maps and use the street view to check each road Not too sure about this one, looks a bit narrow. The other road looks better, so I'll drag the line to add a shaping point You can see where the shaping points are added as dots, not flags So once I've been over the route carefully I can delete the Google version. I also usually set the date and time on the first waypoint so I can see what my arrival time would be, you can also add lunch stops. Then export it to the Sat Nav. I agree it's more of a procedure than simply sending a Google map to your phone, but I'd rather use a dedicated Sat Nav. I'm sure other people have different ways of working but I've found this works for me. PS The Search function in Basecamp is hopeless, unless you use a postcode
You can just use basecamp without reference to any other app...but I do find it useful to use Google maps street view to have a gander at some parts of routes
Good for you! I was just trying to address your original complaint about you not understanding Basecamp. I’m glad you don’t need any help as you now have your fabulous TomTom... But maybe others who don’t have your foresight might find it useful.
I think it comes down to a couple of things; firstly what sort of riding you do and secondly what level of planning you like to do. Over the last 10 years about 40% of my riding has been on European tours and I do most of the planning over the winter months. I like to have all the hotels booked and routes planned in advance (together with alternate routes for wet weather, options for lunch/coffee breaks and places of interest to visit). So using multiple route planning apps and transferring/converting files between them is part of my tour planning which I really enjoy. I know other riders who would prefer to book hotels and plan routes as they go, in which case there isn't the time to play around with multiple apps especially as you'd have to take a PC/Mac with you to use Basecamp. Even when I'm going for a ride out from home for the day i'd plan the route in the the MyRoute app (FOC version using Michelin maps) and then transfer the route (and track) into Basecamp for finessing (making sure the waypoints/shapping points are actually somewhere near the intended route) and to look at the schedule so I can work out what time to leave home and where to stop for breaks. I use Google Maps when looking for cafes/restaurants and Google Street View to check out options for parking the bike. I also transfer both route and track from Basecamp into my sat nav and then display the track along with the route to check if the route recalculates correctly.
Use Tyre for mapping on your PC it uses Google maps. All you need to do is register with goodle as a developer follow instructions it's quite streight forward and free for the amount you'd use all year just for mapping so don't worry. This will let you then transfer Google maps via Tyre straight to your chosen Satnav be it Garmin or Tom Tom
What purpose is the track in Basecamp used for ? When I transfer a route into it, I delete the track. Should I not be doing that ? Andy
In Basecamp I check that that the route follows the track (default colour for track is grey, so change to something more visible). You can fix any divergence by adding shaping points to the route. You can also step through the shaping points at the highest level of zoom to check they are on the desired road. Once the route is shorted then I delete the orginal track as transferred from MyRoute and create a track from the route. I transfer both the modified route and new track to my Garmin Zumo sat nav and double check that the route still follows the track. If is doesn't then it usually means that the maps are different between Basecamp and the Zumo.
I always wondered about why you also kept the track Steve, helpful to know. I also agree that a lot of problems occur when you have different maps in Basecamp and on your device. that’s why I download the maps to the computer at the same time as doing an update (buried in the options in Garmin express map update)
And after all that route planning palaver, that's why it is incredibly useful and worthwhile having riding buddies like Steve123 & T4M. They lurrrrrrve route-planning. Of course I'm interested too, a bit, BUT NOT THAT MUCH!
