Google Maps Extended Routes

[Daboo]

I stumbled on this and thought it was so cool, it needed to be shared. Here's a link to the original article.

https://www.advrider.com/route-planning-waze-vs-google-maps/

You'll want to watch the video below. There is more to this than just a GPX export tool.

Finally: Export GPX From Google Maps
But! Not to bury the lede, I have recently discovered something that will. Note, I’m still kind of sidelined and haven’t thoroughly tested this. But friends have, to good effect. It’s a plugin for your browser called Google Maps Extended Routes. It’s written by a rider, and lets you create and export a .gpx route directly from Google Maps.

GPS not Phone
I will tell you right here: on rides, my phone stays in my pocket and I use a Garmin Zumo XT to navigate when traveling. So my needs always revolve around a dependable .gpx generator. I have tried all kinds of routing and navigation sites to create those routes. I’ve given Rever, Calimoto, MyRouteApp and others a try. They’ve ranged from “just fine except for a screwup at that one intersection” to “made my GPS go haywire and try to route me to Ghana and back over the next 26 hours.” I’m not joking, the pink lines on the GPS were impressive.

Settings Check
You must be sure, as with BaseCamp, that you must replicate the settings in GMaps you use to create the route, in your GPS. Fastest route, no interstates, no tolls, no ferries? Make sure they’re all the same. If you’re a dedicated phone-as-map rider, you can also use the .gpx file this plugin creates, in any other mapping app that can read a .gpx file.

Chris

 

[ST1100Y]

In any case an interesting project...
Plotting offline most of the time, I do consult online tools to check in advance for any roadworks, or significant frequent holdups... (i.e. a river crossing ferry out of service due low water levels...)
In doing so I work the other way around: plotting my trip in MapSource -> *.gpx file -> upload to https://plan.tomtom.com/en/ which then alerts/shows/re-navigates around any obstructions...

As the European road network is mostly naturally grown, so more dense and woven, I wonder if extended routes offers enough fine tuning so select those "curvy roads" or just sticks to the slab most of the time...

 

[Buckeye Rich]

This is good information. Thanks