Route problems in Google Maps

Jim C-G

Jim C-G

Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
973
Location
Cow Head, Newfoundland, Canada
Bike
ST1300A '05
STOC #
5967
I am just roughing in routes for next summer and will be fine tuning when my new GPS when ever it shows up after being shipped on the dog sled/slow train/pack mule. It seems that Google Maps won't let me plot a route through most National Parks due to them being shut down right now. Not as much a pain in the butt as it is to the thousands of US Federal workers affected by the shutdown and not getting paid, but it would be nice for Google to just let me pretend I'm riding through. Here's hoping that it all gets resolved soon.
 
I've had "seasonal road" notifications before but I've still been able to plot through them. I guess there will be no reservations taken until everyone is back to work too.
 
Jim C-G said:
I am just roughing in routes for next summer and will be fine tuning when my new GPS when ever it shows up after being shipped on the dog sled/slow train/pack mule. It seems that Google Maps won't let me plot a route through most National Parks due to them being shut down right now. Not as much a pain in the butt as it is to the thousands of US Federal workers affected by the shutdown and not getting paid, but it would be nice for Google to just let me pretend I'm riding through. Here's hoping that it all gets resolved soon.
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I see what you mean. Even putting in a future start date had no effect. Was able to change the vehicle to a bicycle and then it would plot a course thru Yellowstone. Too bad you can't set the speed of the bike to between 30 and 70 mph.
 
Jim C-G said:
Didn't think of using a bicycle! That would at least give me mileage even if it calculates it will take me 6 weeks.
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If you simply want distances, look at this - i think its called Google Pedometer. You can get the mileage for any route (I've only used it for jogging - never for anything longer than a few miles). And then there is Basecamp - garmin's route planner.
 
A couple of years ago Google introduce the feature of not being able to create a driving route if the road was closed. Seasonally closed road could not be plotted unless they were open. I imagine a lawyer had something to do with that after the people blindly followed the GPS kept getting stuck in the snow.
There are ways around it but it is not going to go away if you just use Google maps. Some navigation apps have a "disable seasonally closed roads" function. eg. MyRoute Navigation (gold edition).
 
drrod said:
There are ways around it but it is not going to go away if you just use Google maps. Some navigation apps have a "disable seasonally closed roads" function. eg. MyRoute Navigation (gold edition).
Click to expand...

+1

The basic/free accounts at MyRouteApp use OpenStreetMap as the default/only option for the maps; you have to go gold to get Google Maps. I have the gold account. A quick test shows OSM doesn't block seasonally closed roads the way Google Maps does. Using Google Maps it would not let me create a route from Cody, WY to Yellowstone Lake; the route worked just fine with OpenStreetMap.
 
So I have been using Motogoloco.com for the last 3 years. Love the site and everything about it until today when it basically says the site is down until a dispute with Google is resolved. NOT cool. I have a ton of routes saved on it!
 
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tnman said:
So I have been using Motogoloco.com for the last 3 years. Love the site and everything about it until today when it basically says the site is down until a dispute with Google is resolved. NOT cool. I have a ton of routes saved on it!
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What??? Dang nab it!! Several future routes planned on it.

"Sadly, due to changes with Google Maps the MotoGoLoco Mapping Service has been temporarily disabled."
 
tnman said:
So I have been using Motogoloco.com for the last 3 years. Love the site and everything about it until today when it basically says the site is down until a dispute with Google is resolved. NOT cool. I have a ton of routes saved on it!
Click to expand...

Aaaahh, I use it too! Hope they get it resolved.
 
Google Maps announced some time back that they were going to start charging websites and apps that used the Maps API to access the Google Maps functionality including routes. Although there are alternatives (Bing and Open Street Map, for example) Google Maps was / is so widely used and versatile that making a change has to be carefully considered.

Looks like that has caught up with MotoGoLoco.
 
An alternate planning tool I've just started playing with is Furkot. Check it out at https://trips.furkot.com. There are a number of help videos that others have made to help learn to use it. I'm not sure yet if it is being effected in some of the ways Google Maps has been.

Check out:
https://help.furkot.com/

and

Plus Furkot's written Help at https://help.furkot.com/getting-started/planning-a-trip.html.

They also have a Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/furkot/.

I'll then be using the Scenic App from MotoMappers.com on my iPhone for my actual navigation, but it will also export for other GPS devices.

Just an option other than Google Maps or some of the other options mentioned.
 
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ibike2havefun said:
Google Maps announced some time back that they were going to start charging websites and apps that used the Maps API to access the Google Maps functionality including routes.
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I expect the same removal of Google Earth integration with other programs. Suspect that was the reason it disappeared from the last version of Basecamp.
 
TPadden said:
I expect the same removal of Google Earth integration with other programs. Suspect that was the reason it disappeared from the last version of Basecamp.
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I don't use BaseCamp but I know it affected Tyre and MyRoute. The developers switched the default map to OpenStreetMap (OSM) but continue to offer Google Maps as an alternative.

Sure Google is a business, but it was a sad day for me when Google decided it was time to monetize access to the service itself because the information it brought them was no longer enough value on its own.
 
ibike2havefun said:
Sure Google is a business, but it was a sad day for me when Google decided it was time to monetize access to the service itself because the information it brought them was no longer enough value on its own.
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I have mixed feelings, both Google Maps and Google Earth are great products and they remain free for users. Garmin has nothing that is free and is in effect charging users for access to use Google products. Free is always good for the user but I kind of agree they should pay especially as Garmin's map products are not free, we agree it's just business. Free doesn't mean open source.

Tom
 
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I just wish Garmin would fix their voice recognition software. :(
 
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