Route planning help

[Rob]

Ok, I'll admit that I find gps and route planning confusing. For my smaller local rides I just plan it via the Garmin's screens and I'm fine with that.

Now for some longer trips, I want to plot it in Google Maps or Mapquest and import it. What I am finding is when I export the gpx files to my Garmin, it only takes the waypoint(s) and not the route itself.

So the problem I run into is I get directions from point a to point b in google maps or mapquest. I then drag the route line to make it go to the roads I want to ride - move it around big cities, etc. When I export this, the Garmin just grabs that one endpoint and plots its own route - which is often the original route from google maps that I spent time editing.

Does anyone know if it is possible to capture the route data and not just the waypoints?

It's looking to me like the only way to do this is to build a series of waypoints and import those as a custom route (or as individual waypoints). But to make it use the roads I want, I would need to use quite a few of them to make sure Garmin plots the path I originally intended. This seems kludgey and counterintuitive so before spending a lot of time doing so, I thought I'd ask you all as therem ust be a better way.

I was hoping BaseCamp would let me drag route lines, but that appears to only connect Waypoints as well?

 

[DirtFlier]

As far as I know, the only sure way to create routes on your PC/laptop and download them to the actual GPS unit is by using Garmin software, such as Mapsource, and I've been doing that since 2005 without any problems. Sorry but I don't have any experience with Basecamp

 

[Fieroguy]

On mine, (Nuvi 255), I enter the destination and let the Garmin figure out it's route. Then I'm able to make changes to that route by clicking a point on the map and then the 'Go To' icon. The unit responds by asking me if I want to make it my new destination or a via point. I choose Via point. Then it recalculates the route in consideration of the via point. I can then enter additional via points using the same procedure. It is a bit time consuming, but eventually I'll end up with the route I want to take. Not sure if there is a limit to the amount of via points you can enter. I think I had around a dozen in there before I got the route I wanted.

It's a bit of a cludge, but it works.

 

[Rob]

BaseCamp is the successor to MapSource. The difference is Basecamp is free but includes no maps - it reads/downloads whatever maps you have on your garmin device.

Perhaps I'll spend more time with that, it just looks so Windows 3.1 ish. I literally find it difficult to look at!

 

[KathyL]

I've been using RideWithGPS, a free online service, to plan trips for the last few years. Not only can you save and edit trips you are planning (and, when you're done, download the GPX files for your GPS) but you can also share them with others.

You can also add your own Points of Interest - here's a link to a trip I planned for a return trip to the 2011 Australian Moto GP that includes POIs I added for accommodation along the way: 2011 Moto GP

You can also upload the GPX files from trips you've done and share them with others - here's a link to a trip I did in 2009 (along with more than 40 other riders) on a Honda CT110: 2009 Postie Bike Challenge

And this is the trip I did (along with more than 60 other riders) as part of the same event last year (also on Honda CT110s): 2012 Postie Bike Challenge

 

[DirtFlier]

As far as I know, none of the Garmin mapping software is what I'd call "intuitive," and usually quite the opposite! And it can make you crazy when you first start to use it so be patient and hang in there. I probably have more than 60 routes saved on my PC and this allows me to download one or more of them anytime I want to take a ride in one direction or another. Some of these routes are to a specific destination such as a favorite lunch stop while others are just loops.

My GPS unit is a Garmin Nuvi 500 and can only store 8 or 10 "custom routes" at one time although I've never go that high. On a long trip, my norm might be 2 or 3 routes, with the remainder on my netbook. Having too many saved can affect the speed of the unit in processing
changes in direction.

 

[charlie b]

The one area I wish Garmin would improve on is their Basecamp software and downloading to the GPS unit. Seems they have not modified it since the old days when everything was done with waypoints (land and sea navigation).

THe software should automatically make every intersection a waypoint and then download to the GPS. But, it does not. It will only make a waypoint if you designate one.

So, I do basic planning on the computer and then input the route manually on the GPS, like Fieroguy explained.