Anyone here like planning their own routes?

[flapjackandbeans]

Anyone here who likes planning their own routes?

I have been planning routes around Europe for years using the latest GPS systems, mainly Garmin, and I have ridden hundreds of thousands of miles around Europe following the pink line! We ride as a group a lot, and we always have the same route, so in theory, nobody gets lost. Ha Ha! On my motorbikes, we always used the Garmin, whilst in my car I tend to use Apple CarPlay and any app orientated GPS like Google Maps. When my ****** hip/leg problems started, I was thinking, "Well, after 55 years plus of Racing, Riding, ADV Travel, Touring on bikes, maybe it's time to hang up my boots?" Then came all the advice on this and other UK forums re Can Am's, which I didn't even know existed until then. After one test ride, I wasn't convinced, but as usual, I'm a 'let's get in and then decide' type, so **** or bust, I went and ordered a brand new 2024 Spyder RT Ltd! I got some great ideas from here too. Now that I'm 900 miles in, and every mile has been hip/leg pain, I am wondering....

GET TO THE POINT, MAN!!! STOP WAFFLING!

Right, one thing I enjoy in cars is APPLE CAR PLAY! Yes, I'm a bit of a tech geek! I tried the BRP Go app which is Can Am's BRP footprint app, only to be very disappointed. Then I remembered a pal of mine doing a little test with an App called 'My Route' - I decided last Friday to buy it from the Apple App store; I installed it on my iPhone; and then Mick made a Saturday ride out route, as normal in Garmin GPX files. When I received the route, I simpky clicked on 'Find Route'; My Ride found the route and the GPX files, including over 100 shaping points, and they were installed onto the My Routes app. I then connected my iPhone to the Spyder, and after a pressing a few buttons, it WORKED like DREAM.

It's PERFECT, you can share with friends easily; you can use and plan routes on your phone or Desktop/Laptop. Although I did not do all of the ride on Saturday, as I was in too much pain, I did do a video. See it here:

youtube@flapjackandbeans - it's Saturday's video.

I have also been out in my car, and when iPhone connected to Apple CarPlay, it too used the route very well. There's a myriad of things it also does, just get into settings.

Ps: I am not sponsored or given anything from My Route app, I'm just sharing the joy.

I have placed a couple of screen shots of the app; and it also has a forum - looks like either have 16 messages?

[ARtraveler]

Route planning can be wonderful with this new age of technology.

I still remember the Good Ol Days when the Rand McNally Road Atlas was my friend. The atlas came free from my insurance man in those days. Most of my adventures came from Rand McNally. I did not buy a Garmin until we moved From Alaska to Arkansas in 2019.

[RapidSpyder]

Used the Cardo app “Riser” for a few trips this summer, loved it. Get to choose from Normal, Curvey, and Super Curvey. Sent us on some nice backroads to our destinations.

[StalkyTracker]

Started with a Rand McNally Road Atlas,then collected State road maps, then years later moved to Garmin MapSource, and now use Garmin Basecamp.

[Bfromla]

Plan sounds like one them there *dirty four letter words ** same with :WORK

[RayBJ]

My most-trusted techno-geek friend agrees that MRA is the best - so far - of all the smart phone mapping apps. I still use Basecamp to plan but will play with MRA this winter for the Polar Bear rides. I prefer using the Zumo for navigating.

[djh3]

Basecamp for me was clunky and hard to figure out. I had used Microsoft streets and trips, but it would not convert to a GPX file. But I found a free mapping source - TYRE - https://tyre2navigate.com/?lang=en

It works for Europe, the States, and Canada. Converts to Garmin, Tom Tom, and some other formats.

[racoon]

I'm an Apple fan boy, and Apple Carplay works very well in my 2023 Honda Ridgeline.
I tried to get Carplay to work with my 2024 Spyder RT, and while I did get the route to display on the screen, I could never get the directions to play in the SENA headset installed in my helmet.

I, too, am using Basecamp to plot the longer routes, and then sync them to my Garmin Zumo XT.
And yes, Basecamp is a bit clunky and very frustrating at times, but it works.

[TheMariner]

And yes, Basecamp is a bit clunky and very frustrating at times, but it works.

Maybe give https://www.maps.ie/map-my-route/ a try. It's much easier than Basecamp for route plotting. It defaults to Irelend but will route-mark worldwide. Save your route as a GPX & import to Basecamp for syncing to your Zumo.

[racoon]

Maybe give https://www.maps.ie/map-my-route/ a try.

Interesting website.

It took a lot of scrolling to get to where I live, and I clicked around some, and was able to get it to draw a route.

And then things went sideways, as once it decided the route between two points, I could not change the route.

Basecamp, as frustrating as it is, at least allows me to drag the route line to change it.

I've bookmarked the site and will spend more time with it after I've had my morning coffee.

[PDXRTL]

I think Tyre was the predecessor to MyRouteApp (MRA). From the tyre2navigate page, appears there was a parting of the ways of the people involved.

For as long as I was using only a Garmin to navigate, I didn't find anything better for me to plan with than BaseCamp. It is its own thing and people generally love it or hate it. But I could always make it work and (pretty much) never had to worry about my routes changing from what I did on the computer to what I was following on the gps.

But now, I've got Apple CarPlay available. So I went searching for an app that worked there. Tried several. MRA Navigation was the best for me based on cost and two features - ability to quickly skip a waypoint so that it didn't keep trying to route me back to it; and being able to see what is the current speed limit. So I grabbed a lifetime subscription for it. And eventually went back and added a lifetime subscription to the the MRA planning app since I like planning on my computer rather than phone or tablet. Haven't used the computer app very much yet. Found myself still planning in BaseCamp because of the familiarity with it and because I still run both my Zumo (which I trust based on years of experience) and ACP (which is new and and not yet fully proven on the RTL) . We'll see if I can make the transition over to planning with only MRA as time goes on.

[TheMariner]

And then things went sideways, as once it decided the route between two points, I could not change the route.

That's correct. Check each route leg as you go & use the 'Undo last leg' if you don't like the route it suggests. I think the key is to use enough waypoints to direct the auto-route function to go the way you want it to go.

[racoon]

That's correct. Check each route leg as you go & use the 'Undo last leg' if you don't like the route it suggests.

Ah ha! I see where I went wrong.

I told it I wanted to go from A to B, all at once, without creating multiple "legs" for the trip.

If I have to break the trip down into small legs then the task becomes a lot more complex and difficult.

[nightfalcon]

Ah ha! I see where I went wrong.

I told it I wanted to go from A to B, all at once, without creating multiple "legs" for the trip.

If I have to break the trip down into small legs then the task becomes a lot more complex and difficult.

Any mapping software requires you to input waypoints if you want to take a specific route. Other than options like avoid highways or paved roads (which still allow fairly broad route choices) you have to spend some time waypointing if you want a personalised route. I use Garmin Basecamp for planning which is quite user friendly once you've paid your dues learning it

[TheMariner]

If I have to break the trip down into small legs then the task becomes a lot more complex and difficult.

With respect, I don't see where the difficulty is. To me, having to plan your route from A to B as you'd ride it using waypoints you select along the way to suit yourself is no more work than having 'the system' plot a route from A to B that you don't like and have to go back into and modify.

[bikerbillone]

Missing your Spyder's, ARtraveler?

[ARtraveler]

Missing your Spyder's, ARtraveler?

Yes I am. I am in trouble because now I look longingly at every motorcycle that goes by.

[racoon]

With respect, I don't see where the difficulty is.

That's the beauty of the world, in most cases we can view things differently, which we clearly do here.

[pegasus1300]

I think the same people that came up with Tyre are also doing the MRA, it just superseded Tyre which I think is no longer supported. I have used both and really like MRA, but now just use it to plan imaginary trips as I don't go very far from home anymore. I have imported routes from MRA into my Garmin 660 and used them on the Spyder successfully in the past.

[TheMariner]

That's the beauty of the world, in most cases we can view things differently, which we clearly do here.

I wasn't having a go at you, I was just sayin'...

[Allen42]

I stopped my MRA membership after it started having me do senseless loops, u-turns, and routing me through parking lots when I'd choose the "curvy" options. If I want the fastest, shortest route, Apple maps is the way to go. (I used to prefer Google Maps, but it has recently started letting me down with not knowing about current construction, etc.) If I don't want the fastest route, often Apple will show me alternate routes to choose from, and they have worked out well.