Trip planning tools

[Tev62]

I picked up the new Garmin GPS for bikes. Not that impressed.

However; I discovered my new phone will talk to me via my Cardo headset which worked out pretty good on my last trip. Now the GPS can do the same thing so you don't have to look at it.

I used to put a paper map in a clear top pocket on the tank bag but I find a GPS is actually safer (easier to read and closer to my line of sight).

In any event, I use paper maps and google maps to pre-plan a trip - and found google map routes can be (with a 3rd party) can be sent to the Garmin via Bootcamp (a software package I'm not keen on). Butler maps are really useful if you ride dirt and dual sports.

GPS technology is horrible! In 2021 there is no excuse for how arcane and technologically backward it is. Garmin & TomTom are equally bad. TomTom used to be "pretty good" with the My Routes route planning app on your phone that you could shoot to the GPS by Bluetooth in seconds...then they intentionally broke that. Tyre to Travel was a great route-planning & POI software that could directly load routes and POIs into the TomTom...then they intentionally broke that too. Now they have subscription-ware that they want me to pay for? No way, I have zero trust in these clowns. Now my Rider 400 is just a stupid lump with old maps and rudimentary route-planning abilities.

I always say that Google could drop in and destroy both of these GPS slumlords if they every introduced a Google Maps GPS product line.

They already have decimated the market with the amount of people using google maps on their phones albeit with rudimentary routes, no need for them to make dedicated hardware.

I still like to use my Tom Tom for multi day trips planned with MyRouteApp. You can save the output wirelessly to your Tom Tom automatically which is handy. That gives you a Track, if you want a Route you do have to save the output from MyRouteApp as an ITN file and transfer to the Tom Tom, either connected to the PC or via an SD card. I find MyRouteApp (even the free functionality) very useful for trip planning even if you don't use the GPX output on a device. Just planning how far or how many hours a day you want to ride is handy.