GPS routes for France en Velo St Malo-Nice route

[Silverdorking]

I'm embarking on this route end of next week and have just spent an evening cutting out relevant pages from a 2011 easy read AA road atlas for France as my natural preference is a map and the Mk 1 eyeball. But it occurs to me that with my Motorola Android phone with Dynamo charger I might profitably back map reading with sat-nav assistance.
Does anyone have any advice as to where I might find gps route for the entire St Malo to Nice suggested route?

[andymiller]

FWIW the question has come up on CycleChat and it looks like the answer may be 'no'.

My suggestion would be to go to cycle.travel and plot the route using the book (do it in smaller sections). You may need move the 'via points', but the process is pretty quick and intuitive. I would then download both the gpx files and the excellent pdf maps.

[ChrisF]

Try this site for PDF's (and loads more info if you buy the book) http://franceenvelo.cc/route-sn/
You could search on ridewithgps.com for GPS routes. I did Roscoff to Nice last year so could give you my GPS files for the Loire onwards.

[pq]

I have no idea whether you could find such a thing, but wouldn't it be better to decide what you want from the ride and design a route to suit?

[andymiller]

If you check out the pdfs via the link in the previous post it seems like a very well-researched route and a decent guidebook. It seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to want to do.

[Richard Fairhurst]

It is a really good book. Both guidebook and coffee-table "oooh, look at that".

[geocycle]

Yes it is a good book. I asked the same q about gpx routes a couple of years ago when I thought I had a clear few weeks. I suspect that because of the association with the holiday company the route creators are not making the Gpx files public. My suggestion is to plot the villages and towns on something like Richards excellent cycle.travel and then download the route. You might be better to do it in a few sections as long routes can take a while to load on devices.

[Silverdorking]

Well thanks all for all your useful advice. The book is really good, particularly as an informative travel guide but will be left behind on that coffee table due to its weight! GPS files are indeed available at the 'riding with gps' site and will hopefully prove idiot proof once I get started.

[andymiller]

Good luck. But don't assume that because a file is on Ride with GPS that it's correct. When in doubt follow the map and/or that very handy pdf.

[ChrisF]

The book .....will be left behind on that coffee table due to its weight!

I took the e-version with me, so no extra weight if you already have a GPS smartphone.
BTW none of the B&B's recommended in the book had any rooms left when I turned up without booking, so it's clearly been successful. Campsites were fine though (this was September last year).

[Silverdorking]

Thanks again for all your help, leaving from Hereford next Wed with my bivy-bag, hopefully independent of hotels etc!

[andymiller]

Thanks again for all your help, leaving from Hereford next Wed with my bivy-bag, hopefully independent of hotels etc!

A bivvy bag? It's [rude word removed] cold in Johnny-Foreigner-land at the moment. 16 degrees here in Sardegna (compared to 21 in London). I am wearing all the warm clothes I have.

[Silverdorking]

We're made from sterner stuff here in the Welsh Marches!

[jpkp0007]

Herefordians are made of tough stuff. Hope you had a great time and hope you're back and hope you have the entire route available (and possibly top tips) for a Ross-on-Wye-dian to instal on a Garmin?

My son is off to do it on Thursday (on my borrowed Chas Roberts, with my borrowed Garmin... what could possibly go wrong?) and has just asked me if I can find, download & install the route for him.

[Silverdorking]

Got back week last Wed thanks, was 14 fantastic days to include ride down to Portsmouth! Took exactly 1hr 55mins to get back to Bristol from Nice- ain't it real! It's a great route and I'm sure your son will have a great time but tell him not to wear his 3 Lions shirt and steer clear of Marseille!
Did get a couple of GPS routes saved on Ride with GPS which I downloaded if you pm me your email I can send you file links etc. But to be honest, did not get on too well with the GPS, my stupidity most likely! Luckily I had the guide book on my phone which is on a stem mount, kept me right on way out of Villes which is where most mistakes are made and time and effort rashly expended.