BikeHikeUK down again.

[Mick F]

I've emailed admin but not received a reply as yet.
http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php

Using Plotaroute meanwhile. Quite good but not nearly as good as BikeHike is/was.
https://www.plotaroute.com/routeplanner

CycleTravel isn't for me. I don't like the way it assumes the way you want (ought?) to go. I want to tell it where I want to go, not let it decide for me.

[Paulatic]

It didn’t stick with OSMaps then?
viewtopic.php?t=124427

[mjr]

"Does anyone know BikeHikeUK down again?" Well they do now! Or was there another question?

[Richard Fairhurst]

It looks like it's an issue with their account with Google Maps - there's an error message saying "You must enable Billing on the Google Cloud Project".

CycleTravel isn't for me. I don't like the way it assumes the way you want (ought?) to go. I want to tell it where I want to go, not let it decide for me.

Indeed, it's a planner not a plotter - different things really.

[Mick F]

It looks like it's an issue with their account with Google Maps - there's an error message saying "You must enable Billing on the Google Cloud Project".

CycleTravel isn't for me. I don't like the way it assumes the way you want (ought?) to go. I want to tell it where I want to go, not let it decide for me.

Indeed, it's a planner not a plotter - different things really.

Yes, I know that, and we've had conversations about it before .......... and your algorithms.

BikeHikeUK used use Google Maps, but went to OSM some time back. The website was giving a message that the Google thing needed renewing, but if you clicked "OK" the message went and you used the OSM. All fine and dandy.
Click away and create a route or track and download the result in many formats.

BikeHike was my first port of call for creating a route or track, and even used it for measuring distances on motorways up and down the country when we've been Up North or somewhere. Plotaroute will do similarly but without the luxury of OS maps.

[sjs]

BikeHike was my first port of call for creating a route or track, and even used it for measuring distances on motorways up and down the country when we've been Up North or somewhere. Plotaroute will do similarly but without the luxury of OS maps.

I sometimes use walklakes.co.uk, which has a gpx creation feature on OS maps down to 1:25k scale if you set up a free account. Not limited to the Lake District, of course.

[Richard Fairhurst]

I think it’s using the Google Maps API to displace OSM maps, if that makes sense - presumably that reduced the work needed to move from Google to OSM. But Google are now pretty strict about any use of their Maps services requiring a billable account, even if you stay below the payment threshold

[Mick F]

I sometimes use walklakes.co.uk .......................

After a quick look, it doesn't seem to follow roads, just "direct routing" ....... or am I missing something?

Nice maps though.

[RickH]

... CycleTravel isn't for me. I don't like the way it assumes the way you want (ought?) to go. I want to tell it where I want to go, not let it decide for me.

If you tick the option "Click map to add more points" (if you are registered & logged in you can set it either on or off as a default) you can use cycle.travel much like you do in bikehike. Bikehike does routing too & you sometimes need to undo & then click a bit closer to the previous point to get it to go the way you want.

Plus it is much easier to add extra points in the middle of a route you've already partly planned, to nudge things where you want to go, than it is in bikehike. And you can click on any part of your route & get an option to see it in Google Streetview, which can be useful to see what the road is like on unfamiliar territory.

"Click map to add more points"

[Mick F]

Yes, I know about CycleTravel and points etc.
By clicking very frequently, you can construct the route YOU want ........... most of the time.
What it won't do, is backtrack on a road. It always sends you to the end before turning round.

Two screenshots.
First is CycleTravel, second is PlotaRoute.

I created a route on both sites. Coming in from the bottom and crossing the railway bridge, turning round and turning right.
PlotaRoute does it perfectly, but CycleTravel makes you go down the road to turn round.

[sjs]

I sometimes use walklakes.co.uk .......................

After a quick look, it doesn't seem to follow roads, just "direct routing" ....... or am I missing something?

Nice maps though.

No, sadly you're not missing anything, as far as I know. It's mainly intended for planning walks I suppose.

[RickH]

... What it won't do, is backtrack on a road. It always sends you to the end before turning round.

The quick trick is to create 2 points close together at/near your turnaround & click the option to "go direct" from the first (lowest numbered) one.

[Psamathe]

.....
CycleTravel isn't for me. I don't like the way it assumes the way you want (ought?) to go. I want to tell it where I want to go, not let it decide for me.

I use cycle.travel all the time (touring) and I nearly always adjust he route and it is very easy to do and takes no time. Just add via points and drag them around.

e.g. this summer following EV 6 and EV 15 (roughly) a lot of the time cycle.travel would find a better route between departure and arrival points (better as more direct, fewer hills, genuinely "better") but I'd often decide that I'd prefer follow more of the EV route so I'd quickly adjust the route.

similarly, sometimes I'd adjust the route to go through a town centre making it longer and worse but there was something interesting in the town or shops I wanted or something. Takes no time, very slick and easy.

Ian

[Mick F]

Not as slick and easy as BikeHike was.
PlotaRoute is very similar to BikeHike. CycleTravel isn't designed for what I want, so therefore I won't be using it.

Main issue, is that you need "a quick trick" or two to get it to do what YOU want.
As Richard said, it's not designed as a route plotter but a rides planner.

Any road up, BikeHikeUK is still down, and has been since Tuesday or Wednesday last week. I emailed them on Wednesday. Still no reply, so I guess the site is dying or dead.

Anyone remember BikeRouteToaster?
That was a good site, then they downgraded it, and now it's dead.

PlotaRoute is a business concern. This is the crux of it.

They charge users £16 a year for the site, but it's a freebie if you accept the delay from click to click and the restriction of only having the ability to save five rides privately.

I'm not interested in saving rides, the tiny delay isn't an issue, or the lack of Google Streetview on a split screen, so I'll be remaining a free user.

They also say that if you pay, you won't get adverts.
Doesn't bother me as I have an adblocker, so even as a free user, I don't see them.

[Vantage]

I used to use bike route toaster. Then it went pear shaped.
Then I went to bikebike. Then it went pear shaped.
Ridewithgps and strava route planning is a royal pita so can't be bothered with those.
I now favour a mix of cycle.travel and GPSies which works for me. I'll use CT to find a route from A to B and back to A. I'll use it's Google street view to check I like the route and I'll make small or big changes in it's route depending on where I do or don't want to go, save it, and then upload to GPSies, save it there and then download again from there.
Why the faffing about with GPSies? Coz downloaded GPX routes/tracks from CT cause my etrex30x to lock up!
If you can live without the OS mapping Mick, GPSies is the next best thing to bikehike that I've found.