Route planning

[JohnSlater]

Hi, I'm doing my LEJOG next month, and I'm still not sure how best to plan and navigate the route. I understand that a Garmin 810 will do this but I only have a 200, and I'm a bit reluctant to splash out another £300 to upgrade. I suppose I could take photocopies of maps, but I'm sure I'll regret that extra weight when I'm struggling up those hills! I was also considering using google maps on my phone, but I'm concerned that it will drain the battery. Any suggestions - gratefully received. Thanks

[rareposter]

I'd say that your options are to beg/borrow/buy/steal a Garmin (other GPS manufacturers are available...) and then learn to use it effectively in the next couple of weeks (which might be asking a lot, some of them do have some foibles and it can take a while to learn them to their capabilities).

Plan the route now and just write out a route card for each day. Best bet is a sheet similar to the ones audax use, you can make your own by folding a sheet of A4 into quarters. That keeps everything compact and means you just refold it when you need to see the next bit. Also means you can add in things like stops for sightseeing, food, overnight stay etc with any pertinent details like contact info.

Buy a road atlas and cut out the pages you need. Again, lightweight, cheap and you won't need any more detail than what's on a good atlas anyway (although try and avoid any with pointless speed camera symbols etc). Once you're off each page, just bin it.

Or change your plans and join a guided LEJOG which cuts out the need for any route finding!

[hilloverthehill]

I did JOGLE in November, as traffic-free as possible. Went very non-technical with atlas maps for easy navigation, and OS sheets for more complicated sections. I took out an online membership of the OS, which I'd recommend if you were going to use maps. Unlimited printing of what you need. I sent maps to my folk's place as they happened to be about halfway. If you're interested in my route I've just completed a blog at http://hilloverthehill.blogspot.co.uk. Have a great ride!

[Paulatic]

These guys are currently doing a 10 day LEJOG. I think this is day 2 and judging by the bikes I think Garmin routing may have got them into this mess. lol

[eileithyia]

These guys are currently doing a 10 day LEJOG. I think this is day 2 and judging by the bikes I think Garmin routing may have got them into this mess. lol

ha ha ha ooops! that will take a bit more than 10 days if they keep doing that!!!!


I would go for the Atlas option and throw pages away once no longer required.

[rareposter]

No, they're just Rough Stuff Fellowship riders enjoying a spot of sightseeing.



You do need to check Garmin routing, my Edge Touring has options where it can choose to use or not use "unpaved roads" and "narrrow tracks". There are occasions where it will somehow default back to previous settings. Normally if you use it on a pre-programmed route it's fine but problems arise when the unit itself tries to recalculate a route (eg if you miss a turn or a forced to take a diversion due to a closed road). It will calculate based on either minimal time (which usually throws you onto busier roads) or minimal distance (which, if it's allowed to use tracks will often just pick any random bridleway on the grounds that it's a straight line on the gorund from A to B).

It's a bit like a car sat nav which insists that you can drive this lorry down that tiny country lane...

[Psamathe]

The battery issue on a phone depends to a large extent on how much you use your routing (I've not done a LEJOG so have no appreciation of the route). If you want to use it like an in car Satnav, speaking to you and screen on the entire time then it will drain fast. If you use it with e.g. Google Maps online then you will probably be doing a lot of GSM data communications so will flatten the battery. Get an app that pre-downloads the mapping (over WiFi) and you will save loads of battery (on my iPhone I use MapOut and have pre-downloaded the entire UK and as it's vector format (and free mapping) it is all incredibly detailed - far more detailed than OS mapping and does not take much space (around 400MB)). But if you only need to stop and check periodically and not using it for track recording, switch to low power mode (i.e. reduce e-mail checking), even switch to airplane mode the battery could last a long time.

For example, on my iPhone (with downloaded mapping) I leave GSM data, GSM, etc. on, have e-mail checking on several accounts on the most frequent setting, etc, record my tracks and a couple of hour ride takes 15% of the battery life. This could be dramatically reduced by not track recording (switches off GPS), but not email checking, by not having GSM data enabled, by switching on airplane mode, by switching on low power mode, etc.

Try it. Low cost and you still have time to experiment.

Ian

[robgul]

To me the basic rule with Garmin is to NOT use "take me to" routing facility - it simply does not work in any realistic or logical way.

Plot your own route, or find gpx files, using any of the plethora of online mapping services and load to your Garmin - and it's always a good idea to have the "analogue GPS" a.k.a. a map (it doesn't need batteries!)

AND loads of resources and stuff at www.cycle-endtoend.org.uk (including ready-made routes)

Rob

[cycleruk]

The biggest drawback to any GPS unit is battery life. Some need recharging and others use standard replaceable cells.
The 810 has rechargeables so some form of charging has to be found.
A 'paper' map can be a problem in the rain so needs to be somehow waterproof but doesn't need batteries.

[JohnSlater]

Hi all, thanks very much for all your replies to my route planning dilemma. I've been having a little play around with my garmin 200, and I've found the course option which allows me to create routes that are quite easy to follow. Therefore, i'll probably plan my LEJOG route in advance and use this, and also take atlas pages (thanks for the tip) as a back-up.
On a separate point, does anyone out there know of a good app for 'live tracking' so my friends and family can track my progress?
Cheers John

[sbcoombs]

For route tracking I used to use FollowMee or Glimpse on iPhone. I now tend to just use Follow Friends and share my location. It works for anyone with iPhone without draining the battery. It doesn't give the online trail of the other apps but shows current location.


I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my wobbly bog brush using hovercraft full of eels

[DaveP]

Hi all, thanks very much for all your replies to my route planning dilemma. I've been having a little play around with my garmin 200, and I've found the course option which allows me to create routes that are quite easy to follow. Therefore, i'll probably plan my LEJOG route in advance and use this, and also take atlas pages (thanks for the tip) as a back-up.
On a separate point, does anyone out there know of a good app for 'live tracking' so my friends and family can track my progress?
Cheers John

This still sounds as if you might be intending to let the device choose your roads - really, don't do it! Use an on line route planner to generate a .gpx file and load that. The one I used to use seems to be dying or I would recommend it, but there are several getting favourable mention on here.

Also wanted to suggest the use of Google Earth (for overviews) and Streetview as planning aids. Not particularly good for steepness issues, but brilliant for having a look at junctions, and generally deciding if you feel like using a particular road.

[Si]

Selected pages taken out of OS road atlas, route marked with high-lighter, takes up virtually no room, weighs next to nothing, doesn't run out of battery. Worked for me. Was also easy to amend route on the hop.

[TrevA]

I'd advise also taking a compass, though your smartphone may have one built in. We got lost a couple of times and became a bit disorientated, but if you know you are generally head south/north, then you can follow a compass bearing.

We used paper maps and only tended to get lost in towns, where the mapping wasn't detailed enough.

[hazecellar]

how about going to ridewithgps web site - type in lejog - choose one of the tried and tested routes - get your map and copy in pen - simple