Getting cycle.travel route planner to follow MY route choice

[chris_suffolk]

Does anybody know how to force cycle.travel to follow the route I want?

I have a couple of bridleways on the map, which I can therefore ride, but cycle.travel will not allow me to put a "via point" on the track (even though it shows it on the map). It insists on routing round, using other tracks or roads, and will not allow me to follow the route I want. Is there anyway to over-rule it>

Any help appreciated.

Chris

[geomannie]

I usually use plotaroute.com for route planning and sometimes I get issues like you describe. What it seems to stem from is that the path/route in the underlying Openstreetmap (OSM) layer has not had a flag set as being suitable as a cycle route. Sometimes this is an error, sometimes an omission. Sometimes it's technically correct for legal reasons. Alternatively, sometimes you get routed down tracks that really cannot be cycled. It just depends.

If you are minded to do so, you can edit OSM and change/correct the flags on the path/s in question so that appropriate routing works. I think it takes a while to work it's way through the system, but is a possible long-term fix.

[Jdsk]

Big cycle.travel thread:
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=128273

Jonathan

[chris_suffolk]

Big cycle.travel thread:
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=128273

Jonathan

Yes, I've been reading that but doesn't help with this problem, and things get lost in really long threads, Thanks.

I usually use plotaroute.com for route planning and sometimes I get issues like you describe. What it seems to stem from is that the path/route in the underlying Openstreetmap (OSM) layer has not had a flag set as being suitable as a cycle route. Sometimes this is an error, sometimes an omission. Sometimes it's technically correct for legal reasons. Alternatively, sometimes you get routed down tracks that really cannot be cycled. It just depends.

If you are minded to do so, you can edit OSM and change/correct the flags on the path/s in question so that appropriate routing works. I think it takes a while to work it's way through the system, but is a possible long-term fix.

Have also looked at various other sites, and even tried to make it plan as if I was walking, but none of them will traverse the path I want to use, though I know it's there and passable.

[RickH]

Does adding a via point (click on route & select "add a via point") & dragging that work? Sometimes you have to do more than one to get it to go the way you want (there's a route I've got plotted that takes 20 points to get it to stay on a 4 mile stretch of road that I want to use & not dive off down side streets! That's an extreme example though).

Sometimes though, there is a mapping error & two bits of route aren't joined properly on the underlying map. In that case add 2 via points & drag them as close together as you can (ignoring that the route goes all over the place between the two). Then click on the first point & select the "direct to..." option which will create a straight line between the two points.

[Richard Fairhurst]

Can you say what bridleways they are?

The two most common reasons are: a) it's been marked in OpenStreetMap (which cycle.travel uses as its source data) as a "track" without any indication that bikes are allowed along there, or b) a stile has been placed on the route in OpenStreetMap, and cycle.travel won't send you over stiles. But if you can let me know which bridleways they are, I can look and find out for certain.

As RickH says, the "go direct" option will let you plot a straight line between two points even if cycle.travel would choose not to go there otherwise.

[531colin]

.......the "go direct" option will let you plot a straight line between two points even if cycle.travel would choose not to go there otherwise.

Oh no! That means I wasted ages ....I taught myself to use "ride with GPS" just because its got a "draw lines" option!
RWGPS also lets you see Google earth images to actually see where the track is on the ground, which is useful.
I would have "sponsored" Richard if I could have got it to take my credit card...is that working now, its been some months, not much point plotting routes far away in lockdown! (as I remember, "sponsoring" opens up Google earth in cycle.travel)
If its any consolation, the worst routing system I have come across is in the otherwise excellent OS maps site. Less than £20 a year for unrestricted access to all OS maps; but the routing is pants! It won't follow OS "white roads" even when they have red (or green) blobs for "right of way of unknown status". Instead, it flies you in a straight line (over houses, rivers, motorways) to a random bridlepath which happens to be on the same screen. Completely useless. And when I was trying it, it only "snapped to routes" in National Parks; I suppose thats just a question of time.

[simonineaston]

cycle.travel won't send you over stiles.

That's a relief! ...but a style on a bridleway must be pretty rare.

[Bmblbzzz]

Stiles must be rare/unknown on bridlepaths, but there are plenty with "step over" gates to allow horses to pass but (theoretically) keep out motorbikes. Also, of course, standard gates, which you will have to dismount to open.

Here are some horsists complaining about something similar:
https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/thre ... hs.497298/

[geomannie]

Can you say what bridleways they are?

Good shout. If we knew the locations of the bridleways in particular, we could comment on how OSM has them flagged.

[chris_suffolk]

The specific tracks are:

TM 243 647 to 243 653 then to 241 651 then to 236 659 (all a KM or so NW of Saxtead Green in Suffolk)

In response to a previous suggestion, I can't add a 'via' point. It just won't allow me to place it on the track.

Any help appreciated

[Richard Fairhurst]

It looks like the bridleways haven't been properly connected to each other and/or nearby routes in OSM, so cycle.travel doesn't know you can pass from one to another.

I've just edited OSM to fix them, but unfortunately I'm already running a cycle.travel routing update, so it won't take effect in c.t until the next one - sorry!

[mikeymo]

What it seems to stem from is that the path/route in the underlying Openstreetmap (OSM) layer has not had a flag set as being suitable as a cycle route.

Which flag in OSM does that?

[chris_suffolk]

As RickH says, the "go direct" option will let you plot a straight line between two points even if cycle.travel would choose not to go there otherwise.

Is it possible to switch 'go direct' on for a portion of a route, then switch it off again once cycle.travel will plot ok? I seem only to be able to have it on or off for the entire route, thus meaning it just draws a straight line from start to finish, rather than over specific parts.

[mjr]

What it seems to stem from is that the path/route in the underlying Openstreetmap (OSM) layer has not had a flag set as being suitable as a cycle route.

Which flag in OSM does that?

Ideally, bicycle=yes, permissive or designated, but the routing apps try to infer it from other tags if absent. https://cycle.travel/advice/map/details describes more.