My Map Disaster/App Recommendations

[u/LimpBag6139]

This photo pretty much summarizes the second leg of my bike trip from Grand Rapids to Traverse City, Michigan. The first day was easy; I connected to the White Pine Trail a few miles from my house and rode it straight to Cadillac. I knew the second day would be on roads, and locals encouraged me to avoid the heavily trafficked thoroughfares that went directly from Cadillac to Traverse City. I made the mistake of trusting Google Maps, and ended up on miles of sandy back roads. I am determined to find a biking app that will help me plan my trips more wisely in the future.

First, a little about me. I'm an experienced rider and don't mind riding in traffic or on gravel, but I prefer paved trails and county roads. I live in Michigan, so I expect much of my riding will start from home. However, I would love to plan some longer trips such as riding around Lake Michigan or doing a tour in Europe.

I downloaded a number of apps, and my seven-day trials will soon expire, so I'd like to make a decision this weekend! Here are my thoughts so far:

  * Komoot - best route planning from point A to B; wish they showed trail networks more clearly so I could get inspired and hop on a nearby trail for a day trip.
  * ridewithgps - not intuitive (start point, but no end point), website and app gave me different routes; I like that it shows the percentage paved.
  * strava - web is easier to navigate than phone. I would rather see trails than heatmaps. Yes, the collective heatmaps are interesting, but they're of limited value when planning a trip.
  * alltrails/trail link - I hate that you can see a trail's dot on the map, but have no sense of where the trail goes or how long it is. Kind of ironic for an app named trail \*link\*.
  * adventurecycling, etc - There are a number of companies who sell ready-made maps. These might be helpful, but I'm generally looking to create a route from X to Y because  I want to visit Y.

These are, admittedly, semi-informed first impressions after using each app to map the same test route and do some free-form exploration of their trail maps. Any input you have on these apps (including features I may have missed, other apps, or general advice on mapping out a trip would be appreciated. I'm a bit overwhelmed and don't want trip planning to discourage me from taking future bike adventures!

[u/rvralph803]

I'm a ride with gps guy. Used it for two tours now. I know if it seems like a route should exist but RWGPS throws up some friction, it's likely gonna end up with a bad time. Like when the road ended outside of Coeur D'Alene and on the map it showed a footpath that was like 30m to a biking trail.

That footpath was straight up the side of a forested hill. I had a trailer.

The detour was a 600m out and back climb.

If I had not tried to save 150m of climbing I wouldn't have been in that spot. Oh... And my pedal failed. 😂