having trouble getting google to choose the dirt roads you both know are there when trying to build a route? choose the walking button instead of the driving button. seems to go for least distance better. found that out after it refused to use the plenty hwy this morning. much more friendly now. maybe i'm just slow
After yu've pressed the walking button, you can also drag the suggested route to where you want it!! Try it.
If you want to then load your Google Maps track onto your GPS, this site will allow you to convert into GPX format: http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/ I find this handy as my GPS uses Oziexplorer, which doesn't do any routing.
I did this and 99% of the time its fine. I did end up one day looking at a long staircase that it wanted me to ride up... :eek1
or get adventurous and toggle the map to satellite view and plot your route along visible tracks after the roads officially end. discovered some amazing stuff this way, but of course respecting private property if and when you come across it. last time i looked you could only save your routes in the kml format which you then need to convert for a lot of gps units. i tend to use bike route toaster now as you still use the google satellite maps (swtich to hybrid view) but can save as a gpx for easy upload to the garmins. remember to untick the "auto routing" box though if going off the beaten track. there are similar online tools like this around.
the below is what I get when I try and use GMapToGPX v6.4j (ERROR) There doesn't seem to be any extractable data on this page. If there is, but it's not detected, please visit the project homepage and leave a bug report, including a link to the page you're on right now. Note: Google Maps mashups (that is, a page with a Google Map on it, but not at google.com) do not automatically work with this utility. If you would like to see GMapToGPX work with a Google Maps mashup site you maintain, please leave a comment on the project page.
yep, knew about dragging but for big detours the minor roads i want to use tend to disappear as i zoom out didnt know about those tools to send to gps either. might check that out tonite
The program 'GPSBabel' translates most GPS files .. including KLM ... to/from gpx, gbl etc ... Oziexplorer will use GogleEarth .. don't know about GogleMaps .. The Plenty Hwy would be a long walk!
Try the pushbike mode. Google maps is a PITA, it won't let you plot any route that involves dirt, even if the dirt road is an officialy gazetted road. Pushbike and Walking modes seem to let you go via dirt though.
Have you tried motowhere? I've used it for a few plans. Simple to use I found just drag along the route you want
Hmm, some good tips here, thanks everyone for posting My little tip, when I was out at Roma, I found bing maps showed more road names than google maps, which is good to know as many of the locals will talk about certain roads and regions, which can lead to some good tips for routes
I like b1 's suggested program. I was going to add that Oztopo 5 has the street name visible when you zoom in. I added it to Basecamp as the default map. A nice combination.
