Ride Planning

[Sinker]

I would like to plan a ride from Central Ohio to the Blue Ridge Parkway in a few weeks. I have tried some sites and they are very difficult to work with. Today I tried the HD Trip Planner, which flat out doesn't work. Does anyone know of a good program where I can plan a trip and then save on a thumb drive and load into the Navigation system on my bike?

[Helmwurst]

I feel your pain.. HD Nav sucks, period. I use a old phone pouch on my dash with 3x5 cards with each days route. HD customer service is no better. They told me to use more waypoints. I cannot understand why at least on all the Rushmore bikes and newer, they cannot get Google maps to launch from your phone to the Nav in the head unit. Piss poor design period !!

[ultrafxr]

I've been using GPS units long before Harley had one built in (well there was kind of a lame attempt in the 2006 and 2007 CVO Ultras but it was really pathetic) and even before Garmin had units specifically for motorcycles.  Got my first Garmin over 20 years ago and it came with their mapping software called MapSource.  It was very similar to Microsoft Streets & Trips which I'd been using for a while to plan routes.  Several years ago Garmin quit updating / supporting MapSource in favor of their new software called BaseCamp.  You can get a BaseCamp download for free on the Garmin website I'm pretty sure and I think they still have MapSource there.  If not just google them and I'm sure you can find a download.

In any case I think either of Garmin's programs are easier to use and than any others I've tried including H-D's ride planner, Google maps, etc.  You can save your route in the gps exchange format (.gpx) which your Harley will recognize and you can import to your in vehicle GPS.

I still use and prefer MapSource over BaseCamp because MapSource let's you save individual files (which can have up to 20 routes on them) whereas in BaseCamp it is all in a database format which can be more difficult to manage when you have a lot of routes / trips . . . and I have several hundred.

[chaos901]

I still use MapSource to plan trips, for the reasons mentioned above.  I do copy and paste to BaseCamp before sending to my Zumo though.   

[Coyote]

It took me a long time to finally switch to Basecamp. Having done so and using it for the past several years, it is by far the better of the two.

Here is a ride I have coming up. 10 days out. The route for each day is planned as well as every fuel stop for the entire trip.

While you can do all of this in Mapsource, you can't schedule in Mapsource. Basecamp you can. Makes it much easier to know when you will arrive at each location and it also allows you to calibrate the map based on your riding style. I have most of my speeds set +10 so the timing reflects how I ride on average. Works really well.

[attach=0]

[Coyote]

The database driven Basecamp is also nice because you can have all of your POIs in one location for easy access. The one below shows every fuel station I've ever used. So I just grab the ones I need that fit my route and I know it's good.

[attach=0]

[chaos901]

You can do a database for Gas Stations (among other things) for MapSource.  I pull out the ones for the part of the country where my trip is going.  I do admit that the scheduling is different.  The much earlier trip planning software from Microsoft (pre GPS) was Streets & Trips, it would allow you to add time for gas stops, eating, etc. and I did use that feature sometimes.  MapSource does not have that feature, but it will calculate your travel time based on the parameters you have entered.  Most of those are based on the speeds you select for different types of roads as well.  More a case of an old dog and new tricks, been using this for too long.     

There really is not that much difference in how we go about it, the end results are very much the same.   

[attach=0,msg1358717]

[Coyote]

Yes, that's the way I used to do it as well in Mapsource. But it is more convoluted than it is in Basecamp. I can overlay the route I'm working on with the gas stations and easily see which ones I want.

I'm actually surprised you aren't having Mapsource crashing on you. That became the big reason I switched.

Another cool thing you can do with Basecamp is display every road you've ever used in all your routes.

These aren't all the roads I've ridden but the ones since I switched to Basecamp.

[attach=0]

[chaos901]

It does not crash, but there are at least 3 dead spots I have found, one each in KY, VA and ND.  Again, just personal preference, but I don't want to have all of my routes on the Zumo at once, too busy.  I get it down to the one I am currently riding.  Below is a trip out West that we will be leaving on in a couple of weeks; work permitting.

  [attach=0,msg1358723]

 



 

[Coyote]

Why do you think you have to have all the routes on the Zumo at once? You don't.

Although if it's routes for consecutive days of a trip, I always put the entire trip on. No reason not to.

[chaos901]

I don't put all of my routes on there, I just put the consecutive days of the trip I'm currently running.     

I really believe we pretty much go about it the same way.     

[chaos901]

Liked the map with all the roads.  With MapSource I had to paste all the routes onto a single file.  Now this is just the trips for the last five or six years, except for the green one across the top, still working on that one and have not done it yet. 

[attach=0] 

[Helmwurst]

I was Garmin products for years in the car and on the water. Bought all kinds of plug in maps, lifetime software updates and it all worked pretty well. I hated how long it would take to install the updated maps. Basically, Garmin would delete your entire old map and replaced it with the new updated version. I have not used those devices in a few years and should dig them out and update them with Basecamp. Google maps work on my phone pretty good, even on the water, but when you loose cell coverage on the bike, which I usually do a lot, the map freezes up. Guess I need to get back into the techy side of all this stuff. To you all who have discussed this on the post, thanks, giving some ideas of what I need to fix and get rid of. 

[rkrcpa]

I guess my "index card taped to the handlebar clamp cover" method is considered obsolete?

[Hossamania]

I guess my "index card taped to the handlebar clamp cover" method is considered obsolete?

Nope!

[chaos901]

Never did index cards, but I did use a grease pencil on the inside of the windshield. 

[PoorUB]

I never understood the "ride planning" thing either. I know where and when I am leaving, and know when I need to be at my destination and how far. Then do the math and figure how many miles day to get there. If I get side tracked, I need to do more miles the next day. If I have a good day and get extra miles in, I can relax and roam one day. I usually plan my motel stop the previous evening. I have a fair grasp on the weather and how far I want to go and any stops I want to make. We have traveled and stayed a couple nights in the same  motel because the weather was  the next day. Free and loose!

Once in a while i will plan out a trip, but only as far as each motel stop. I write it up and stuff it in my bags and look at it in the evening so I know the destination for the next day. Gas stops I more or less "wing it". My wife likes to stop every 100 - 150 miles so I plan my next gas stop from the last one and do a quick GPS search for food and gas. The only time this ever failed us was in Montana and we went through a little one horse town and the gas station was not open and a quick search along our route showed that the next city was 30 miles away. I never completely plugged in the next city, so I got as the crow flies, direct over land distance instead of the highway miles. because of mountains the distance was like 100 miles and we couldn't make it so turn around back the the one horse town and look again for gas. Luckily the one closed gas station had pay at the pump that was on 24 hours otherwise we would have had to back track another 20-30 miles. We learned to pay a bit better attention after that.

I have ridden from Fargo to Ashville, NC and trips to Tennessee, and trips to Texas, plus all over the midwest  just "winging it" and never had any issues, no motels planned , no gas or food planned, just ride. I like to wander off if I see something interesting so it is hard for me to follow a rigid route schedule. I have tried it, I break it by the second day!

[chaos901]

My opinion only here.  I plan a lot.  Typically we will ride to about 30 states a year, have done the lower 48 all in one year.  Used to not plan as much but with the limited time I have to take trips I have found it better to plan which roads I want to ride, where I'm getting gas (try to avoid mom and pops) and where I am staying (to keep my wife happy).  I've been looking for hotels way too late in years past and don't like it.     

Most years we will take a few weekend rides locally, a couple of five day trips around Holidays and then an 8 or 9 day trip out west.  Planning is what works best for us.   

Just different strokes for different folks. 

[Hossamania]

With that kind of traveling schedule, I can see where a little planning goes a long way!

[Coyote]

Not to mention, planning ahead allows me to find cool roads I would never find just wondering.

I'm going over to Death Valley next month to meet a friend from NorCal. We're going to ride all over SoCal for a week. He knows all the roads down there and is a "never planner" type. I'm OK with it though but last time we did this, we had to spend half an hour everyday in some parking lot trying to find a motel for the night.

[PoorUB]

I look for my next motel the night before. Never had an issue. Also look for good riding roads the night before. Hit the internet, Google, tuorist info and what not and try to plan the next day, but it is often subject to change!

[biglew55]

I figure I have plenty of time to plan while I'm not taking vacation.  Why waste vacation time trying to figure out where to go?

That's not to say I don't stray from the plan, but by the time I'm leaving on a trip, I have a pretty good idea of where I want to go, how far I can go and what roads are probably worth riding or using to blast just to cover ground. 

We used to try the 'plan on the go' method, but spent more time in hotels and restaurants trying to figure out what is next.  That seems wasteful, when I can get 95% of that done in my living room when I'm not burning vacation time.

It also let's me know what pace to maintain in order to reach my destination.  For instance, a few years ago, my buddy and I decided to try to ride from Iowa to Oregon.  I was able to lay that trip out so that we could maximize time in scenic areas, and blow through areas in the plains states that we could visit on shorter trips.  We managed to make it about 4500 miles in 8 days and visited the local watering holes/dollar bill collectors on half of the evening stops.  We also got to ride PCH and through lava fields and along the Columbia river.  It was quite the experience.

Don't even get me started on riding Deadhorse to Key West....

[PoorUB]

Don't misunderstand me, We have a general idea of where we want to go and any major attractions we want to see.

You guys don't stop in the evening, have a couple beers, eat, sit back and relax?

My planning for the next day is done during that time, when we are just sitting around and unwinding. Already checked into the motel, sitting at a steak house or bar, or maybe just outside at the motel enjoying the sunset. It might take a whole 15 minutes, maybe a half an hour if are having too many beers! It gets done during the normal B.S. that flows fluently at that time.

[biglew55]

Don't misunderstand me, We have a general idea of where we want to go and any major attractions we want to see.

You guys don't stop in the evening, have a couple beers, eat, sit back and relax?

My planning for the next day is done during that time, when we are just sitting around and unwinding. Already checked into the motel, sitting at a steak house or bar, or maybe just outside at the motel enjoying the sunset. It might take a whole 15 minutes, maybe a half an hour if are having too many beers! It gets done during the normal B.S. that flows fluently at that time.

We do usually sit back and relax, but I'd rather use that time to BS and relax.  I don't have to worry much about what to do the next day unless we decide to do something different.  Experience shows that will frequently turn into a goat-rope in short order.

[PoorUB]

I guess whatever works for you. I have been traveling this way for 15 years. Every summer one or two major trips. Make a list of where we want to go and pretty much "wing it"! We often ride with another couple and it works for us. Like I said earlier, we can't follow a strict schedule, it doesn't work for us.

One thing we also do is plan the trip with an extra day, unplanned at the end of the trip. If we hit bad weather, or the site seeing gets out of control we have a make up day. We had one trip where we hit bad weather and we just had to be at a certain city the next day. The wives were not happy running 300-400 miles pretty much all day in the rain. We have learned to relax a bit since then.