If you have a TomTom or Garmin GPS you probably received a TomTom product or MapSource for Garmin as stand alone software. If you are not interested in GPS etc – move along as this will bore you.
I have found both TomTom and Garmin packaged software awkward and not at all user friendly. I am aware that most automobile drives will just punch in a destination and let the GPS guide them to where they want to get. It works and for the most part works well. However a lot of us (especially those who ride motorcycles) like to plot our own route and most often that will be a route that avoids the multi-lane highways. This can be done with the included tools, but, as I mentioned, I find those tools awkward.
Google maps is an amazing on-line mapping / routing tools. Spend some time using it and I suspect you will begin to realize the power and flexibility of this tool. In my opinion, it is the best of the selection of mapping tools. However, how does one get a carefully prepared map route (prepared on Google Maps) on to the GPS?
I have discovered two ways. One is easy, the other takes a few more steps. Both work.
One way is to first draw your map in Google Maps. Below is a sample map that I created from down town to the airport.
Note the arrow that points to ‘save to my maps’ I click on that link and save the map to ‘my maps’ and give it a unique name.
Now I can open ‘my maps’ and see the map I just saved.
Note the arrow in the upper right pointing to a link button. Click this button and copy the link to your clipboard.
Now rush off to takitwithme (no, I did not misspell that) and past the link into the map link box and click ‘load my map’.
You will see your map as below:
Plug your Garmin GPS in the computer using your USB cable and click on ‘upload to Garmin GPS’. You are done. You can now load your custom route from your GPS and navigate the plotted route. This only works with Garmin GPS units.
That was the long way to do it. The alternative is to get a wonderful free product called Tyre. Tyre uses Google Maps and allows you to create custom routes by inserting waypoints. Then just adjust the waypoints to suite your routing requirements. I just made this sample of N. Shore to Hammonds Plains:
When I am satisfied with the route I click OK and return to the route screen. From there I simply click on Garmin (or TomTom if using TomTom hardware) and the route is copied to the GPS.
If this is the sort of thing that interests you and you have a Garmin or TomTom I recommend Tyre. It is a very nice product.
27 Feb 2010 at 10:14 am | #
Interesting. As a Luddite without the attention span to plot waypoints , I have been printing off confusing sections of my route from Google Maps and carrying them in the window on top of my tank bag. I do this because I can enlarge them as much as I like to show the specifics of multi ramp interchanges and merging lanes in high density areas. The 8.5x11 sheets are easy to read without glasses.
I realise that this is not a substitute for all the functions that a gps can provide, but it is a simple way of using Google Maps.
27 Feb 2010 at 11:02 am | #
Agreed that is a reliable and tested procedure. I did much the same for years. However after being gifted a GPS a few years ago, I am convinced, that for me, the GPS is a keeper. Riding through downtown Montreal during rush hour after dark sold me.
However for long tours, I will still carry a paper map as back-up.