Comments on: Route planning in Google Earth http://cycleseven.org/route-planning-in-google-earth CycleSeven Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:11:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Patrick http://cycleseven.org/route-planning-in-google-earth#comment-664 Patrick Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:24:02 +0000 http://cycleseven.org/?p=2660#comment-664 It takes a little while to get used to the navigation controls in Google Earth, but after that it's a breeze. There's a useful <a href="http://earth.google.co.uk/userguide/v4/#navcontrols" target="_blank">help page here</a>. To draw a path, you click the <strong>Add Path</strong> button on the top menu. This opens a dialog box where you name your path, choose line colour, etc, and you <strong>need to keep the dialog box open</strong> to draw the path by clicking with the drawing cursor. When you close the dialog box your path is stored in the Google Earth sidebar. To re-open the path and continue drawing, you <strong>right click on it's name</strong> in the sidebar and open <strong>Properties</strong>. If required, the last point can be deleted by right clicking on it. You will find that when you zoom right in, the ground tilts, which is fine for a 3D view, but when drawing, you can avoid this tilt by zooming in by pressing your 'plus' (+) key on your keyboard and scrolling the mouse wheel. It's also easier to move the map sideways or up and down with the arrow keys on your keyboard. A path is saved to your hard drive by <strong>File / Save / Save Place As</strong>. This will be a Google Earth <strong>.kmz</strong> file, which then needs converting to <strong>.gpx</strong> for uploading to your GPS unit - this can be done online with the <a href="http://www.gpsies.com/convert.do" target="_blank">GPSies route converter</a> but I use <a href="http://www.routeconverter.de/" target="_blank">this route converter</a> on my desktop. It's important to remember that you are creating a GPS <strong>track</strong>, not a route, nor do you want any waypoints when you transfer the file to the unit. Then on tour, you don't select 'Navigate' but you follow this track visually on screen. This is perfectly adequate, saves on battery, and allows you 500 trackpoint per route instead of the lower 250 routepoint limit if you were using a 'route'. I've recently purchased Garmin's City Navigator Europe NT maps on DVD. This is better value than buying the individual twin-country Micro SD cards and means you can use the detailed maps in MapSource as well as transferring the maps to your Garmin. But you will need a blank Micro SD card (2 Gb) for your GPS. More on <a href="http://cycleseven.org/garmin-etrex-hcx-cycle-touring-setup">GPS cycle touring setup »</a> It takes a little while to get used to the navigation controls in Google Earth, but after that it's a breeze. There's a useful help page here.

To draw a path, you click the Add Path button on the top menu. This opens a dialog box where you name your path, choose line colour, etc, and you need to keep the dialog box open to draw the path by clicking with the drawing cursor. When you close the dialog box your path is stored in the Google Earth sidebar.

To re-open the path and continue drawing, you right click on it's name in the sidebar and open Properties. If required, the last point can be deleted by right clicking on it.

You will find that when you zoom right in, the ground tilts, which is fine for a 3D view, but when drawing, you can avoid this tilt by zooming in by pressing your 'plus' (+) key on your keyboard and scrolling the mouse wheel. It's also easier to move the map sideways or up and down with the arrow keys on your keyboard.

A path is saved to your hard drive by File / Save / Save Place As. This will be a Google Earth .kmz file, which then needs converting to .gpx for uploading to your GPS unit – this can be done online with the GPSies route converter but I use this route converter on my desktop.

It's important to remember that you are creating a GPS track, not a route, nor do you want any waypoints when you transfer the file to the unit. Then on tour, you don't select 'Navigate' but you follow this track visually on screen. This is perfectly adequate, saves on battery, and allows you 500 trackpoint per route instead of the lower 250 routepoint limit if you were using a 'route'.

I've recently purchased Garmin's City Navigator Europe NT maps on DVD. This is better value than buying the individual twin-country Micro SD cards and means you can use the detailed maps in MapSource as well as transferring the maps to your Garmin. But you will need a blank Micro SD card (2 Gb) for your GPS.

More on GPS cycle touring setup »

]]> By: Garry http://cycleseven.org/route-planning-in-google-earth#comment-663 Garry Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:57:34 +0000 http://cycleseven.org/?p=2660#comment-663 Patrick, that's super. I've recently done one tour with GPS, the CTC Lejog one. I'll have to get cracking to do what you've done. I've toured in Denmark once; about four years ago we cycled from Berlin to Copenhagen. Denmark was surprisingly nice with very pleasant slightly rolling countryside and great roads for cycling. I've used an aspect of Google Maps for my last trans-Iberian tour. I basically planned the route on Google Maps and for each town, if I entered Hotels, or B&B on the search line I got all of these on the screen, with their location, telephone nos etc. I then did a selective screen shot of all of these. When I'd finished I loaded all of these images onto the memory chip of my phone (A Samsung Tocco) and was able to scroll through them at will. This enabled me to have the info on all possible towns in which I could stay in my phone. It was more than useful. Combining this with what you've done would be new dimension for touring! Patrick, that's super. I've recently done one tour with GPS, the CTC Lejog one. I'll have to get cracking to do what you've done.
I've toured in Denmark once; about four years ago we cycled from Berlin to Copenhagen. Denmark was surprisingly nice with very pleasant slightly rolling countryside and great roads for cycling.
I've used an aspect of Google Maps for my last trans-Iberian tour. I basically planned the route on Google Maps and for each town, if I entered Hotels, or B&B on the search line I got all of these on the screen, with their location, telephone nos etc. I then did a selective screen shot of all of these.
When I'd finished I loaded all of these images onto the memory chip of my phone (A Samsung Tocco) and was able to scroll through them at will. This enabled me to have the info on all possible towns in which I could stay in my phone. It was more than useful. Combining this with what you've done would be new dimension for touring!

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