Following custom routes when driving

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17 Mar 2004
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I've got a BMW Z4 (E85) with the professional nav. It's 10 years old and lacking features of the modern TomTom's etc but for simple A to B directions, it's fine.

Now, I often use Google Maps to create hooning routes but I'm struggling to follow them. Obviously I can't integrate these into my sat-nav, and I can't copy them over to my iPhone.

Fair enough I could make a note of the URL, then open in my iPhone but that relies on being in a location where I can pick up 3G - and even then I can only see the route - and not where I am with turn by turn directions etc.

I had something which would be ideal when I went out on my mountain bike - you could find GPX files of routes, it would give you a URL which you'd open up in a GPX viewer app on the phone and download all the data for offline viewing. Then when you're out on the bike, it'd mark your position and you could see where you were heading along the route.

Something like this would be perfect however I can't seem to find any sites that will allow you to turn a Google Maps URL into a GPX file. I know you can use the map maker feature but it's SO much more complicated than just typing in destinations and tweaking the route to suit.

At the moment I'm having to print off directions which inevitably end up flying all over the car or I keep having to stop and check I'm going the right way. Not ideal!

How do other people do it?
 
Caporegime
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26 Aug 2003
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Leafy Cheshire
I used to just go for a drive. No maps, no sat nav, no directions.

Once I'd had enough, point the sat-nav home again and it doesn't matter if you know where you are or not.
 
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Sometimes I head up to the Peak District or over to the Yorkshire Moors which are the type of places where you can just drive without really taking notice of where you are, a lot of the time you'll find yourself on a decent road anyway.

Fox - that'd be OK but depending on the area there's not always road signs to tell you where you are / where you're going. There's been a few times an enjoyable hoon has turned into a ballache when you're miles away from the road you're supposed to be on.

http://www.routebuddy.com/routebuddy

I'm gonna give that a download and see if it'll allow me to create some routes easily and export to GPX.

Edit: This would be perfect but I think the newer versions of Firefox etc don't support it: http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/
 
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Soldato
Joined
13 Mar 2004
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16,649
Now, I often use Google Maps to create hooning routes but I'm struggling to follow them. Obviously I can't integrate these into my sat-nav, and I can't copy them over to my iPhone.

Fair enough I could make a note of the URL, then open in my iPhone but that relies on being in a location where I can pick up 3G - and even then I can only see the route - and not where I am with turn by turn directions etc.

Just find roads that you like to drive, or do you have to rely on an internet post to tell you whats a good road, whats good fun etc?
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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18,299
Just find roads that you like to drive, or do you have to rely on an internet post to tell you whats a good road, whats good fun etc?

So you've driven every good road in the UK and remember the good ones and how to get there?

Drive around in Wales on hopes and dreams and I can promise you will end up wasting 75% of your day driving dull boring roads.
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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18,299
Have you managed to get that to actually navigate along the custom route? Every time I've tried it Maps shows the route but Navigation recalculates it based on the start and end points.

Yes, it does work but can be tricky to get it started. Been a long time since I've done this so don't remember exactly how.
 
Soldato
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14 Jul 2005
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Location
Bristol
Last proper hoon I went on, I set the nav to take me to a known location then just drove around. Ended up spending half a day driving around, spotting signs, heading towards somewhere, if the road was rubbish, just take a turn at the next junction. I went through a tank of fuel and got sunburn, totally worth it for a sunny roof down drive.
Once I decided the driving was done, I did as paradigm says, set the nav to take me home and headed back. :cool:

Exploring is more fun than following set routes IMO. Roads can look OK on a map but turn out to be rubbish when you drive it, and vice versa too.
 
Soldato
Joined
13 Mar 2004
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16,649
So you've driven every good road in the UK and remember the good ones and how to get there?

Drive around in Wales on hopes and dreams and I can promise you will end up wasting 75% of your day driving dull boring roads.

Ive just spent the last week in Cornwall, when youre in places like that or Wales you never have to go far to find a good road.
 
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