1. • CommentAuthorAdam7288
   • CommentTimeJun 24th 2008

    
   Let me preface this post by saying Bikely is an amazing site, and really is headed in the right direction.
   
   However, finding routes in a particular area is atrociously difficult.
   
   How could this be improved? The simple answer would be, instead of doing text searches for a location, simply have a google maps interface, with markers for the starting point of all routes. You can then, in the search box, filter it by tag, or type.
   
   This makes so much sense from a usability standpoint. Rectifying this issue will clear the way for many potential uses of this site.... (please see my next post on that).
2. •  
     CommentAuthorPeter-DG
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   This was suggested by JiN in topic "Overview map" on May 18, 2008. My comment was:
   "JiN - www.gpsies.com has this feature. I've looked at it and, although it seemed like a good idea, in practice I don't think it has any value. Routes are not points - they extend for 10-100 miles and overlap all over the place. Marking the start point is of no value. If you could plot the whole route, that might be useful. It would be a good start at developing a national bike friendly routes map."
3. • CommentAuthorjohnstevenson
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   We've looked at this. Displaying all the routes in an area turns out to be really quite hard in terms of processing and server resources. In fact Jules tried it in the days before Future bought the site and couldn't make it work. It brought the database to its knees pretty much immediately.
   
   The problem will be even worse now because we have a heck of a lot more routes than we did back then, and there's more data in any given route because of follow-the-road and people uploading from GPS units.
   
   Nevertheless, we realise there's a need for a better 'find routes close to me' function. We'll continue to think about how to do it well.
4. • CommentAuthorbar
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   Help wanted-good cycle routes around Puerto Banus and Marbella so that we can train for a charity bike ride in October-we have seen the Istan route which looks good
5. • CommentAuthorAdam7288
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   You could require limitations to the database query such as:
   -Limit X results
   -Only routes of a certain length
   
   Also, you could require a "Premium membership" (10 dollar donation?) to pay for extra processing power required.
   
   I am going to investigate potential new features to google maps api -> maybe they have streamlined some processes to increase efficiency...
6. • CommentAuthortbryson
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   I don't know if this would have the same impact on the server but ActiveTrails provides a Google Earth network link to a comprehensive list of all their trails which I find useful.
   http://www.activetrails.com/help/GoogleEarth.cfm
   What you see first are icons marking the trail heads so it's easy to see what area is covered and what not. The route lines display when you zoom in and there's a url to the web page for each.
7. • CommentAuthortbryson
   • CommentTimeJun 25th 2008

    
   Also, I see that a number of similar sites put together mapplets that can be added to the Google (My) Maps interface.
   http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/mapplets/index.html
   
   Some will show routes and some will show clickable icons which then take you to routes.
   
   Go to My Maps and click "Browse the Directory" and select, for example
   LocalHikes
   ActiveTrails
   TrailGuru
   Outdoor tracks - GPSies.com
8. • CommentAuthorjohnstevenson
   • CommentTimeJun 26th 2008

    
   Thanks folks.
   
   We'll take another look at this problem and see what we can come up with.
9. • CommentAuthortbryson
   • CommentTimeJun 26th 2008

    
   Well, here's another option in the meantime....
   
   Go to Google Maps, center on and area of interest, type "site:bikely.com" into search field and voila!... icons show up for every ride in the area. If you click on an icon, it will display the route line and you can click the Terrain button and all the others available in standard Google Maps.
10. •  
      CommentAuthorPeter-DG
    • CommentTimeJun 26th 2008 edited

     
    tbryson -
    .
    This is very interesting. What causes one of the bikely routes to appear in the map you describe? When I did it in my area, some routes showed up, but only about 4 or 5 out of about 100 that I know are there. The same for the MMF routes.
    .
    you wrote: "If you click on an icon, it will display the route line and you can click the Terrain button and all the others available in standard Google Maps."
    I certainly don't get this result. When I click on the icon I get the bikely.com map display, NOT the Google Maps with "all the others available in standard Google Maps"
    .
    Can you explain your post please.
    .
    More: I find that some of my routes are located on the Google Map at the start point of the route and others at a point that appears to be the mean point on of the route (calculated c.g.), which may not be anywhere close to the route.
11. • CommentAuthorScot_Gore
    • CommentTimeJun 27th 2008

     
    Jules/John
    Go have a look at BikeMap.net.
    BikeMap.Net
    The Germans have implemented this pretty well.
    Scot
12. • CommentAuthorAdam7288
    • CommentTimeJun 27th 2008

     
    Yes! That is brilliant - having blocks that say "100 routes" and a zoom button for when an area becomes too crowded. Very smart!
13. •  
      CommentAuthorPeter-DG
    • CommentTimeJun 28th 2008

     
    Scot:
    Wow - that's impressive! The way the route appears on the map when you touch the route marker is brilliant. There isn't much in North America(yet), except for the 325 routes around St.P/M/MN - which must be your club's input. There is only one route in the Chicago area (and it's horrible - have you figured out how to get the "write comment" link to work ?-) but I'll work on that.
14. •  
      CommentAuthorPeter-DG
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2008 edited

     
    Click to see my stab at displaying many routes on one Google map. This looks promising BUT it's quite limited. What you'll see is at the max capacity of the system - looks like about 1000 points is it. I actually loaded another loop, which refuses to show; and, the system was extremely sluggish when I was past about 3 loops. However, the process is not too tedious: you just bring up the Bikely map, "share > (right click).KML > properties" and copy the "Address:" into the box that comes up in Google: My Maps > edit > import. Add comments, colors, etc., and that's it.
15. • CommentAuthortbryson
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2008

     
    Bikemap.net takes the cake but to refine my earlier post...
    
    I found that in certain areas, the search results with "site:bikely.com" includes some anomalous links. I found that searching "gpxexport site:bikely.com" seems to eliminate those. Then, when you click on an icon or results link and then again on the link in the pop up balloon after the phrase "1 of 1 placemarks in ..." you see the route.
    
    It may still be true that not all routes show up and that the icons may not be positioned at the start of a route but it's something.
16. •  
      CommentAuthorPeter-DG
    • CommentTimeJun 30th 2008

     
    I see a lot of my old stuff, but not routes I've entered in the last few months.
    .
    Also - how do you get to the actual Bikely map (with all the notes, elevations, etc.) from the Google maps display.
    .
    Sometimes it will click through, usually not. Pre-appending http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/ to the route name will work, but only if the name is the original name used the first time the route was saved and not changed later, and it better not have any spaces.
    .
    There should a route search by name in Bikely.

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