Best way to find and navigate off-road MTB routes

[topographer]

Apart form the obvious stile problem it is illegal in England to ride on a public footpath. On bridleways there will be gates for you to pass. I fully agree with this ruling and any attempt to cycle on paths across farmland will only cause aggravation with farmers and walkers and not do the cyclist's cause any good.
Get a good map and look for bridleways, green lanes, canal tow paths and forest tracks. Around my area I can easily cycle 30 miles without having to go on a road.

That reminds me. I was talking to a motorcyclist a while ago about a website (or was it an app?) he'd found which listed local green lanes. Could be handy...if I can identify it.

Farmers can be aggravating too, like when they plough over public footpaths.

 

[awol]

A good thread as I have been thinking the exact same thing recently and didn't know where to start.
With Gubbins and BazP mentioning bridleways (to do with horses apparently) I had a search for bridleway maps and came across this horse related website. I just stuck my postcode in and found loads of local bridleways mapped out. I may soon start exploring.
http://www.bhsaccess.org.uk/ridemaps/Ridingmap.php?file=Ridemapshome

 

[Deere John]

I have an Edge 1000 and when riding trails I much prefer the OpenMTBmap. For finding new trails or follow a route. The built in map is only good for Road cycling. Better to have another for MTB. You can use either one, just to enable what you prefer.

For creating route I use Strava. I wish I would use GPSies more because there you have alot of other map sources to chose from. Not one is perfect, sometimes you need to look on another.
But Strava is convenient with Edge with their new route-sync IQ app.

Heatmap function in Trailforks is also nice.

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[topographer]

I use MemoryMap os25k maps on my phone. The App is free but you pay for the maps. Its the only thing I've found that differentiates between private tracks, footpaths and bridleways. Two of which you shouldn't be on. Riding across a greyed out space is not much good. I look at Google Sat view to check on the state of some tracks but again it doesn't tell you if they are private. Using footpaths becomes a problem if you come to a high stile with a 23kg bike.

I put MemoryMap on my phone and it let me have an OS map to try for ten days. But there's no key so I'm not sure what all the symbols are. I think I need to buy the paper version as a starting point to familiarise myself.

 

[BazP]

I put MemoryMap on my phone and it let me have an OS map to try for ten days. But there's no key so I'm not sure what all the symbols are. I think I need to buy the paper version as a starting point to familiarise myself.

You can get the map key from the Ordnance Survey site. The 1:50,000 scale map uses slightly different colours to the 1:25,000 scale map.
Deere John mentioned above using different maps but if in's not on the OS map it doesn't exist.

 

[EddiePJ]

OS Map Finder for me, for when riding on the South Downs, and (Hallwag) HKF-Maps for when riding in the Swiss Alps.

I'm not sure if I was just unlucky, but after recently upgrading to a new phone, I discovered that the OS map tiles couldn't be transferred to the new phone. I tried and the shop tried, but it wouldn't let me transfer them across. In the end, it didn't prove to be an issue, as I was able to continue to use the old phone for mapping, with no phone contract required.

I also once discovered that it pays to buy the map tiles in advance of where you might be riding. I wanted to buy a map tile when out on a ride, and the system wouldn't allow me to do it.

HKF-Maps operate a really good system, where by you buy a paper copy (which I like) then just use a download code to install the map onto your device. HKF-Maps, offer specific mapping for both mtb and road cycling, along with suggested riding routes, which amount to an endless selection of riding route fun. The system also provides ride length,(if sticking to set route) elevation gain, degree of route difficulty on a scale, level of fitness required, predicted ride time, info of any obstacles or hazards, along with advice, and even points of interest in respect of taking photos.

In reality my OS mapping doesn't get much use, as I tend to just ride off in no set direction, route or plan in mind. I prefer to just head out and see where I end up, often just following trails that animals have made. Living in the South East, you might occasionally become lost, just as I did just the other night, but you are never going to be that far from a road etc. In about 12k of off road riding, I have only been lost or rather disoriented twice. Once in the fog on the South Downs during a night ride, and then last week during another night ride.

 

[topographer]

OS Map Finder for me

Looks like it's deprecated:
https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/shop/mapfinder

 

[Bertyboy]

As per the title really, where does everyone get the best routes from and what kit can you but to guide you around??

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As per the title really, where does everyone get the best routes from and what kit can you but to guide you around??

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I use Outdoors GPS. All the official OS maps available and so completely accurate re bridleways etc. You either pay for a map for lifetime or subscribe and have access to all maps which is good if u travel more. Download map tiles onto phone and tablet for offline use. You can draw up routes and it will then calculate the elevation etc. You can save them as a GPX file to drop into other apps. Once I've drawn up a route on my iPad I email it onto an old redundant iPhone 4 that still works fine as a gps device. Bought a bike case for the 4 on amazon for £2 and away you go. I tend to load the gpx file into Motion X GPS which is an old app but still one of the best. Loads of features and being old it runs fine on the 4. It uses an open source map tile which doesn't have as much detail but because I've drawn up on an OS map it doesn't matter. Just follow the line!

 

[Sherman]

I have tried a boat load of tools and programs. I've been using this combo for a long time now:
GPSies for creating, editing or uploading GPX tracks. For navigation I use an Android phone with Osmand. I can download tracks from the GPSies web site directly into Osmand. Great stuff.

 

[awol]

Using Opencycle maps are the green dashed lines bridleways we can cycle on?

 

[Nealh]

Using Opencycle maps are the green dashed lines bridleways we can cycle on?

Yes.
Also Blue /Mauve & Pinky/Orane denotes = Cycle routes locally ,regionally or nationally.

 

[Ballynoes]

This is another reason I am glad to Live in Scotland, right to roam... and cycle almost anywhere. As long as you stick by the code, no-one really objects.

 

[Izzyekerslike]

I put MemoryMap on my phone and it let me have an OS map to try for ten days. But there's no key so I'm not sure what all the symbols are. I think I need to buy the paper version as a starting point to familiarise myself.

I had for quite while very successful navigation business selling GPS device's and navigation software. Memory Map is amazing but requires some learning it will allow you to plan your route and tell you the length of the route and the amount of ascent and descent plus lots and lots more info.

Would you like to plan your route before you set off ?

 

[topographer]

Would you like to plan your route before you set off ?

Not always, but quite often, yes.

 

[Gringo]

Since it was mentioned earlier I've put Komoot on my iPad. Just for the sake of it I've been mapping rides before going out. So far it's known the percentage of tarmac, paved & gravel tracks per ride, elevation, distance etc.
I'm impressed and think it would be even better if I had a smart phone to use the app while cycling

 

[awol]

Yes.
Also Blue /Mauve & Pinky/Orane denotes = Cycle routes locally ,regionally or nationally.

Great, OK I'm going to give Viewranger a try, I've found a couple of green dashed lines going across fields near to me on it's opencycle map so am trying it out this weekend.

 

[Izzyekerslike]

Not always, but quite often, yes.

Hi, re trip planning, I plan lots of of mtb and hiking routes using the PC and 1:50000 OS Memory Maps for the area you want ride.
Once you have planned the route you can find the exact distance and the amount of ascent and descent.
Then if you want you can print the map and/or send it as a gpx file to your GPS or smart phone. To get started buy Memory Map install it on your pc and plan a short route around your area, bridalways are shown as a green dashed line.

To start a route click on new route at the top of the page then put the cursor where you would like to start and click again then a line will appear so move the cursor and click again. I know it sounds complex but persevere and you will get the hang of it

There are tutorials on YouTube.

Good luck

Izzy

 

[Ballynoes]

Found this while browsing during my lunch break.

http://www.bikely.com/

You can click on find and it lists routes of all types, you can select areas or just choose MTB ones. I did find however that the new version was pretty flaky, but just click the "take me back to the old version" and it's much more stable. You can also download the GPX of each route... nice

 

[Ballynoes]

Re the above link.

If you find a few tracks near you, click on the name of the contributor, and you will find more of their tracks, because essentially they are all in the same area.

 

[topographer]

Hi, re trip planning, I plan lots of of mtb and hiking routes using the PC and 1:50000 OS Memory Maps for the area you want ride.
Once you have planned the route you can find the exact distance and the amount of ascent and descent.
Then if you want you can print the map and/or send it as a gpx file to your GPS or smart phone. To get started buy Memory Map install it on your pc and plan a short route around your area, bridalways are shown as a green dashed line.

To start a route click on new route at the top of the page then put the cursor where you would like to start and click again then a line will appear so move the cursor and click again. I know it sounds complex but persevere and you will get the hang of it

There are tutorials on YouTube.

Good luck

Izzy

I'd rather plan on a tablet than a PC. Tablets are more nifty and comfy for me. I tried to get the iPhone app to record/log my trip yesterday but when I'd finished, the stats were clearly wrong...probably because I did some app switching after starting it. That may have interrupted it. I'm starting to realise that what I want is a list of hyper local off-road routes and they barely exist at all. So I may as well just invent my own using the OS 1:25000 maps. Would be nice to record some and share them though.