Dumb Mapping Question

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Ron from Long Island NY on 10/18/2021 6:55:33 AM:

I’m hoping to ride St. Louis to Kansas City on the KT and RIT for 5 days. I like Google Maps to keep me on course as I ride, but when I use Google Maps to plan the trip it sends me off trail for the KT quite a bit.

Does anyone have a good Google Trail Map that I can use during the ride and that keeps me on the KT?

Thx!

Mark from Lee's Summit on 10/18/2021 3:45:02 PM:

You have to create a map route using Google Map's biking layer. I can help you create a map like I have used in the past, but I first I need to understand exactly where you are traveling to and from, especially if you are hoping to use a specific train station at each end. There are specific (fairly short) on street sections that you will have to ride in both St. Louis and Kansas City if you want to link up with the Katy Trail and Rock Island Trail.

Jack from Columbus on 10/18/2021 4:47:56 PM:

As mentioned, you need to turn on the bike layer in maps otherwise it will route you on roads. With map layers, it will pick up bike paths and use those. It still gets off a little but it pretty good.

I used Ride with GPS but used the Google Maps option to do the layout. The native Ride with GPS totally ignored trails. I saved each days ride and then used the app to keep track of the ride. The think I did not like is it is good at telling you how far to the end of the ride but not to any waypoints during the ride itself.

Ron from Long Island NY on 10/18/2021 9:44:28 PM:

OK, so here’s the map I’m playing with currently: https://goo.gl/maps/hUZ4gp69wx8QaQNL9

It seems to veer off onto local roads in quite a few places, especially the KT. And I’m not sure if this is correct or just an artifact of Google’s mapping software.

I recently rode from Niagara Falls to Albany on the Erie Canal Trail and Google was about 90% on that one…and when it was off I spent a good deal of time playing with my phone to get it right. LOL

Gary from Near Tebbetts on 10/18/2021 11:15:10 PM:

You could just use google maps to get you to your starting trail head, use the trail map available at the trail heads or from the DNR to check where you are on the trail.

There is also a map of the trail on this site that you can set to show the trail mile markers to pinpoint where you are on the trail.

Mark from Lee's Summit on 10/19/2021 12:25:48 AM:

Here is a link to my custom Google Map that takes you from Downtown St. Louis to Katy Trailhead at Machens. This route actually uses bike trails along the Mississippi River, crosses you into Illinois, and then back into Missouri so you can reach the Katy Trail. I have other routes that I have mapped through St. Louis if you want to jump on the Katy Trail west of Machens. These custom Google Maps can be made by going to Google Maps/Your Places/Maps/Create Map/Draw a line/Add biking route: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1oHW_JlP2S8ADWHIfHxHlpac_ex_AOkcD&usp=sharing ... when you add a biking route, you can zoom in and trace your route on the actual dashed green bikeway.

Mark from Lee's Summit on 10/19/2021 12:50:17 AM:

Here is the next map section from the Machens Trailhead to the Portland Trailhead. You have to zoom in and actually draw a line along the bike trail. You can't just go to the main Google Maps and enter a beginning point and a destination, otherwise it will route onto major highways and streets. The good thing about creating your own route line in Google Maps is that you can export this route GPS data to devices such as Garmin computers and smartphone apps: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/1/edit?mid=1eyrArN6mTKE1FT06nLIHOW0iFRhCewEA&usp=sharing ... just let me know if you have more questions.

Ron from Long Island NY on 10/19/2021 5:56:38 AM:

Very helpful and much appreciated.

I don’t suppose the interactive Google map on this site is available for download, so a rider could follow it along the ride with his current location?

Ray (webmaster) on 10/19/2021 8:33:03 AM:

> I don’t suppose the interactive Google map
> on this site is available for download

No, the interactive map is actually a live Google map that we have added extra features to - so it requires a data connection. Sorry, I know there are sections out on the trail where you might not be able to get a good cellular signal.

Jack from Columbus on 10/19/2021 5:55:37 PM:

Ron - I looked at your map posted in #3. It looks like it routed you on 50 out of Sedalia over to JEff City which is the quickest way but not the trail.

I did it by days to break the map up into smaller segments. I think the problem is that you probably put in directions from Kansas City to St. Louis and it routed that long route the shortest way for bikes.

It also pulls you off the trail short of St. Charles to go across the river and route you to downtown St. Louis.

You might want to try breaking the directions into multiple points if you want to keep one large map. I know you can add multple segments so you might try Kansas City to Sedalia and then Rocheport then ... and keep adding points to keep you on the trail.

R Bruce W LAUBACH from Williamsburg on 10/19/2021 7:11:25 PM:

Here is my dumb question. Are you planning on following your mapped route instead of the trail or the trail map its self? If you are doing this to track your miles each day, why not use Strava or the app map my ride? It seems to me that this is being over thought. I say look at the paper map, look at the trail and trail signs and take your eye off of the cell phone or GPS devise. You wont see the trail any other way.

Mapmedic from KCMO on 10/20/2021 6:35:26 AM:

Even when you select the biking option on Google maps it will sometimes plot a route on streets/highways. Pay close attention to this by zooming in on all of your segments, especially if you are dependent on that map and don’t have a natural sense of direction. Someone mentioned being unable to correct some routes on their phone. It’s been my experience that when I use an actual computer with a mouse I can click/hold a segment of a route and drag it back to where it’s supposed to be…..can’t do this on a tablet or phone. The Katy is pretty easy to follow the majority of the route with a few turns here and there in cities that the railroad obviously didn’t do. If you aren’t aware there are two good Katy trail,Facebook groups, I suggest Fans of the Katy Trail because the other one IMO is sponsored in part by a business marketing themselves. Here is a link with maps of my cross Missouri ride last month: https://strava.app.link/F1zIwlmwvkb

Bill in Houston from Houston on 10/20/2021 2:38:38 PM:

Thanks for the tip on the Facebook group, Mapmedic.

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