- Froggs Toggs Pro Lite Rain Suit - May 1, 2024
- Good Enough - April 27, 2024
- MRA Routeplanner and MyRoute App - April 26, 2024
I have been a long time user of Ride with GPS. All my routes for all my motorcycle tours going back to around 2012 are made using this web based tool however since Mid 2023 I have started a transition to MRA Routeplanner.
There are a few reasons for this shift and also a couple of things slowing my move away from RWGPS however one of those is not a lack of Google Street view something I find essential for route planning and was missing in every other route planner I have tried but MRA Routeplanner has it.
Because I have made 100’s of routes with RWGPS I still find it faster to make quick draft routes with it but I am doubling up my work doing that since I now move all my routes over to MRA Routeplanner to inspect before I output anything to my Garmin and should just make the routes there.
The main problem I have with RWGPS is GPX files it outputs mostly have poorly placed waypoints or other errors that confuse Garmins. When I import the files from RWGPS into MRA Routeplanner it is displayed as a Garmin would see the route and these problems are then easy to spot and fix before the file is exported to my Garmin. When I bring files from RWGPS to MRA I always need to fix many waypoints so it would be far quicker if I made the route error free in MRA Routeplanner to begin with which is where I am headed in the future.
Things I find missing in MRA Routeplanner so far is the ease of clearing an existing route on the screen and then creating the next route, a mini map preview of every route that RWGPS provides and the ability to combine many routes to a mini map for an overview of the entire tour – update found how to do that on MRA Routeplanner now also and with time I will find work around for other items.
On the other hand MRA Routeplanner is developed for motorcyclists while RWGPS has slowly become bicycle focused. MRA outputs GPX files my Garmin calculates and navigates perfectly and it has it’s own Navigator called MyRoute App which I have been trialing with reasonable success. I am not ready yet to attempt a ride overseas only using my phone but I am running this app in my pocket to my bluetooth speakers and comparing it’s turn by turn to the matching route in my Garmin and it keeps getting better and can handle me slightly missing waypoints like my Garmin does. I will update my phone next year and my old one might replace my ancient Garmin Nuvi 760 and 765.
The MyRoute App is Apple Carplay and Android Auto compatible which is tech I will have on my next bike I personally own. In remote Australia I found the lack of phone towers limited my ability to use Apple Carplay in my previous testing before the device from Aliexpress failed but I liked the system and will have a better setup next time or possibly a bike with a factory Apple Carplay screen. In Australia when I lost signal and data it did not really matter because there is just one road ahead to the next town with signal and actually I can tour here without any navigation so it is just a bonus or fun gadget to have unlike overseas where reliable navigation is important or in places like Japan absolutely essential.
I like how MRA Routerplanner has Google Street view implemented, which is faster display than RWGPS. MRA also has more maps that your can choose than RWGPS. It defaults to OSM and of course you can select Google maps but I have been using the Michelin maps which I think is unique to this planner and is superb for my task. It has this great feature that all the scenic roads have been highlighted in green. This is changing how I build routes. I still look at good road sites like Motorcycle Diaries and then transfer that info to my route but in between their ‘best motorcycle roads’ I can instantly see all the highlighted scenic roads on the Michelin map to connect one mountain pass to the next with nice roads.
I should point out that to get all the features you need to buy the Gold account but this is far better value than RWGPS where I pay an annual fee for my premium account but with MRA Routeplanner I got lifetime Gold access when it was on sale for the same price as just one year of RWGPS premium. Both of these sites have a large user base which is something also to note as smaller route planner sites tend to come and go and you do not want to be with a site where you will lose all your routes.
Anyway I am not saying either of these planners and their navigation apps is right or wrong for you. I am not affiliated with either. But I have recommended RWGPS on this site for a long time so felt I would post that I am transitioning to MRA Routeplanner because I found RWGPS had slowly become too bias towards bicycle riders. I find MRA outputs GPX files more accurately for motorcycling, has map overlays more useful for motorcycling and has a phone navigation app better designed for motorcyclists. YMMV.
Hi Warren! I got the chance to meet the developers of MRA in Amsterdam and they are great guys and you can see they are bikers themselves, using the product they made and with a lot of passion into it.
Before they developed Tyre to Travel, which was also great and I still use sometimes, but MRA is the future. Being able to plan the routes on any PC or phone online is very cool.
PS: I tried to send you an invitation on the site, not sure if it went through, hope you dont mind.
Hi Adrian,
I got your friend request on MRA, thanks very much.
The more I use MRA the more I find it to be a better fit for motorcyclists.