Road closures?

[Snijderj]

Google Maps on my PC has a different menu bar than what FrankB shows. There is no 'Your Places' item and so I'm stuck right there.

They must have changed the 'words'.
Click on 'Saved', then look for 'Maps'
Open in 'My Maps'

Thanks! I will take a look.

[Snijderj]

With the XT1 I find the road closure information to be very 'sketchy'......

Thank you for your detailed post, but my XT isn't connected to the Internet when I ride. I was more after suggestions on how to modify my planned route when confronted with an unexpected closure. I find adding a waypoint on the unit itself, instead of in Basecamp, very hit and miss. My fat fingers never manage to click on the exact spot I want, and I'm also not sure how to (re)move a point that I just added, if it is in the wrong place.

I tried it a couple of times and my route ended up as a total mess, so I gave up on that.

[jfheath]

Sometimes a paper map is a really useful things to have.

And having the track diesplayed as well as the route is really useful. When you go off route, there is no telling what the Zumo will do. t could be trying to take you back to where you left the route. It could be trying a different way to the next route point, it could be trying to take you to the end of the route, it could be trying to find the closest point on the original route.

The track stays in place. It marks your original route. It is 100% reliable in telling you where you intended to go.
If you haven't ever used the track in addition to the route - it is worth experimenting with.

[lkraus]

When I remember(doubtful these days), my advance planning includes a check of the transportation department web sites, which usually have information about road closures.

Here in Ohio for example, Ohgo.com has maps showing current traffic, construction slowdowns and detours, road closures and future road closures. A road that is open today may be closed when I ride the route next week, so picking my own detour is very useful to prevent route recalculations by my XT. Most transportation departments have similar information available.

[Peobody]

Sometimes a paper map is a really useful things to have.

Indeed. I have a bin that contains maps of the entire U.S. Part of my pre-trip prep is to make sure there are maps in the bikes trunk that cover where I'm traveling. I have not yet needed to pull one out for navigation help but have used them several times when I found myself with extra time. A device map just can't give you the same sense of where you are and what is around like a paper map can. Triple "A" (AAA) is my map source. It's too bad that they have reduced map detail in order to produce fewer maps. The used to produce one map per State, sometimes two for the big States. Now they include multiple States per map except for the big states. I have a very old Rand McNally road atlas that I still sometimes refer. I haven't seen a current one. Does anyone recommend a current one? I'm concerned that they may also have reduced detail in order to cut costs.

[smfollen]

Butler Motorcycle Maps (US only?) are very nice for finding good riding roads. The paper versions do cover large areas so lack some detail. Rever on the web includes Butler map overlays. rever.co
Yes .co not .com They do have a phone app also.

[Peobody]

Thanks @smfollen. I will look into Butler maps. I am definitely looking for paper. There are still too many areas in the U.S. without cell service, or perhaps just enough service to make a call but not enough to view Google Maps or do any web browsing.

[Oop North John]

Thanks @smfollen. I will look into Butler maps. I am definitely looking for paper. There are still too many areas in the U.S. without cell service, or perhaps just enough service to make a call but not enough to view Google Maps or do any web browsing.

I like plasticised maps if they're available as they're more weather resistant than pure paper ones. And, looking at Michelin maps with their "scenic" roads takes up a fair bit of my time

On option with Google maps, and also Tread for XT2 users, is to download offline maps. Does eat into the devices storage capacity though.

[Snijderj]

Sometimes a paper map is a really useful things to have.

They certainly are, but mostly for use at home. I do tend to take a large scale overview map when touring, for instance I took a Michelin map covering France and the Benelux for my recent trip to France and... (wait for it...) the Benelux

Such maps are good for a general look but no use when it comes to planning a detour on local roads deep in the French countryside. Such roads are simply not shown.

And having the track diesplayed as well as the route is really useful. When you go off route, there is no telling what the Zumo will do. t could be trying to take you back to where you left the route. It could be trying a different way to the next route point, it could be trying to take you to the end of the route, it could be trying to find the closest point on the original route.

The track stays in place. It marks your original route. It is 100% reliable in telling you where you intended to go.
If you haven't ever used the track in addition to the route - it is worth experimenting with.

I may try that, although I switch off route recalculation for all the reasons you mention. So, my original route will always be shown on the unit anyway. Of course this means that it often drops off the visible part of the map. This requires frequent stops to scroll the map so I can see where I'm actually going in relation to my route. This is why I was hoping for a smarter solution. Checking for road closures on Google Maps before setting off for the day may be the best way forward. I usually bring a laptop so I could adjust the route in Basecamp and reload it on the XT there and then, rather than trying to adjust the route on the XT itself which I find virtually impossible to do.

Thanks for the help!

[Peobody]

I am an advocate of sprinkling Via points throughout my routes. These are route points on the road. Their main purpose is to control where I want to go but they also can server as entry points when starting a route. With that in mind, consider the situation of a road closure on a road head west. If you can identify the closest parallel road then you can head towards it and once you are away from your planned route far enough, restart the route selecting the next Via point as you entry point. With a little luck, the XT will create a route to it that is different from the pre-planned one.