Have Map, Will Travel

I'm a map fiend and an internet search guru. I spend hours and hours surfing the net for everything. I love mapping vacation routes, cycling rides, and running routes. I'm always looking for a new route somewhere.

I'll start with my favorite mapping software, Delorme Topo USA. Overall I love this program. There are a few features I do not like the functionality of, but I can deal with them. I've used this program for many hiking trips in the Rocky Mountain Range. In the last year I've found a new use for it, cycling. Last year I used it to map a couple routes on the Wabash Trace Nature Trail. I also used it to map the week of BRAN. Besides the mapping the route and distance, the elevation info is priceless. When I'm planning a new route I can see how hilly the ride is and know a head of time what kind of ride it's going to be. http://www.maps.google.com/

As for maps on the internet, there's only one source...Google. Google maps are great since you can flip back and forth between satellite and map view. I love being able to drag the page around and zoom in and out with my roller ball. The roads are pretty accurate and there are even some old rail lines shown that are now bike trails. So it makes them easier to locate. A new site that Google has is the Gmap Pedometer. I have used this site extensively. It is great for mapping running routes, bike trails, and commuter routes that zig zag on back roads. I use the satellite view and can zoom in on a bike trail and map distances of my specific rides. I can map out a run through a neighborhood or on the bike path. This site does what Google maps can not. You can even save your route you created and it will give you a URL to copy and paste or you can add the route to your favorites to recall it at a later time. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

I hope you can use these sources to plan your next excursion, whatever it may be.

The Dude