Product Review: Tyre to Travel

[VersysRider]

Software for creating custom GPS routes
by Doug McPeek

Enter to win a TomTom Rider GPS!

In the past I have relied on a varie-ty of mapping solutions to find roads and create routes for rides, but now I have a new favorite.

Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps and Delorme Street Atlas were (and still are) easy to use computer-based tools that produced maps and printed directions that I could use to not only get to my destination but go the way I wanted.

I could also use the paper De-Lorme Atlas and Gazeteer to search in fine detail before going to the computerized tools.

But paper maps are becoming hard to find at MSTA events. Our routemeisters have embraced the GPS and the rides at our events are laid out in GPX files that can be loaded into many GPS units.


This scenic route to Rockbridge was created using Tyre to Travel. Each red flag is a waypoint that was placed by the user double-clicking the spot on the map. The software connected the flags automatically.

A GPS unit offers the advantage of spoken turn-by-turn directions and easy rerouting when you need a detour or a short cut.

They have, however, been a mysterious and frustrating device for some motorcyclists to master.

Sure, you can input a destination in your GPS and press the GO but-ton, and the unit will calculate either the fastest or the shortest route. But it has no clue what the BEST route is, or the most scenic, curviest, etc... The GPS won’t take you the way you want to go, unless you learn to communicate with it.

Recently I found a program that creates routes as easily as the online tools and loads them onto my Garmin Nuvi 2595 as GPX files. It is called Tyre to Travel.

The thing I like about Tyre is that it is easy to use. I can search for a city, then remove the flag Tyre places on the map, zoom in or add it to the itinerary by clicking the correct choice.

Tyre to Travel 6.42 features:
Search, Click and Drag map
Drag and Drop to alter the route
Copy to Garmin or TomTom.
Save As .gpx and 13 other file formats
Familiar computer menus
Easy to use
The basic version is FREE! Up-graded pay versions available.

If I add it to the route, I am then presented with choices to rename it , skip it, calculate the route or book a nearby hotel.

My favorite features are those I have been using elsewhere for years. I can click, drag and drop the map to slide the view to an adjacent area; and click, drag and drop the line on the map to change the route to other roads. Each time I drag the route to a new road Tyre adds a Waypoint.

When I make a route it is dis-played as a list of Waypoints that I can rename. Tyre keeps them in the order I add-ed them until I move them up or down the list.

Tyre will also let me view my route with Google Earth or Google Maps.


This is the efficient and dull route to Rock-bridge that the GPS automatically chose. Yeah, it will get you there, but you won’t go the way you want to go unless you route it

When it comes time to send the completed route to the GPS unit I simply click the Garmin tab on the toolbar and click “Copy to Garmin.” I just need my Garmin or its micro SD memory card connected to the computer.

There is one element of Tyre to Travel that could be bother-some and that is the need for an internet connection. The program cannot work without it. The user must either plan the whole trip in advance, or find WiFi internet access along the way to create new routes while away from home.

One more thing: the basic version is free, though there are ads on the right margin. Two upgraded pay versions are ad-free.

Overall I am very pleased with Tyre to Travel. It is effective and easy to use.

Enter to win a TomTom Rider GPS!

[Brick]

I've been using Tyre too but then import the routes into basecamp to "ready" them for my Garmin.

[TN2Wheeler]

The software sounds interesting.

I think the biggest reason GPS is frustrating for many people is that they do not understand the concept of mapsets.

Each GPS contains a mapset. In the case of Garmin devices the mapset was likely purchased from Garmin already loaded in the GPS memory. Because roads are constantly changing, mapsets are too. The mapset in any GPS is a "snapshot" of the roads as of its release date. So, depending on when the GPS was purchased (or updated) the likelihood of your mapset and my mapset being the same is slim.

The waypoints created when making a route are at specific coordinates (think latitude and longitude). In order for the GPS to route between waypoints it must follow the roads in its specific mapset. So, this is where the problem occurs. If I make a route on my mapset and send it to someone else they must recalculate the route on THEIR mapset. Unless the other person's mapset is identical to mine (same release/version) their GPS GPS simply cannot follow my route. Their GPS will recognize the waypoints (i.e. the coordinates) but the "roads" that connect them in my mapset simply don't exist in theirs.

Some older GPS units will allow the importation of routes without recalculation. However, it appears that most of the newer units force recalculation whenever a new route is imported. So, I think Garmin has attempted to simplify the process but in doing so have made it more difficult for users to exchange routes and have precisely the same routing. Usually both routes will get you to the destination but they may not follow the same roads precisely.

The only way I know to avoid this is to insert copious waypoints in the routes we plan to share with others - essentially a waypoint at every turn. Even that is not a guarantee your GPS and mine will follow the same roads since in some cases the roads in my mapset may not exist in your yours or vice versa due to changes in the actual roads themselves over time.

All this complication around using routes is why we dual sporters often rely on tracks instead. Tracks do not require routeable roads or for that matter any mapset at all. They are simply a "bread crumb" trail of coordinates and the GPS plots a vector to the next one. It's much simpler in many ways but is less user-friendly than a calculated GPS route which prompts the driver / rider for upcoming turns, road names etc.
 
Ain't technology wonderful?

[Brick]

Very well put Jim. Thank you.

[stevegrab]

Going to give this a try. If it works like Coach says then I'll be thrilled.

[doug mcpeek]

I agree, Jim.  Adding more waypoints solves a lot of problems.

[Brick]

I've never put a route directly from Tyre into my GPS. I've used Basecamp to ck to see if the route is the same as my map set... You know to see if track and route stay the same and correct if needed in Basecamp.
Tyre is good to in that you can turn off all the audio announcements at every point if you want. I don't want to hear all that crap.

[dpippin]

I've never put a route directly from Tyre into my GPS. I've used Basecamp to ck to see if the route is the same as my map set... You know to see if track and route stay the same and correct if needed in Basecamp.
Tyre is good to in that you can turn off all the audio announcements at every point if you want. I don't want to hear all that crap.

You can also do that when creating routes in basecamp

[doug mcpeek]

Steve,  make sure you set the default to Garmin.  Mine came set up with TomTom as the default.


On the top tool bar click Tools, then at the bottom of the General tab click the dot for Garmin.


Brick, "mute" on the Nuvi works well, too.   

[stevegrab]

Thanks Doug, I did notice that setting during or after install and changed it, but haven't had time to play with it since then.
You also mentioned the downside of needing internet access. I see the lack of a mobile version as being a bigger deal (it only runs on Windows).
I've got a tablet running Chrome that I'm taking on the bike now, and if anything I'd want to run it on that. I'm not lugging my 17" laptop (my main home PC) on the bike. And having internet isn't hard, almost every decent hotel/motel has that now, let alone all the eateries and coffee shops.

[Concours99]

And having internet isn't hard, almost every decent hotel/motel has that now, let alone all the eateries and coffee shops.

In our travels this year, we have found that the quality of hotel Internet connections varies widely (perhaps we need to stay at more expensive venues :-)).  I would certainly hate to have to rely on it to get the next day's route planned and loaded onto my GPS.


We also spent a couple of nights in a friend's cottage on Cape Cod.  She doesn't have WiFi (or, indeed, Internet at all).  We had to find a location and they aren't as common on "the Cape" as I would have hoped.


So, I view it as a distinct disadvantage to use routing software that requires an Internet connection.
--
Wayne.

[TN2Wheeler]

...
So, I view it as a distinct disadvantage to use routing software that requires an Internet connection.
--
Wayne.

I view it as a distinct advantage to use ANY software that requires an Internet connection other than a user-initiated web browser or email client. Its obvious that the current preferred model for software development is to use "cloud" storage with background centralization of files and personal information. Google tries to make me do that every time I use my Android. Aside from security and privacy issues (which are significant) that model depends on a reliable and fast internet connection that simply does not always exist outside of urban areas. Personally I don't much care for highly urban areas and fervently try not to spend a lot of time in them.

And, call me paranoid if you want, but having worked in IT the last 20 years of my career I have a pretty good understanding of how the technology works and I really don't like my information stored on servers exposed to the internet and over which I have no control.

[touringman]

Wayne, I use my first generation Droid Razr (read-antique) as a mobile hot-spot in many instances when on the road. Just about all smart phones have this capability, so read your manual. I know real men aren't supposed to do that, but I read mine in the bathroom where no one could see me! As long as you have cell phone service, you can hook up to 3 or 4g this way. It's sufficient for routing and general browsing. Syd

[Concours99]

... Just about all smart phones have this capability, so read your manual. ... Syd

Sorry, not everyone has a smart phone (at least not yet).
--
Wayne.

[stevegrab]

 

... Just about all smart phones have this capability, so read your manual. ... Syd

Sorry, not everyone has a smart phone (at least not yet).
--
Wayne.

I keep telling people that (not on facebook or twitter either) and they look at me like an alien.
As for internet access in motels, I had very good luck at a string of Super 8s across Montana in cities along I-90 corridor.
If I need to I can create routes in my Garmin Nuvi as well. Did that last year creating a full route (4 parts) for the 2 day ride home from Tri-STAR in Sparta. It isn't as easy, but doesn't require internet access or any other hardware.