GPS numpty question

[TabTT]

Hi all, apologies if this is a silly question but I am a GPS ignoramus. I don't even have SatNav so I really know nothing about how the maps update or how you upload your own routes.

I am planning to ride from Crewe back to my home near Gravesend in Kent mainly via canal towpaths. Most of it will be pretty easy to navigate without a route map but I'd like to have one in case. I am also planning other rides in the future.

So, my question is what is the process by which I plan my own route and upload it to a GPS unit like a Garmin? I haven't bought a GPS yet so what do I need to check for to be sure I can upload a route of my own making and 'where' on the Internet do I plan my route or do I need some software as well?

Thanks,
Tab

[RibbleRouser]

"Ride with GPS" is a good site, easy to plan routes on and download to a gps device, and obviously it's free, otherwise I wouldn't be using it. When you get a Garmin device you'll have to use their website to get started but it's fairly painless.

[Bunker22]

There are many planning programmes free on the internet: bikehike, ridewithgps, gpxeditor to name a few which you use online.

Essentially (and probably easiest),:

You click on the map in the program, along the route you want to take, to create your track, save it to your computer as a 'gpx' file then copy it to the appropriate folder on your gps device (varies with device).

On the device you select the track you want to follow, it shows on the device map, and you follow it like a breadcrumb trail.(like a highlighted line on a paper map) Garmin devices now come with openstreetmap like maps already installed so you don't need to buy more.

You can get the gps to prompt you at each turn but this is more complex and therefore more likely to let you down just at the wrong time.

There is a wealth of info available on yacf for all the main gps devices, and many helpful contributors if it is something you don't understand.

[frankly frankie]

You'd need to use a planner that uses maps with routable towpaths and good access point information.  ie, Google Maps wouldn't be the best for this, I don't think.  OpenStreeetMap (OSM) would probably work better, so you have to switch the planner to display and route using OSM - not all the online planners can do this.
Also over that distance if you download the planned result as a Track (as suggested above) it might have too many points unless you take steps - 10,000 is the maximum in a single Track.

[Samuel D]

For the device itself, note that Halfords is selling the Edge Touring with silicone case and an out-front mount for under £140 – a deal I would almost certainly have taken up if Halfords shipped to France.