Tired of cycling the same old routes, and ready to broaden your horizons? Then this post if for you! This is a long and detailed guide, so set some time aside to read all of it. What makes a good cycle route? Ask 100 cyclists that, and you’ll get 100 different answers. However, there will … Read more
All the maps on WillCycle are done with RideWithGPS, and that’s for very good reason. I have tried practically every mapping site out there, and find RideWithGPS the most feature-rich, and most straightforward to use. Best of all, you can use most of the functionality with a free account, and they have an excellent app … Read more
RideWithGPS For years now I’ve been quite vocal in my preference for RideWithGPS. It is, in my opinion, simply the very best route creation platform out there, and all the routes listed on WillCycle.com were created using RideWithGPS. App RideWithGPS has an app for both Android, and iOS. The app itself is free, and requires … Read more
Digital navigation while cycle touring Quite some time ago I made a conscious decision regarding digital navigation and how I use it. Yes, I’m aware some people prefer paper maps, but much as I love paper maps, the world has moved on, and I moved with it. Digital navigation simply offers far more benefits to … Read more
Brighton Bimble? A have a slowly-expanding list of highly-detailed cycle touring route guides, called GoCycle guides. GoCycle bike touring route guides don’t simply show you the way. No, my bicycle touring guides act like a tour leader, and tells you about the landscape through which you’re cycling. A GoCycle guide will keep you on track, … Read more
Is live-sharing your location always bad? I recently created a Where’s Will Now page. That page contains an embedded map. When I manually switch on live-logging, the RideWithGPS app on my phone will update that map, and anyone looking at it will be able to see my location. Some will think that in doing so … Read more
GoCycle – route guides you can trust You may have wondered what goes into the making of a GoCycle route guide, so I’ll explain the process here. GoCycle guides are multi-day leisure/touring route guides. If you’re a regular visitor to WillCycle, then you would know I’m a huge fan of cycle touring and cycle camping. Alongside … Read more
LEJOG is a British cycle touring rite of passage. It is short for Land’s End – John O’Groats, and refers to cycling between the two destinations. Prevailing winds mean most people start at the bottom and cycle up, but a fair number cycle it in the opposite direction, when it’s referred to as JOGLE. The … Read more
One of the best things about cycle touring is simply escaping the hustle and bustle of the world, while you’re blissfully isolated from so much that may be happening in the world. This gives you the time to focus on the little things, that ultimately matter so much, like some wild flowers growing in a … Read more
“The sun never sets on the British Empire” To a degree, the story of navigation is the story of the British Empire. Don’t believe me? Well, read on! Today, maps from around the world use a system of longitudes and latitudes. These are imaginary lines all over the earth, with longitudes running from the north … Read more
I’m an unashamed, proud map-geek, and I generally find navigation easy to do. I also provide digital route guides for a growing number of routes. Over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May, I went cycling the Grand Union Canal, along with a friend of mine, Dom (@Tdr1nka on Twitter). I’ve spent considerable … Read more
But which map is best? Get together a random group of cyclists, then ask them which is best – paper maps, or digital maps – then sit back and watch the at times surprisingly heated discussion that follows. Cyclists are often reliant on mapping, or some form of navigation, and it seems everyone has their … Read more
The difference between a cycling route and a GOOD cycling route Anyone can design a cycling route, but to design a good route requires a bit of thought. For the purposes of this post, I’ll be focusing on longer, ideally multi-day routes. You cannot design a route without a map. The only question is where that … Read more
While being able to navigate using the night sky is a great skill to have, there are far better options available to you, starting with a simple map. I freely, and even proudly admit that I’m a map geek. I’ve always been one, since I can remember. Maps, you see, tell stories, and if you wanted … Read more
In the UK, there’s a charity called Sustrans, and they’re behind something called, perhaps overly optimistically, the National Cycle Network (NCN for short). NCN: a quality lottery NCN routes vary massively in terms of quality – from smooth, sealed, traffic-free surfaces, to swampy quagmires, to busy roads, congested with cars. As a result, many British cyclists … Read more
You’ve seen those scratch maps you can get, haven’t you? They allow you to scratch off the foil covering of places you’ve visited on a map, revealing more and more of the map underneath. Though they’re really cool, they do have drawbacks. For starters, the map is a fixed-scale, and usually the scale is such … Read more
What actually goes into making a route guide? For me, it begins with research – what sort of route am I thinking of? Do I want a traffic-free and family-friendly route, a fast, hilly and challenging road route, or a leisurely slow route, perhaps with a picnic at the end? Once I know that, I … Read more