The WillCycle Route Builder is deliberately basic. It offers just the functionality you need to build a route, and nothing more. You can switch between different maps, choose to display Points of Interest (PoIs), such as cafés, pubs, or bike shops, and you can add additional information. If navigating your own route, using this site, you can have voice turn-by-turn navigation. The navigation will also read out the extra information you added.
There’s a full How To below the map, but is intuitive enough to use without that.

The WillCycle Route Builder lets you design your own cycling routes from scratch, by drawing them directly on a map, choosing your preferred roads and paths, and saving them to your personal collection. Routes you create are yours: only you can see them, edit them, and delete them.

You can also export any route as a GPX file to use with a Garmin, Wahoo, or any other GPS device, or share with friends.

The toolbar

The toolbar runs across the top of the map and has three sections:

Draw section

• ⚡ Auto-route: This is the default. Click anywhere on the map and the Route Builder will automatically find the best cycling path to connect your clicks, using dedicated cycle paths and quiet roads wherever possible.
• ✏️ Straight line: This draws a direct line from point to point, ignoring the map entirely. Use this for bridleways, canal towpaths, fields, or any section that is not shown on the map as a navigable path.

Route section

When Auto-route is selected, you can choose how BRouter plans the cycling path:

• 🛡 Safety: the default. Strongly prefers dedicated cycle paths, shared-use tracks and quiet back roads. Best for family rides and leisure routes.
• 🚵 Trekking: a good balance of quiet roads and cycle paths. Suitable for most routes.
• ⚡ Fast: uses faster, more direct roads. Better for commuting or longer road rides where time matters more than traffic avoidance.

Surface section

• — Paved: marks new segments with a solid line. Use for tarmac roads, sealed paths, and any hard surface.
• · · Unpaved: marks new segments with a dotted line. Use for gravel tracks, bridleways, grass paths, and loose surfaces.

You can also click any segment on the map after it has been drawn to toggle its surface type.

Other toolbar buttons

• ↩ Undo — steps back one action at a time.
• ✕ Clear all — removes everything and starts fresh (asks for confirmation first).

The distance display on the right of the top toolbar updates live as you draw.

Moving and removing waypoints

• Drag any waypoint marker to move it. Segments on either side re-route automatically.
• Right-click any waypoint marker to remove it. If it is a middle point, the two surrounding segments are merged into one.

Changing surface type

Click any route line on the map to toggle it between paved (solid) and unpaved (dotted). This does not affect routing, and it is purely a label for navigation and display purposes.

Adding Spoken Waypoints

Spoken waypoints let you embed voice instructions into your route. These notes are read aloud by the navigation system when you reach that point on a ride. They are ideal for places where the route is not obvious from the map alone.

How to add a spoken waypoint

1. Zoom in to the exact spot on the map where you want the instruction spoken.
2. Hold your mouse button down for about half a second (long press). A text box will appear.
3. Type your instruction, but try and keep it concise, as it will be read aloud. Click OK.
4. A 📢 orange marker appears on the map at that location. Hover over it to see the text.

Right-click any 📢 marker to remove it.

Saving and Exporting

Saving your route

1. Type a name for your route in the Route name… field at the bottom of the page.
2. Click 💾 Save route.
3. Your route is saved to your personal routes collection. You can find it on your My Routes page.

Saving is instant. You can continue editing after saving – just click Save again to update it.

Exporting as GPX

Click ⬇ Export GPX to download the route as a .gpx file. This file includes:

• All route track points with elevation data
• Spoken waypoints as standard GPX <wpt> elements
• The route name

The GPX file can be loaded into a Garmin, Wahoo, or any GPS device or app that supports the GPX format.

Your My Routes Page

All routes you save appear on your personal My Routes page. This page is private – only you can see your routes.

What you can do

• 🗺 View: opens a map preview of the route in a popup, with your track drawn and spoken waypoints marked.
• ✏️ Edit: opens the Route Builder with that route pre-loaded, ready to modify. See the Editing Routes section below.
• 🗑 Delete: permanently deletes the route (asks for confirmation first).

Editing a Saved Route

You can edit any route you have saved at any time without losing its history or having to update anything else.

How to edit a route

1. Go to your My Routes page and click ✏️ Edit next to the route you want to change.
2. The Route Builder opens with your route pre-loaded. The track is drawn on the map and the elevation profile is shown below.
3. Make your changes – add or remove waypoints, reroute sections, change surface types, add spoken waypoints.
4. Click 💾 Update route to save your changes. The route is updated in place – the same route, same history, no new ID.