Neat map-measuring tool

I went through the rigmarole of registering and downloaded the program.

I followed the instructions, and was informed that I would have to install Java if I wanted it to work.

As I didn't want it that badly, I quit. I already have a map program I'm happy with:

Accuroute

When Pete found he would have to install Java to make the program work, it made me realize that I should have stated that in my initial posting. The advantages of this tool over some others are (1) it is free and (2) it runs on all platforms: Windows, Mac, Linus, etc. The disadvantage, as Pete found out, is you have to install Java. You probably already have Java on your computer but it is not installed in such a way that stand-alone programs can use.

Alan

Hey Guys,

I am actually the co-founder/developer of RouteRuler.Com, and I am glad you like it and have tried it. Alan, I am sorry the USGS Maps in your area have not been updated since the 50's. There is also a way to load in Mapquest/Yahoo maps... but it is technically illegal.

That is another advantage of RR, and one of the reasons we developed it. With RR you can draw the maps and then are free to ttrade, distribute, and post your routes. All... and I do mean ALL... the other programs you are restricted from doing this. We though a program that was this kind of freedom, would allow groups like yours and coaches to set-up areas where members can swap maps and get routes.

Anyway, glad you liked it. Pleas elet me know if there is anythign we can do to improve it.

Alex Sumberg
RouteRuler.Com

I know some of you have tried tried laying out your courses with the "Google Earth". If you have not tried it I suggest giving it a look.

It takes a while to figure out how to use the measure tool, and now to delete or move points after you have placed them. Once you get that figured out, and the zoom pan issues, it becomes very intuitive.

I find working in Microsoft's 'Street and Trips' to be good for quick ruffing out, and I can save my work, and print useful maps that are clean and clear.

But when I need to know just how far it is then Google Earth is often more accurate. It is good for quite fine measurement. You can zoom in close for more accurate positioning of the points, you get to place way points to within about a foot. I can measure the length of the boat behind my house to within about 6" and the length of my house lot to less than a foot of error. The accuracy seems to work for both small and large distances.
The disadvantages with Google earth are four: I have not figured out how to store measured courses, the trees often get in the way of seeing the curb stone, the angle is not directly overhead so tall buildings obscure some sidewalks, I can move or delete points on a course but not add them. Other than that, it's good for doing quite fine approximations, before going out and doing it in the wild.

It is also interesting to go back and trace the course of existing certified courses, just to see how close google earth is to the cert distance. No, I cant see PK nails from space, but on my courses I can get to within a couple of feet because I try to line up the start or finish with solid, un-movable objects.

I've been to a couple Google Earth message boards and have learned that the ruler tool allows you to trace a path and measure its distance, but doesn't allow you to save the path.
The path tool (available when you buy a Plus account) allows you to trace a path and store it, but it doesn't give you the distance. There are a couple free third-party tools available that will calculate the length of your path. The link to those tools is on my other computer, so I'll post them when my daughter allows me access. ;-)

I agree with JamesM recommendation for Google Earth as an excellent course layout tool. I have used it for the setup of several recent courses prior to their measurement. All had good agreement between the layout and measurement. I would expect a variance of less than 5 meters for a 5-km course.

Google Earth is simple to use and the detail is sufficient to make a good approximation of the SPR. It shows the full road width which is an advantage over most topographic maps. A course path from tangent to tangent, through a curvy road section, and around a turn radius is easy to trace.

But Google Earth does have at least two additional problems that JamesM didn’t mention. First, the photo detail for some small towns and rural areas is low and not sufficient to trace a course. Second, the photos that I have worked with are three or four years old and don’t show recent changes.

Like JamesM said, give it try and check one of your recent courses and see how the distances compare. It won’t take long.

The best way to check how accurate you are with Google Earth is to measure it with GE before you know what the real distance is. If anybody is interested in trying this out you can measure the course at

http://tinyurl.com/2nd58t

If you click on the "View on Google Earth" link in the top-left corner, it will download the description to your computer and open it with GE. If you measure it with GE and then want to know what the calibrated bicycle measurement was, send me a note. Hint: it wasn't 5k.

Here's those links to the tools that are supposed to deal with the paths-not-saved problem. I haven't tried either of them, so "tryer" beware.

http://www.emaltd.net/google/index.asp?l=en

http://www.sgrillo.net/googleearth/

Mark,

I measured it using Google Earth and got 4.94 km. I had not used Google Earth for pre-ride measuring before. It's pretty good! It's great to be able to blow things way up and see the street details.

Many thanks for the tip.

I responded to Pete privately to let him know what the bicycle measurement was. I don't want to post it here in case someone else wants to give it a try.

If enough people try it and give me their numbers, I'll summarize and post results here.

One thing I should have mentioned is that if you click on the "S" and the "F" on the map, it will give you details of where the start and finish are.

Mark,
My measurement is 4943 meters.

Pete and John were the only ones to send in measurements. They were 4.94km and 4.943km, respectively.

My two measurements with a calibrated bike were 4.960km and 4.958km. Pretty impressive (and repeatable) accuracy for two guys sitting at home on their computers.

I recently discovered (sometimes you actually learn something on letsrun.com) that the mapping tool on mapmyrun.com has a neat feature called "follow roads." This is a huge time saver as it practically draws your route for you.

But I started thinking, how closely do they follow the SPR? The answer, I'm afraid, is not so much. I measured the same course described in this thread with the "follow roads" option on, and it came out to 5.11km (only shows 3 digits). That's about 3% off my calibrated bike measurement of 4.959km, and way over the ~0.4% error that Pete and John got when they carefully followed the SPR.

But there's a lot of turns on that course, so for most courses the error would probably be a good bit less using this "follow roads" feature.

One other issue with the feature though, is that I don't think it will go the wrong way on one-way streets. One course I run goes left at a traffic-circle intersection. The "follow roads" feature turned right and then around the circle to make that left turn.