Mapping Software
I have found a bunch of cool new mapping applications. Things have come along way since I had my first Magellan GPS. By the way, I lost that GPS riding on the trail. It was the GPS equivalent to a rotary phone, so I wasn’t really broken up about it. My newer GPS’s do a much better job.
From a recent ride, this little gem of a program builds a 3D image of your ride according to elevation:
I wonder if the program could do more, but it only comes in German, and well, I don’t really read German.
Another great program is Topofusion . Although it costs, it uses sources of free maps and displays them, including in 3D. This beats paying $100 per state for 1:24,000 topographical maps, which is what I used to do. This has everything: 1:24,000 topo, aerial photo, satellite, and street. It is great. Here are some screenshots.
One thing I really like about Topofusion is the ability to have the UTM grid shown. UTM is a Lat/Lng replacement. It is done in meters, which makes reading and navigating off maps much better.
I also use DeLorme’s TopoUSA. The jury is out for me whether I prefer TopoUSA’s raster topo maps or the USGA 1:24,000 photographed maps. The raster is nice because as you zoom, it continues to fine tune the topo lines. With 1:24,000, you are out of luck if you want better resolution than that. I can’t think of too many time when I have wanted better resolution, however.
The one improvement that I wish TopoUSA had was the ability to output the raster maps to be used on my GPS. If there is a way to do it, somebody please let me know.