I can see that nobody has yet mentioned http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com which I use for route creation before I head out on an unknown territory.

The best thing about it is that you can set few parameters (defaults are quite fine for advanced recreation) and it calculates timing based on these parameters which turn out to be quite good. You can then upload it to your GPS unit (ie. GARMIN EDGE 500) and use it as your virtual partner.

You can also set track points, so your unit can tell you when and where to turn (you can do that easily on a map because you see roads). I'm using GARMIN EDGE 500 which doesn't have maps so these turns on unknown roads are great. I can focus more on my ride than finding my way on unknown village roads.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't calculate descends. It uses your flat speed for that, because descends are tricky. So you gain a bit over your virtual partner on descends. But if nothing else that's a nice confidence booster for you.

So I use:

1. http://connect.garmin.com for uploading data
2. http://www.ridewithgps.com for better section analysis
3. http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com for great pre-ride routing capabilities

If anyone knows of an alternative to bikeroutetoaster.com I'd be interested to hear about it.

I can see that nobody has yet mentioned http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com which I use for route creation before I head out on an unknown territory.

Slowdown uphill calculation based on steepness

The best thing about it is that you can set few parameters (defaults are quite fine for advanced recreation) and it calculates timing based on these parameters which turn out to be quite good. You can then upload it to your GPS unit (ie. GARMIN EDGE 500) and use it as your virtual partner.

You can also set track points, so your unit can tell you when and where to turn (you can do that easily on a map because you see roads). I'm using GARMIN EDGE 500 which doesn't have maps so these turns on unknown roads are great. I can focus more on my ride than finding my way on unknown village roads.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't calculate descends. It uses your flat speed for that, because descends are tricky. So you gain a bit over your virtual partner on descends. But if nothing else that's a nice confidence booster for you.

So I use:

1. http://connect.garmin.com for uploading data
2. http://www.ridewithgps.com for better section analysis
3. http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com for great pre-ride routing capabilities

If anyone knows of an alternative to bikeroutetoaster.com I'd be interested to hear about it.

I can see that nobody has yet mentioned http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com which I use for route creation before I head out on an unknown territory.

The best thing about it is that you can set few parameters (defaults are quite fine for advanced recreation) and it calculates timing based on these parameters which turn out to be quite good. You can then upload it to your GPS unit (ie. GARMIN EDGE 500) and use it as your virtual partner.

You can also set track points, so your unit can tell you when and where to turn (you can do that easily on a map because you see roads). I'm using GARMIN EDGE 500 which doesn't have maps so these turns on unknown roads are great. I can focus more on my ride than finding my way on unknown village roads.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't calculate descends. It uses your flat speed for that, because descends are tricky. So you gain a bit over your virtual partner on descends. But if nothing else that's a nice confidence booster for you.

So I use:

1. http://connect.garmin.com for uploading data
2. http://www.ridewithgps.com for better section analysis
3. http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com for great pre-ride routing capabilities

**If anyone knows of an alternative to bikeroutetoaster.com I'd be interested to hear about it.

I can see that nobody has yet mentioned http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com which I use for route creation before I head out on an unknown territory.

The best thing about it is that you can set few parameters (defaults are quite fine for advanced recreation) and it calculates timing based on these parameters which turn out to be quite good. You can then upload it to your GPS unit (ie. GARMIN EDGE 500) and use it as your virtual partner.

You can also set track points, so your unit can tell you when and where to turn (you can do that easily on a map because you see roads). I'm using GARMIN EDGE 500 which doesn't have maps so these turns on unknown roads are great. I can focus more on my ride than finding my way on unknown village roads.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't calculate descends. It uses your flat speed for that, because descends are tricky. So you gain a bit over your virtual partner on descends. But if nothing else that's a nice confidence booster for you.

So I use:

1. http://connect.garmin.com for uploading data
2. http://www.ridewithgps.com for better section analysis
3. http://www.bikeroutetoaster.com for great pre-ride routing capabilities

If anyone knows of an alternative to bikeroutetoaster.com I'd be interested to hear about it.