Have you tried looking out the window?

Very droll Hobbes :)

It’s in the popup window when you click somewhere on your planned route. Click anywhere on the blue line for the route, and one of the links is ‘Weather’. Click that, and you’ll see the weather forecast for the next week at that location.

I've tried that. Only got "add via point" then an alternative route came up. Which leads me to the question, how do I choose a route?  ie. I saved the route Roscoff to Locmalo. When I tried this weather link and a new route came up. As I don't know whether the route through Morlaix will be busy I wonder if this alternative is better as it bypasses Morlaix. But how can I know?

Maia, if I'm understanding correctly, you've inadvertently added a viapoint and are now wondering if this new route is better? 

Well, no-one can really answer that, I'm afraid. Ask 5 cyclists for the 'best' way from A to B and chances are you'll get 6 different responses! 

Bear in mind that CT chooses the best route for us from our specified start point to our specified end point. Any viapoints we put in are also taken into account, If one of those viapoints is up a bloody big hill that's where we're directed! If another is on a busy road then that's where we'll end up! That's on us, not CT. We placed the viapoints.

A useful tool, if you're not aware in the 'Streetview' option. Click on any point on your route, right click and choose it from the options. (Website, not the app)

As for 'busy', and with the greatest of respect to Richard and CT, busyness is only a part of the story. A statistically low traffic road may be busy at certain times of the day. A 'busy' road may have wide shoulders and an excellent surface in comparison to a smaller, tighter road filled with debris and loaded tractors and trailers in harvest season. That lovely traffic free rail trail could be a mudbath after a couple of days of rain! (In CT's defence it wanted to avoid the muddy section!) A local fiesta may block all traffic for us in a town  - but replace it with crowds of people and the occasional bull! :-)

Perhaps it would be more helpful to channel the 'is route A better than B?' energy into thinking and practising for the scenario of not enjoying where we are? Being able to whip out the phone and seek an alternative way can be a great advantage. Similarly, 'what is that big castle/lake/forest over yonder? Maybe I'll go and check it out?' can generate a wonderful sense of freedom and exploration. I'm a big believer in not letting 'Home me' make too many decisions for 'On the road me'. 

The trick for that kind of attitude is to have confidence in and experience of using our tools - like CT. Using a touch screen phone in the rain (or bright sunshine) can be a challenge. Changing the route on the fly yet still arriving at our destination can benefit from practice.  

The more we travel on a bike, the more we 'feel' the choices CT makes on our behalf the better we become at understanding the choices it makes. We also learn about ourselves and what we enjoy - and don't. When that marriage works it's great!

TL,DR France, along with its towns and cities, is very well equipped for cycle tourists and I'd rather not miss a town like Morlaix. 

Just a note – the weather feature is currently only on the website, not in the app.

cycle.travel will choose what it thinks is the best route weighing up a large range of factors, but very often there’s more than one good route. You can experiment yourself by adding via points and dragging them around, or by using the ‘Find alternative’ feature on the website.

Thanks for that both. I'll probably end up doing it on the hoof as usual but trying to work out how to use CT so I can manage it in the rain etc. I live in hope that I'll crack the technology.  Currently not getting any communication between MacBook and Android phone. Is that possible or do I need to operate each individually? I'll be buying an orange Michelin map as soon as I arrive just in case. My tech progress proceeds at a snail's pace.

Reading the historic forum questions is making me even more confused. Maybe I haven't set up an account, though I am a supporter. Is this why MacBook doesn't communicate with my Android phone?

And now I read perhaps I would be better off logging on with the phone rather than using the App? Confused. 

You do have an account – that just means you’ve logged in to the website, and you can do things like ask questions on the forum and save your Berlin to Copenhagen journeys!

If you log in with the same details on the app, you can get those journeys by clicking the “Routes” button, then finding them there. That’s how you can communicate between the Mac and the phone – save the routes on one, then you can open them on the other.

(Note that there’s a little refresh button at the top right of the “Routes” list on your phone, so if you’ve only just now saved a route on your Mac, press that to make sure the phone can see it.)

I think you might have accidentally set up two accounts, one with a Yahoo email address and one with a Google address. If you want me to merge the two then let me know.

Maia, if I may...

My tech progress proceeds at a snail's pace.

That's still progress! :-) I was in your shoes a few years ago. To this day I can't explain the difference between a gpx and tcx file - I just know what works for me. The idea of editing the OSM data (that CT uses) terrifies me. My suggestion is to keep plugging away and that progress will keep on ticking up. The confidence and subsequent freedom that comes from such a powerful tool in your pocket is worth the effort.

As for...

And now I read perhaps I would be better off logging on with the phone rather than using the App? Confused.

That may be my suggestion on another thread? I've been using CT longer than the app so the website interface is more familiar to me. I've also become accustomed to using the website on my phone while on a long trip. Not all the website features are currently available on the app either. For me, it's just more familiar and easy. For someone else it may be a layer they just don't need.

I rarely get to use the app  because un/fortunately (depending on perspective :-)) I live in a place with a lot of sunlight and heat with a phone that tends to overheat! (Also, the towns and villages I tend to visit can be very quiet. Apologies to Richard & CT but I find the instructions in Spanish to be embarassing! :-) ) Plus my preference for rough and bumpy 'roads' makes plonking the phone on my handlebars a tad risky. 

 I'd think your tech progress may be a little like riding a new route. The first time lots of new things to see and learn. The next time we'll see things we missed the last time. And the next. A little later, with a new season, something will have changed (CT is always improving). Something new to notice and learn. And if we get lost we can always stop and ask - here on the forum. 

Good luck!

I still cannot get the weather feature to work on the desktop version. I have the option, but when i select it, nothing shows.