I just finished 3 weeks cycling in the UK, where I think I was using the cycle.travel website and app about 12 hours per day :) The route browser map — and maps of my own route folders — were so useful for planning, and of course the routing engine itself is brilliant.
A few comments on using the iPhone app for several trips over the past year.
- For me, pinching to zoom in/out is fraught with peril while riding, especially with gloves on. So many times I've accidentally modified my route. I think having [+] and [-] controls on screen would be a big improvement (though I can understand a reluctance to add more controls in the map area). For example, approaching a complex intersection I could tap the [+] a few times, then tap [-] a few times after navigating the intersection. Pinching in this scenario usually re-centers the map where I don't want it — or modifies my route.
- Likewise, several times I accidentally added a via point by panning, then letting my finger rest a bit too long. Perhaps "edit" could be a separate mode from "navigate"? Or perhaps an "undo" command could be squeezed in somewhere.
- I wish the distance to next turn could be a heavier typeface (if there's not room to make it larger). It's not really legible while riding. IMO, knowing the distance along with the street name would help navigating complex intersections, both in the city and countryside; often in Europe & UK street signs/names are not in obvious places, and I think in Wales half the roads are called "minor road" 😀).
- Especially when stopped, it would be helpful to have an arrow indicating which way I am facing. Komoot, MapOut, and other mapping apps all show this and I often wished for it in the c.t app.
I really love planning routes and riding them with the site and app. Thanks for making it possible!
Comments
That’s a pretty intensive test – glad it worked out and thank you for the ideas! I’ll take a look at them – none of them look prohibitively difficult on first glance.
For zooming, I’d like to introduce a gesture where you tap and hold, then drag up and down to zoom in/out. This should be easy to do with one finger without accidentally recentering the map. It looks like it’ll be easier on iOS than Android (the gesture support in MapLibre for Android was a bit rudimentary last time I looked).
And unnamed minor roads in Wales are part of the fun 😀
As per Memory-Map, use of the volume controls is great for zooming in and out - even with gloved hands!
CL — but what about actual volume?
Thanks Richard. Hopefully the gesture you describe doesn’t have the possibility to add/move via points. (For example, tapping the map to “extend to here” requires a second tap to confirm, but several times I’ve managed to accidentally do it while wearing gloves and just trying to pan.)