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by lasryaric 3224 days ago
Is there a bike routing product that uses this new api that I can use? I spend hours finding the "less stressfull" bike routes. I like hills but I really value safety.
3 comments

Not sure what Komoot uses, but I find their route planning very effective. You can indicate what kind of cyclist you are and it adjusts accordingly.
Strava[1] provides a cycle route builder that uses the popularity of routes based on their dataset of uploaded rides. As it's using recorded rides, typically by local riders, I've found it produces good routing; quiet roads similar to those you'd choose if you knew the area well.

[1] https://www.strava.com

Wow. I was just playing with Strava last night and didn't realize I could build point A to point B routes because the interface is so impenetrable. (tip: search for address, then zoom the map WAY in manually, because it doesn't bother finding the address for you, click on the map to produce a dot, search for 2nd address, zoom WAY in and click to place your second dot, god help you if you don't actually know how to find the places on the map with your own two eyes).

Then it automatically built a route on some of the most heavily-traveled and bike-unfriendly roads in the area. (SF Peninsula locals: Marsh Road, Middlefield bike slaughter through Palo Alto). At least it only had a few turns. Google Maps did far, far better.

OpenStreetMap in Mapzen (bicycle) mode. Unfortunately the routes aren't great, at least for my area of Seattle.