2/9/2010 another fun tool to play with: hill grade calculator! Prove to your friends just how hard that local grinder is.
2/8/2010route upload feature is now ready for general user testing! it will process files from most GPS devices, and you can save the route and get a link for it.
12/9/2009 released initial version of printable (e.g. simple) maps, as seen http://veloroutes.org/s/120. this new map type includes a static image of the route & elevation profile you can save or include on your blog. to view your routes in this format click the 'Export' button on the route page.
12/6/2009 elevation data from the USGS is back up, so routes should have nice detailed elevation data. map on!
12/5/2009 USGS elevation site seems to be temporarily down - switched to a slightly less accurate data source.
11/27/2009 Updated the maps page so that the whole route is shown on first load. (e.g. fixed the starting zoom level)
11/20/2009 I've sped up the filling in of elevation for routes saved using auto-routing - what sometimes used to take up to 10 minutes should now be less than three!
10/28/2009 still working on better search and improved UI... but until then, here's a new toy to play with. Get the elevation of any place in the world! Of course, you can already do this with the main map but this will make it easier if you just want to see the elevation of your house.
10/18/2009 added elevation profile smoothing for routes (like Tri-Col previously you can see the graph was unreadable) with a lot of elevation points to display. this also means previously-overestimated total gain numbers will be more conservative and closer to the actual value. downloading the CSV or KML files will still include all of the points in the original elevation graph if you want to see it. let me know what you think!
10/13/2009 few more tweaks today. GPX files are now limited to 100 points, since it sounds like they won't load on a GPS device unless they are under this limit.
10/13/2009 did some work around generating cue-sheets from routes (like this) - and I went ahead and threw it out there, you can now generate a Google Maps cueesheet (directions) for any route! Just select "Cuesheet (Google Maps)" from the drop down after you load a route, and click Export.
10/10/2009 added two new export types, Google Map or Bing Map. Using this you can view any route in the Veloroutes.org database on these external map sites, utilizing their special features such as Street View & Bird's Eye View. To 'export' a route to these map types, load a map and select the type in the drop down, then press 'Export'.
10/8/2009 changed auto-routing so that the "avoid highways" option also puts the directions into Google's "Walking mode." This will make your route go on less-traveled roads, cycle paths, etc.
10/8/2009 A user figured out that the TCX files were failing to import due to a length restriction in the name of the route. So the names will have spaces removed and be shortened to 15 characters. Now the files should import into Training Center.
10/5/2009 put in a temporary fix for the elevation images for large routes that used to blow up. they are larger than the normal ones, but should at least give you something to look at!
9/8/2009 added avoid highways (and interstates) option on the auto-routing page.
5/22/2009 cyclists from around the world have entered over 30,000 routes using veloroutes! i'm planning a new version of the site that I hope will fix some current issues with it.
9/4/2008 added a percent grade calculator on the tools page.
7/25/2008 got the elevation issue cleared up! routes without valid data will be reset automatically, but it may take at least a few hours to get through them all. thanks for your patience!
7/24/2008 the USGS has changed their elevation format; I'm working to bring my code inline with their changes. until then, all routes won't have elevation data. sorry!
5/29/2008 enabled zoom when you use your mouse scroll-wheel! another great time saver for creating those routes even faster.
5/12/2008 bug when saving route w/ no name fixed - now you don't have to click another point to click the save button.
4/29/2008fixed the elevation images so that the minimum height shown is the actual value, and not sea-level. this mostly affects users in places like denver, where the images used to show as flat lines, but should make all of the graphs a litte more accurate!
3/13/2008 added Excel export (comma-separated format) of route details! currently this just includes the latitude/longitude of each point, as well as the elevation data & distance info for the route points. using this, you can create your own custom elevation graphs and more. to use this feature, just click the "Excel" button on the map page when a route is loaded or saved.
3/12/2008 added mile markers on the map page, but they currently will only show when you load a route. these will improve over time, but will hopefully at least give a sense of direction for loop rotues.
2/2/2008 switched elevation over to the backup, as the USGS data source has been down for a few days now. also working on fixing up auto-routing!
12/27/07 added Terrain maps! This is a physical relief map that shows elevation changes. see mt. rainier for an example of what this looks like.
11/22/07 added Garmin Course format export feature! you can read more about this feature here.
11/4/07 the auto-routing beta is having issues with elevation, and this is holding back the official release of the feature. also in the works are: user-accounts, route editing, tcx/gpx/kml uploads. some routes don't seem to export OK, but so far most of them do. please let me know if any routes won't export correctly.
10/3/07 enabled saving using the auto-routing feature! most issues are worked out with it; give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
9/1/07 cue-sheets are being generated for all old routes; due to this, the creation of new route cue-sheets will be delayed by a few hours. This should be cleared up by tomorrow - sorry!
8/28/07 implemented basic cue-sheets, aka routeslips, aka directions! So after you save your route, a cuesheet is generated automatically. See here for more details on the cuesheet feature, or just go ahead and create a route & cue sheet.
8/23/07 fixed an issue with the elevation service, sometimes routes were getting the value of '500.0' in their elevation data, throwing off the total gain value significantly.
8/9/07 finally implemented unlimited undo, an often-requested feature that will let you clear the last X points in your route.
8/2/07 elevation service switched to backup; some routes have zero-gain, this will be corrected later today.
7/29/07new features are eventually coming out (auto-routing, cue sheets)!! but i've been riding my bike a lot lately, see my cycling log for the details.
7/29/07fixed the elevation profile images when using metric - the height-values (y-axis) were always shown in feet, now the values are in meters if 'use metric' is checked.
7/02/07 the elevation service (USGS) has been having issues, causing large spikes or troughs in the elevation graphs, and in turn causing the 'total gain' numbers to sometimes be exaggerated. so if your total gain is way too large, this is the cause.
6/29/07 released the route on a map feature, this will make it easier to find recently-saved routes in your area.
6/29/07 fixed the elevation data for about 20 routes, the elevation services went down for a while earlier today.. all routes now have correct data.
6/25/07fixed the total gain for a few routes, there was an issue that was causing the total gain to be way above actual value. I've made the fix that should stop this from happening again.
6/21/07 improved the KML (Google Earth) output, made the line transparent so it doesn't block your view.
6/17/07 moved to better hosting (@ pair.com), should be faster all around.
6/07/07 tweaked the home page a bit (less links), should be more usable now.
6/02/07 since veloroutes gets up to 10,000 elevation calls per day, i figured it couldn't hurt to improve the speed of the elevation query. response times for elevation should speed up, from around 1 second to half a second.
6/01/07 improved the elevation profiles for all routes! now there's actually details on the graph, like total gain and the cummulative distance. you can get to this from the home page, or from the route creation page (if you are creating a route but have not saved it, a simpler elevation graph comes up. once you save your route you'll see the detailed version).
5/25/07 changed the way route loading works, should be faster now (and google can see the difference beteween routes now too)
5/22/07 cleaned up the javascript that makes veloroutes tick, should lead to faster downloads.
5/21/07 added bicycle calculations and tools page, which offers an average speed calculator and gear-ratio chart. metric version coming soon.
5/21/07 added locale search option (aka gis-search), meaning you can query routes not only by keyword, but also by location! so now you can search using a zipcode, or any other string that can be resolved to a latitude/longitude pair!
5/06/07fixed the percent-grade calculation, it should be much more accurate now.
5/05/07 happy cinco de mayo! i did a couple of changes today - one is saving total elevation gain, as this was previously a thrown-away value. (gain has been re-calculated for old routes too). in addition to gain i've replaced the Google map hand cursor with a crosshair. both changes inspired by popular demand.
4/27/07 added custom search powered by google. (still working on general site improvements, stay tuned!)
3/02/07 added rss feed of the latest routes saved on veloroutes.org. add it to your blog, website, or read it directly in an rss reader!
2/19/07moved hosting from my apartment to dreamhost. should be much faster, less chance of outage due to cat pissing on dsl modem! (update 6/18/07: dreamhost had too much downtime, moved on to new hosting)
2/02/07 added sunrise & sunset, just for seattle for now. eventually you'll be able to get this data for anywhere in the world.
1/29/07 added downloadable elevation graphs so you can save them as images. they're very basic, but eventually will list details like route name, total gain, etc. (to view, load or create a route and click the 'get elevation image' link')
1/11/07 added elevation backup - the USGS service is often down, so the site now uses earthtools.org if the usgs webservice is not working. the backup is slower and less accurate, but will at least fill for the usgs when need be.
1/08/07 added paris page, complete with what i'm sure are incomplete translations..
1/07/07 fixed saving issue with IE...
1/02/07 added location (e.g. city/state) data for routes (derived from route points, for the U.S. only as of now)
12/28/06 added GPX & KML output types
12/26/06 added nexrad radar overlay from iowa state, and google maps for philly, houston, and phoenix
12/17/06 added overlays for king/snohomish counties; minor layout changes on front page
12/13/06 added grade of hills, total elevation gain
11/04/06 added route search, loading routes by URL
upcoming changes (more or less in order)
guess the city/state of routes, no need to enter city (DONE)
follow the road, so you don't have to click each point in your route! (in progress)
auto-generated cue sheets based on your route. (DONE 8/2007)
upload GPX files
'there and back' routes
user accounts, with 'my routes' feature
e-tools, such as an average-speed calculator, gear-ratio chart, and other (electronic) tools useful to cyclsts. (DONE, you can find the 'tools' page here)
better ui
search routes by geolocation (nearby) (DONE 5/21/07, this is now the default search-type on the home page)
fill in gaps in elevation data (e.g. elevation between two points)
load elevation details when loading a route (total gain, etc). (DONE 5/5/7). also improve downloadable elevation images. (DONE 6/1/07, the details are on 'em now!)
copy-as-new for routes, sort of like editing.
tag cloud, improved search (e.g. search by distance, gain, etc)
saving a longish route (15+ miles) isn't supported in IE, due to the way it POSTs.. use mozilla or something else for now. (fixed)
loading a longish route doesn't work in Mozilla (only half of it loads) (fixed as of may 2007)
old safari versions don't work with the site
site is hosted @ home on DSL; slow downloads, and qwest decides to cut off their customers sometimes...as of 02/19/2007 this site is hosted by dreamhost.com (which isn't perfect, but at least faster). dreamhost sucked, moved to new hosting.
how to report a bug or request a new feature
submit a question at the forum, or just send me an e-mail: veloroutes @ gmail
