I rode the RT from Atlantic Highlands to Port Jervis this last Sunday to experience the last of the fall color.
On the way already it became clear that Atlantic Highlands retains the fall colors later into the season than the rest of New Jersey, heading west and then north the leaves had mostly fallen, but there was enough of a color splash here and there to make up for it… I only stopped at times to snap a picture, but the weather was fantastic for late November, and the ride was fun.
Having once again planned the route with my trusty bikeroutetoaster.com app, I’ve also recently become aware of a great way to plan a route using google maps directly. In google maps I can modify a route to suite me by dragging it onto the roads I’d like to travel… However, the problem has been that there is no good way to get a google map route converted and downloaded to my Garmin GPS. Well, now there is a fantastic tool that does just that: MaptoGPX.
Here an excerpt from their site, as well as another useful link to the GPS Visualizer site:
The Google Maps API is great, but it doesn’t have an easy way to export data in GPX format. This bookmarklet is my attempt at a hack to get information out of Google Maps and into GPX, suitable for loading on a GPS.
This bookmarklet can create a GPX file based on driving directions, an address search or a local search. The GPX file will contain a route, a single waypoint, or up to ten waypoints, respectively. The code for extracting waypoints from local search originally came from this page.
If you’re looking for a utility to display GPX files in Google Maps, I recommend GPS Visualizer.
Once in Port Jervis, it was time to shed some layers of clothing, stop for lunch at the Erie Hotel and Restaurant, and then begin the Hawk’s Nest part of the ride…
About four miles from Port Jervis, the section of New York Route 97 has been frequently used in television commercials and advertisements. A 30 minute drive from Port Jervis along this scenic road will lead to the oldest wire suspension bridge in the United States and a museum/home of noted author, Zane Grey.
The overall trip was approx 320 miles, a good day out…
Check out the trip as posted on Everytrail.com. I used HoudahGeo to push GPS tracking data from my motorcycle’s Zumo into the pictures EXIF data, and when uploading the resulting images, the Everytrail site automatically maps them as follows: Atlantic Highlands to Port Jervis
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