Using AI to plan your routes. Yes or No?

[Wapping]

Claude is struggling:




Let’s see what it offers up…..

 

[Wapping]

It’s better (it now has less motorway) but far from perfect.

It was though interesting (after a fashion) to engage either Claude, to see if I could help it along. Who knows, maybe it learned something, too:

Here’s the final offering Claude made:

https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/folder/16117311?mode=share

I guess I could try asking Claude for shorter routes…. Something I stress the importance of when bods load single routes of thousands of miles into their Garmin devices and are disappointed (or downright angry) when they don’t work.

PS The owners of Claude, need to give it some much better maps!

 

[Wapping]

I thanked Claude and here’s its reply:

 

[Wapping]

I have taken up Claude’s suggestion of giving a thumbs down and notified Claude’s keepers.

 

[Berin]

You’ve found out what it does, by the looks. I never got a perfect route and either just did it myself or modified the Claude routes.
I did get it to create a downloadable gpx file.

But it will do things like find hotels along the way, if you give it good criteria, and also suggest things you might want to see, again with good criteria.

For the trip we are just finishing I gave Claude the GPX routes, my TripIt itinerary, the BF booking form and the hotel confirmations.

I then asked it to create a brief document for the trip.

1) table of the distance and destination for each day and an elevation profile
2) the hotel board basis and costs each day
3) suggestions for things to do on days off the bike, including restaurants
4) a précis of each days route with things to look out for.

 

[Wapping]

Thank you.

At least I now understand Claude’s limitations when it comes to producing a GPX file of a route. It’ll (understandably) struggle if it doesn’t have a suitable base map to work from and, worse, if the route segments are long.

It’s an interesting use of AI, to submit a GPX file (created yourself in say MyRoute or BaseCamp) and ask it for ‘stuff’ (to use the popular catch all term) along the way.

 

[leadfarmer]

I’ve just tried Claude, I’d used Chat GPT before

Here are the results, I’ll edit the bits that are not interesting, this was my prompt:

“I need a route, around the outside of France, on a motorcycle, staying as close as is practical to the coast or border, using paved roads, avoid balcony roads with sheer drops”

Updated memory
Motorcycle trip planning around the outside of France (coast and border), paved roads only, avoiding balcony roads with sheer drops
Here's a mainland loop that hugs the sea and the border wherever the roads are sensible. The Pyrenees and Alps are the exceptions, where hugging the border means high passes and balcony roads, so the route uses valley and foothill roads there instead. Total is roughly 5,000 to 5,500 km, comfortably 12 to 16 days.

Direction tip: I've written it anticlockwise. In France you ride on the right, so on coastal roads heading anticlockwise the sea and any cliff edge are on the far side of the oncoming lane. Clockwise puts you in the lane next to the drop.

5. Alps, kept to the valleys
Geneva → Annecy → Albertville → Grenoble → Gap → Digne → Castellane → Grasse. The Route Napoléon (N85) is broad and well-engineered. Skip the Galibier, Iseran, Col de Vars and Col de la Bonette, which are the classic sheer-drop passes.

6. Riviera
Grasse → Cannes → Nice → Menton. Take the Basse Corniche (N98) at sea level, not the Grande or Moyenne Corniche, which are true balcony roads. Continue west via Saint-Tropez and the Maures on the D559, which has some sea cliffs but is guarded and modest.

7. Provence and Languedoc coast
Toulon → Marseille (use the Côte Bleue if you like, D5 has low cliffs) → Camargue (Saintes-Maries, Aigues-Mortes) → Sète → Narbonne-Plage → Perpignan. Avoid the Route des Crêtes (La Ciotat to Cassis), which is a serious cliff road.

I replied:
“Galibier, Iseran, Col de Vars and Col de la Bonette Are not sheer drop balcony roads”

Added to memory
You're right, I lumped those four in with genuine balcony roads and shouldn't have. They're high, open alpine passes rather than roads cut into a cliff face. Col de Vars is one of the gentlest big passes in the Alps. Including them also gets you much closer to the Italian border, which suits your brief.

Here's the revised Alps leg, replacing step 5:

Geneva → Annecy → Albertville → Bourg-Saint-Maurice → Val-d'Isère → Col de l'Iseran → Modane → Col du Galibier (via the Télégraphe) → Col du Lautaret → Briançon → Guillestre → Col de Vars → Barcelonnette → Col de la Bonette → Tinée valley → Nice, then on to Menton and the Basse Corniche as before.

Some points to check:

• Exposure is worth a look, not a veto. The upper hairpins on the Galibier's north side and the top loop of the Bonette have some stretches with low or no barriers. They're open slopes rather than cliff faces, but check a satellite view if that matters to you.
• Seasonal closure. The Iseran, Galibier and Bonette close with the first snow, usually sometime in autumn. Since it's late September, check the current opening status before committing.
• Bonette descent. The Tinée valley road down to Nice has a few narrower stretches cut into the valley wall. The Gorges de Daluis, a balcony road near there, is the one to avoid.

Steps 1 to 4 and 6 to 12 stay the same. If you tell me your start point and daily distance, I can split the loop into stages.

 

[Wapping]

It’s interesting what AI can do, along with seeing its mistakes. The ‘lumping in’ is a clear example. I assume that it reads something high as having steep drops. In a way, it’s correct of course. Some people don’t like even the well trodden passes and gorges, for fear of going over the edge.

It’s interesting too that it explains its working, giving examples of low (or no) walls, suggesting that these might not be suitable.

I’ve been (mildly) chastised for taking bods down a bumpy road or two in the Ardennes…. Me on an HP4, them on Adventure bikes. They’d doubtless swear at Claude for doing the same.

 

[jefformston]

No!, On any trip made its called an Adventure for a reason, having some man made Device telling me what to expect takes away something that is not replaced. "Mystery".

Same as with Sat navigation, never bothered with it until I had to use it on my truck which I actually had to pay for myself.
Many the time, not downloading updates found me floating in water on a river where a bridge had not yet been downloaded i.e the New Forth Road bridge crossing.

For me it is the old system of reading a map prior to the off on any trip, figuring out the route as I went along seemed to me much more enjoyable.

Ai now is a simple tool yet to achieve it full potential, but the future is here and now, either grab onto it or get swept away like when the fist computer became available to the public.
Most Mobile phones have so much memory, and can achieve what could only be dreamt of in the 70s.

So if it got you to the bridge, then showed nothing as you closed the water, then picked you up again back on dry land to continue on you merry way, what’s the problem?

You seem to have figured out that YOU need to download the maps for the SatNav to use, a bit like in the past having an up to date paper map in the glove box was needed for the missus to give you directions.

I’ve got an AA road atlas in the car from 1980, it doesn’t show the new bridge either, but it still gets me where I want to go!

As they say a ‘bad workman blames his tools’.

A SatNav is a tool, just like a paper map and compass are tools to help you get from A to B, maybe via c,d,e & f.

 

[Treb]

Some one needs to get out more!
..

 

[Mzokk]

It’s interesting what AI can do, along with seeing its mistakes. The ‘lumping in’ is a clear example. I assume that it reads something high as having steep drops. In a way, it’s correct of course. Some people don’t like even the well trodden passes and gorges, for fear of going over the edge.

It’s interesting too that it explains its working, giving examples of low (or no) walls, suggesting that these might not be suitable.

I’ve been (mildly) chastised for taking bods down a bumpy road or two in the Ardennes…. Me on an HP4, them on Adventure bikes. They’d doubtless swear at Claude for doing the same.

It's clearly getting there. The only model (I think) directly linked to maps is Gemini and Google maps so at least you can visualise the result of your request. Unfortunately google does not (yet) provide an easy way to export the resultant route as a KML/KMZ file or GPX file. A few times I've asked google via my Packtalk to route to a decent coffee shop on a route I have been following on another app and its been great.

Here is a Google/Gemini route. This could all be done via voice commands while you are riding!!

 

[Wapping]

Unfortunately google does not (yet) provide an easy way to export the resultant route as a KML/KMZ file or GPX file.

Google are an odd company. They give anyone who wants one, a free site (My Maps) to hold your own routes. Then they refuse to allow you to export a route into Google Maps in order to navigate it.

They have mapped and photographed all but the entire world, down to street level and provided it free. But then refuse to allow the exporting of a basic GPX file, created by their own AI tool.

 

[Mzokk]

Google are an odd company. They give one a free site (My Maps) to hold your own routes, then refuse to allow you to export a route Google Maps in order to navigate it.

They have mapped and photographed all but the entire world, down to street level and provided it free. But then refuse to allow the exporting of a basic GPX file, created by their own AI tool.

It is bizarre. Perhaps they do it that way to create/ support specialist markets??.......but I doubt it

 

[Wapping]

I asked Gemini why:

The inability to directly export or navigate a custom-drawn route from Google My Maps into Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation is one of the most common frustrations for road-trip planners, cyclists, and delivery drivers.


The disconnect comes down to how the two systems were built, what data they rely on, and how they handle routing logic:


1. Different Underlying Engines and Architectures


Google My Maps is a lightweight, web-based tool designed for user-generated content and visualization. It treats a route line as a static vector graphic (a collection of coordinate points drawn on top of a canvas).


Google Maps (Navigation) is a dynamic, real-time routing engine. It doesn't just read lines; it constantly queries live traffic databases, road closures, legal turning restrictions, speed limits, and elevation data to compute a path dynamically.


2. The Problem with "Freehand" Vectors


In My Maps, you can click and drag a line down any alleyway, dirt road, or pedestrian path, or completely off-road. Google Maps Navigation relies strictly on routable map data graphs. If you force Google Maps to navigate a custom vector line that doesn't match its strict road-network database, the navigation engine breaks down because it doesn't recognize the line as a legal, navigable road segment.


3. Dynamic Rerouting Conflicts


Google Maps navigation is built to instantly recalculate if you miss a turn. If you fed it a static custom route from My Maps, the app wouldn't know how to handle deviations. If traffic accidents or construction blocked a custom-drawn backroad, the navigation engine would either crash or constantly fight against your intended path, trying to force you back to the "fastest/safest" algorithmic route.


Workarounds to Bridge the Gap


While Google hasn't natively bridged these two apps, you can work around the limitation using a few methods:


The Multi-Stop Method (Closest Native Option): Instead of drawing a freehand route in My Maps, open regular Google Maps and add specific stops (up to 10 per trip). By strategically placing these waypoints, you can force Google Maps to take your preferred scenic path, which will support voice navigation.


Third-Party GPS Apps: If you need exact custom route navigation (especially for cycling or motorcycling), creators typically export their My Maps route as a ⁠.KML⁠ file, convert it to a ⁠.GPX⁠ file, and import it into dedicated third-party navigation apps like OsmAnd, MapMyRide, or Komoot, which actually support custom GPX track navigation.

 

[Wapping]

I then asked a supplementary question:

 

[Mzokk]

I suppose that makes sense. Given their commercial model they would have to provide the additional functionality for "free". Given that most people travelling want to get from a to b with the least hassle (which TBF google maps is great for) then the potential revenue generated from additional functionality is likely to be less than the cost of providing the service. Makes you wonder why MyMaps and Google Earth still exist and are maintained.

 

[Wapping]

I came to much the same conclusion.

 

[MartinK]

We're currently touring Norway in the Camper

Before we left UK, I did a "gorilla level route" that it to say a rough plan, gairinger fjord, Trollstigen, Atlantic Road, lofoten etc etc

My Mrs is in the passenger seat as copilot. She's using chatgpt all the time. Asking "we're in gairinger, heading to lofoten.... What should we definitely not miss", as nd it's giving us tailored advance based on what if knows we like!

Pisses me off because I actually enjoy doing the research!

It didn't know about the Tirpitz tho...so I got one over on it

 

[Kritou]

I have fed a couple of .gpx routes into AI (Perplexity) with intended departure times and asked if there are any road closures on it … worked a treat

 

[Wapping]

I asked Gemini why it couldn’t create a GPX file for a route it creates.

Here’s the answer:

Gemini cannot natively generate a downloadable .gpx file because of how large language models handle geographic data and file delivery.


1. Lack of Real-Time GIS Routing


A functional GPX file is not just a text list of directions; it relies on precise spatial data containing exact geographic coordinates (latitude, longitude, and elevation) for every turn and track point along a road or trail.

• No GIS Engine: Gemini operates as a language model rather than a Geographic Information System (GIS) engine like Google Maps, Strava, or Komoot. It does not run routing algorithms (like Open Source Routing Machine or Dijkstra’s algorithm) across actual road network vectors in real time.
• Coordinate Accuracy: While Gemini can approximate main waypoints, generating hundreds or thousands of ordered, accurate GPS coordinates that stick to actual roads without "hallucinating" points in the middle of buildings or rivers is outside an LLM's core probabilistic design.

2. File Download Limitations


The standard Gemini chat interface is designed around generating text, code, and direct link integrations (like Google Docs or Sheets) rather than compiling and hosting raw, binary/XML downloadable files directly on the fly.


Workaround: How to turn Gemini routes into a GPX file


Even though Gemini cannot export a downloadable .gpx file directly, you can still use it to build one:

1. Ask for raw GPX XML: You can explicitly ask Gemini: "Provide the raw GPX XML code for a route from [A] to ." Gemini will output the XML text block in a code snippet box.
   [*]Save as .gpx: Copy the generated XML text, paste it into a simple text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit), and save the file with a .gpx extension (e.g., route.gpx).
   [*]Snap to Roads (Recommended): Because raw AI-generated coordinates can be imprecise, import that file into a dedicated tool like gpx.studio, Komoot, or Garmin Connect. These platforms will automatically snap the route's points to actual roads and trails so your GPS device can navigate it safely.

So, it draws its basic ideas from Google maps (we assume) but cannot then pick-up or create the breadcrumbs of shaping points.

I can do better than that with MyRoute’s Routeplanner, my iPhone and my finger.