To be clear, this route is still not, by any means “good”. Of the classic four types of cyclist, only the most enthusiastic of type 2 “enthused and confident” would be comfortable here. The North Brisbane Bikeway itself is good for most, but probably not all, of the type 3 “interested but concerned” (mainly because this section of the NBB runs on a narrow service road, shared with some, but not many, cars). And the Cabbage Tree Creek Bikeway is top-tier, if it goes where you want to be going. But the connection between them is this:
And then briefly even worse:
Before eventually getting a little bit better:
is it all mostly relying on g-maps or Apple Maps
I would actually strongly advise against Google Maps for cycling. Dunno about Apple as I’ve never tried it. But Google has a tendency to send you some very poor routes for cycling. Your best option is to look at the Strava Global Heatmap. It’s not perfect, because Strava is heavily used by type 1 “strong and fearless” cyclists on their sport cycling routes. But it’s also used (more than you might think) by people going about less confidently. See which routes show up as popular, and double-check that with your own local knowledge and use of tools like Google Streetview.
I also quite like the tool Ride With GPS, which can automatically create wayfinding routes way better than what Google offers, along with the ability to customise it to your preference, and send the route through to your Garmin or various phone apps to allow you to follow your preprepared route more easily.
To be clear, this route is still not, by any means “good”. Of the classic four types of cyclist, only the most enthusiastic of type 2 “enthused and confident” would be comfortable here. The North Brisbane Bikeway itself is good for most, but probably not all, of the type 3 “interested but concerned” (mainly because this section of the NBB runs on a narrow service road, shared with some, but not many, cars). And the Cabbage Tree Creek Bikeway is top-tier, if it goes where you want to be going. But the connection between them is this:
And then briefly even worse:
Before eventually getting a little bit better:
I would actually strongly advise against Google Maps for cycling. Dunno about Apple as I’ve never tried it. But Google has a tendency to send you some very poor routes for cycling. Your best option is to look at the Strava Global Heatmap. It’s not perfect, because Strava is heavily used by type 1 “strong and fearless” cyclists on their sport cycling routes. But it’s also used (more than you might think) by people going about less confidently. See which routes show up as popular, and double-check that with your own local knowledge and use of tools like Google Streetview.
I also quite like the tool Ride With GPS, which can automatically create wayfinding routes way better than what Google offers, along with the ability to customise it to your preference, and send the route through to your Garmin or various phone apps to allow you to follow your preprepared route more easily.
That’s incredibly comprehensive! Thank you so much for that!