Anyone who can read maps has a clear advantage. The possibilities of the digital age do nothing to change this. We are talking about the good old paper map. Of course, it feels like two thirds of all mountain bikers have a smartphone in their luggage. Of course there are now free or paid-for digital maps for almost every holiday destination that can be used on a smartphone or GPS receiver. Good conditions, therefore, to consider the question "Where am I?" answered once and for all. At least as long as the battery lasts. But anyone who relies solely on digital aids on tour will soon be left behind. Smartphones are practical all-rounders. However, the GPS receiver required for navigation and the backlighting of the display drain the device's battery mercilessly. On a full-blown day tour, this can quickly become a problem.
But this is not the only reason why paper maps are superior to digital aids in some respects. If you not only want to know your current location, but also where you are going, a paper map is far better than the tiny map section that a smartphone display allows. Zooming out is not the solution here. After all, raster maps are simply displayed smaller and are then no longer legible. With vector maps, on the other hand, the level of detail also decreases at smaller scales. Overview? Not a chance. Ergo: Digital aids such as smartphones or GPS devices are valuable tools for small-scale navigation, i.e. for the next turn-offs. However, if you want to keep an overview, there is no getting around an "analogue" paper map.
Step 1: Get a paper map
The topographical map at a scale of 1:50000 provides an overview of a new area. Special MTB maps are now also available for many mountain bike areas, usually in both digital and analogue form (see box). Here, rewarding routes are already marked on the topo map. Including the degree of difficulty according to a specific colour code. Such maps are usually not cheap, but well worth the money. After all, they already provide information on which routes make sense for your mountain bike and your own ability level. However, as valuable as it may be to know the difficulty level of a route, this says nothing about whether the tour itself is worthwhile. There is simply nothing like personal experience.
Step 2: Find the best tours
Mountain bikers obviously like to share their experiences. Many GPS tour portals (see box) offer thousands of mountain bike tours for free download on the internet. But which tours are the most beautiful classics in the region? Which ones offer the most exciting trails? Which ones offer the most beautiful views? Most of these portals offer "user-generated content" as a free download. That doesn't have to be a disadvantage. Many "users" are experienced mountain bikers and are familiar with the subject matter. Nevertheless, you have to be aware that there is no quality control in these portals. The tour descriptions should therefore be read with a certain amount of scepticism. What one person calls "unrideable" is "S3" for another. What means "pure flow" for trail cracks can be a nightmare for others. It is certainly possible to draw conclusions about a user's riding technique level based on the tours they have posted (view author profile). However, objectively assessing the level of difficulty of a tour regardless of your own ability is a difficult task that even professionals sometimes fail at.
So those who rely on editorially prepared tour material are more on the safe side. A good old printed bike guide is still a step ahead of the digital world. Of course, a printed guide costs money. But in return, you already have the 20-30 best tours in a region in your hand and can rely on the fact that a standardised benchmark has been applied for the assessment of all tours.
THE BEST SOURCES FOR MTB TOUR PLANNING
Special mountain bike maps
Supertrail maps A total of 40 map sheets, mainly in the Alps, scale 1:50000. The degree of difficulty of the routes is colour-coded. Also marked whether a route can be travelled uphill or downhill. Also available in digital form and can be used via smartphone app. www.supertrail-map.com
Singletrail maps were the first special mountain bike maps on the market and offer 45 map sheets (42 of them for Switzerland) at a scale of 1:50000. The difficulty level of the routes is also colour-coded here. In addition, there are ten tour suggestions for each map.
www.sports-publishing.ch/shop/de/singletrail-maps
User GPS tour portals
www.gps-tour.info
One of the first GPS tour portals with user-generated content. Currently offers almost 100,000 mountain bike tours. The design looks a little old-fashioned, the tour search using a map is cumbersome as it cannot be enlarged or moved.
www.gpsies.com
Certainly the most complete tour portal on the Internet. In addition to simply downloading tours, it also offers numerous options for planning routes or converting data. Can also be used via smartphone app.
Editorial GPS tour portals
www.bike-magazin.de
Free of charge. The tours described in the booklet are created by professionals. The GPS data is available for free download.
www.bike-gps.com
Chargeable, but inexpensive. The tour portal from Transalp pioneer Uli Stanciu is the perfect source for planning Transalp and multi-stage tours. The routes can be used with an app as "Richtracks" and then offer additional functions (e.g. turn-by-turn directions, road book).
www.trails.de
Free of charge. The tour portal of BIKE-Guide author Ralf Glaser focuses on tours in the Italian Alps. All-mountain and freeride tours with a high proportion of single trails.
Mixed GPS tour portals
www.gps-tracks.com
The Swiss portal offers editorial tours and at the same time gives users the opportunity to plan their own tours. These "user tours" are made available to the community. The entire content can also be downloaded as a PDF file. Can also be used via smartphone app.
www.outdooractive.com
Similar in concept to gps-tracks.com, but with significantly more regional content. There is not only information on individual tours, but also on the travelling regions. The site also offers a very good online tour planner that displays the terrain in colour. Top: In addition to GPS data, PDFs and map sections can also be downloaded.
You can read this article or the entire BIKE 1/2016 issue in the BIKE app (iTunes and Google Play) or buy the issue in the DK shop reorder:
Gitta Beimfohr
Editor
