by Christine Abbott and Ian Bruce
One of the goals of the International 7 network is to look at our common goals and meet them collectively. It’s all about the driving and to help us all get the most fun from our road driving we are working with MyRoute-App (formerly known as Tyre) to launch a new route mapping service available in 5 languages.
MyRoute-App is a company based in the Netherlands and has been popular for a long time among motorcyclists, but increasingly also for the recreational motorist. It is not a surprise that organisations such as the Royal Dutch Motorcyclists Association, the Institute for Advanced Motorists and countless other organizations use the services of MyRoute-App. But why?
The great thing about MyRoute-App is that it is really made for the enthusiast with its transferability to other sat nav devices. There is MyRoute-App's own navigation app, but you can also use a dedicated TomTom, Garmin, or built-in SatNav to follow your routes. So, you can take any route and download it to your own device (of any brand and in any file format) provided your sat nav supports itinerary/route file import. If you have a smart phone, then there are several options for navigation apps that support route file imports – for example ‘Sygic’ and ‘Navigation’ both available on Apple and Android.
You do not need to have an account to download a route, and even with an account, you can continue to use the program for free as an MRA Routeplanner BASIC member. That will suffice for most people and indeed if you are new to MyRoute-App it is recommended.
If you want more, you can also do that in the form of a subscription. For example, the Navigation app, or the GOLD subscription to MRA Routeplanner - watch out soon for discounts to our member clubs.
Planning a route is simple to do on a computer (to take advantage of the large screen), and with the Gold subscription you have access to OpenStreetMap, TomTom and HERE (Garmin) base maps, with overlays for Google Maps, Michelin Maps, and satellite views. Streetview is available within the Routeplanner and there is the ability to preview your route in 3D. Other features include incorporating pauses for Coffee/Meal stops, as well as splitting routes into segments, and comparing how TomTom and Garmin will calculate your route, so you can ensure there are sufficient waypoints to keep your groups together no matter which brand of SatNav they are using.
There is even the ability to search for a hotel near a particular waypoint with a direct link to Booking.com
We have already used the system to create routes for the Portmeirion trip and we will use this function to share road maps for all our events in 2022.
