getting terrain profiles from google maps

[DaveB]

Does anyone know of a tool that can do this?

I'm using google maps to plan my training rides on the bike but the downside is that if I don't already know the route I can't easily see what the terrain is like.

Ideally I'd like to be able to plan a route on google maps and generate a profile of the route from that.

These guys http://topocoding.com/ have a proof of concept demo available but it's rather limited in that it can only do point to point in a straight line, not take account of the route followed.

Anyone got any suggestions?

Edit:

Managed to find a combination of sites that did the job in the end.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ Will take a route and calculate the profile for you in graphic form.

http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/ will take the map created and turn it into a GPX file

http://www.yorkshire-cadets.co.uk/GPX-file-parser.php Will parse the GPX data and calculate total climb/decent values for the route.

[Spacecadet]

I'm sure there was something on dragons den the other day that would do something like that

[downsouth]

Anything on the googlemaps api site?

http://code.google.com/apis/maps/doc...ion/elevation/

sites like mapmyrun 'appear' to use this sort of functionality

[mudskipper]

What are you training for? I'm doing Lands End to JOG in July - been plotting our route in Mapsource (I've got a Garmin).

Useful links here too - the open Streetmaps have cycle paths which is handy.

[DaveB]

Anything on the googlemaps api site?

http://code.google.com/apis/maps/doc...ion/elevation/

sites like mapmyrun 'appear' to use this sort of functionality

Had a look at that one but the interface is very clunky and unreliable from my brief play with it.

What are you training for? I'm doing Lands End to JOG in July - been plotting our route in Mapsource (I've got a Garmin).

Useful links here too - the open Streetmaps have cycle paths which is handy.

Etape Caledonia in May.

[mudskipper]

Excellent! Good luck with it.