[DesertDog]

Just something I've been considering. So...

Given that:

We live in the Internet age, which for many areas of interest, especially riding/trail info, is really still in the old Wild West format, in that there is information and data everywhere, but still hard to compile and use in a comprehensive and cohesive manner.

And, that we live in the world of mobile phones and apps we buy with pocket change...

And, that folks still can have a rough time of it going to a new area and finding their way around a new riding area. Even with stopping to pull out paper maps to see where the think they are and need to go...

Would you spend 99 cents or a dollar to be able to download custom topo maps and/or .gpx or .kml files of various trail networks? Something like getting the whole trial network to Sedona, Moab, Fruita, Flagstaff, Marin county, etc...for the particular device you use. And being able to use it to find your way around when you are riding. In addition, you would be able to freely browse around and download various individual routes to ride on those trail networks.

So, what do you think? Let me hear your thoughts. More elaboration on the subject if needed.

 

[Harold]

I don't own a smartphone, so no, I would not be willing to spend hundreds on a phone plus a data plan just so I can spend another dollar on maps of trail networks.

There is more trail data in digital formats free online than most people would suspect. It's just in different formats than most people know about. Shapefiles and geodatabases being the most common ones. And the data is available on websites most people never consider when searching for trail data.

With a computer, that data could easily be put into a format someone could use in the field (on a handheld GPS, paper map, or whatever). And for the smartphone set, there are some apps out there that enable you to view those files in their native formats.