I spent more (one could argue too much) time with this puppy. It has its limitations, but this is route planner other sites have hoped to be.
It will lay out three types of routes: mostly slabbing and some gently curvy roads where possible, no slabbing and curvy roads and some elevation change, no slabbing and twisties and significant elevation change. The route can be tweaked, albeit not with high precision. The map can be set to show known gas stops, known repair shops, and passes (also museums and something else). The best option is to be able to export the route in .gpx, Google Maps/Earth format, and a couple of others. GPX is fairly interchangeable with GPS'. For Garmin users, GPX goes into Base Camp very nicely. Note: don't bother with the "transfer route" check box. Base Camp won't recompute the route (maybe set up as "cross-country"?). The track option is the one to used to see the route.
I tried a route from Oslo, Norway to Stockholm, Sweden. No problem. London to anywhere in Great Britain (including Ireland)? No worries, mate.
The route summary gives distance and running time. I don't know how the latter is figured. Somehow "maximum open road speed allowed" won't fit for the roads with hairpins and serious twisties.
The route is presented with a nifty little profile of altitude v. distance from the start. But wait! There's more! Slide the mouse across the profile and a black dot, on the route, shows you where, on the route, your current elevation is. How cool is that?
