Hi MRA Team,
As an active beta tester and long-distance route planner, I want to submit a detailed feature proposal for the future evolution of the MRA Routeplanner web interface: an intelligent, integrated Multi-Day Trip Planning Engine.
The Current Problem & Workflow Inefficiency
Currently, planning a multi-day journey (e.g., a 7-to-10-day tour across multiple regions or mountain passes) requires an extensive, iterative manual workflow:
Plotting the overall macro-route from origin to final destination.
Manually calculating cumulative driving times and distances.
Guessing where the group or rider will realistically land by late afternoon.
Splitting the main route into individual daily sub-routes (Day 1, Day 2, etc.).
Re-adjusting each day retroactively once planned rest stops, meal breaks, scenic detours, and road types are factored in.
This trial-and-error process leads to significant friction, unnecessary manual file management, and multiple recalculation cycles whenever a single variable (like an extended lunch stop or a slower mountain pass) changes.
The Vision: Dynamic Multi-Day Scheduling Engine
Instead of building individual daily routes from scratch, MRA could introduce a dedicated Multi-Day Planning Mode where the user defines macro-parameters, and the engine automatically proposes optimized daily overnight stages and structured timelines.
Daily Driving Limits & Time Windows
Daily Riding Target: Maximum daily saddle time (e.g., 5 to 6 hours pure riding) or target daily distance (e.g., 350–450 km).
Daily Timeframe: Set fixed departure times (e.g., 08:30 AM) and desired arrival cut-offs at hotels/overnight destinations (e.g., 05:30 PM).
Cadenced Stops & Rest Logic
Preset Rest Stops: Configurable intervals for quick technical/fuel/coffee breaks (e.g., 20 minutes every 90–120 minutes of riding).
Major Waypoint Holds: Specific durations allocated for lunch breaks (e.g., 60–90 minutes) or sightseeing waypoints.
Realistic Group Dynamics: Calculation buffers that account for actual rolling pace versus raw GPS highway estimates.
Granular Road Type Profiles per Stage or Section
Flexibility to apply different routing rules along the itinerary: e.g., highway transit for Day 1 morning, transitioning automatically into "Curvy/Extra Curvy" or scenic secondary roads for regional mountain legs.
Automated Stage Splitting & Export
The system dynamically generates suggested overnight stop zones (with nearby POI/hotel recommendations).
One-click generation of sequential, linked daily routes within an MRA Folder or Tour Package, maintaining full shaping point integrity and proper waypoint ordering.
Industry Context & Benchmark Reference
Several dedicated tour-planning tools have implemented parts of this logic over the years:
Furkot: Remains the gold standard for road-trip scheduling logic, strictly calculating travel time against "day start/end" hours, sleep stops, and timed activity pauses.
Kurviger (Tourer / Cloud features): Offers automated round-trip and multi-stage generation based on curvature preferences, total travel duration, and direction.
Garmin BaseCamp (Trip Planner Module): Allowed users to define daily start/departure hours and layovers to calculate realistic overnight milestones along a unified track.
Tyre to Travel / TomTom MyDrive: Provided early foundations for splitting long itineraries into bite-sized riding legs based on driving duration thresholds.
Integrating an automated, parameter-driven scheduling engine directly into MRA's multi-map environment (Here, TomTom, OpenStreetMap) would set a new industry benchmark for tour operators, club road captains, and solo touring riders alike.
I would love to hear thoughts from the development team on the feasibility of integrating these scheduling constraints into the next major planner overhaul.
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