If you set two points in the planner and the line between them runs along a forest trail instead of the road next to it, that’s not just a glitch in the software. There’s a calculation behind it, and I think anyone who uses it to plan a route should know how it works. So, let’s take it step by step.
A profile is a price list
Routing is handled by BRouter, which runs on my own server—the map data for the entire planet is stored there, so there is no region that is “not supported.” BRouter works with so-called profiles, and a profile is essentially a price list: Each route is assigned a price, and the search is not for the shortest connection, but for the cheapest one.
This profile is called “ enduro-mc ” and was originally created by zossebart from
the BRouter community. Its price list looks something like this:
- Field, forest, and gravel paths are cheap. They are the destination, not the means.
- Major roads are expensive. Not prohibited—if there’s no other way, the route goes that way—but every kilometer of highway costs more than a kilometer of dirt road.
- Stairs and construction sites are practically off-limits; ferries are very expensive, and private roads are significantly penalized.
- Elevation gain costs nothing. This point is the most important, and it took me several measurements before I was willing to believe it.
Why Elevation Gain Shouldn’t Cost Anything
Almost all routing profiles are derived from cycling, and in cycling, a
climb is expensive—understandably so. For a long time, I assumed that
enduro-mc this cost had been carried over, and that’s why the planner avoids mountains. So
I tested it: 13 routes, three Alpine crossings, and ten short
stretches where a genuinely flatter alternative existed, each time once
with and once without elevation costs.
The result was the same route every time. The costs simply never apply in the terrain, because the threshold at which they even begin to count is so high that real inclines don’t reach it.
What happens when you lower this threshold is the real proof that this is correct: Innsbruck–Sterzing then drops from 94.2 km with 3,670 meters of elevation gain to 59.0 km with 1,282. The route avoids the mountain—and that’s the last thing an enduro planner should do. The detour over the pass is the ride. That’s why the elevation profile file shows only the measurement at this point and nothing else.
Off-road and Road in One Go
A tour rarely consists of just one type of riding from start to finish. Most often, it consists of off-road sections with connecting stages in between, and if you calculate the whole thing calculates the whole thing with a single profile, you’ll end up with either everything on dirt roads or everything on asphalt.
In the planner, therefore, every section between two waypoints has its own
mode. Offroad uses enduro-mc, Road uses a
car profile. Each section is calculated individually and then
assembled—which also means that an impossible leg only causes itself to
fail and not the entire tour. If there’s a gap, you’ll see it
as a dashed line, and you can’t save until it’s closed
. A line across the gap would imply a connection that
no one has calculated.
The mode is tied to the waypoint and describes the leg that starts there. So when you reorder waypoints, it moves along with them.
The Toggle Buttons
There are a few filters above the map, and which ones you see depends on which profiles are actually included in your route. This is intentional: a toggle button that does nothing is worse than none at all.
Include narrow trails. By default, the profile avoids trails and footpaths; this toggle reverses that. Based on the Innsbruck–Sterzing route: 94.2 km with 3,670 meters of elevation gain is normal; 81.0 km with 4,028 meters of elevation gain with the toggle — shorter and steeper, so the route really does take the small paths. The fact that it's turned off by default is not a technical decision, but a legal decision: Trails and footpaths are often off-limits to motor vehicles. You have to actively choose to turn this feature on.
Wet conditions. Prioritizes unpaved paths that become treacherous when wet. The route then tends to divert to firmer ground.
Avoid highways, avoid toll roads, avoid unpaved roads. These three options apply to the road segments of your tour. On an off-road section, they have no effect—the profile doesn’t recognize tolls or highways—and therefore these options aren’t offered there if your tour consists exclusively of off-road terrain.
Avoid ferries. Applies to both sides.
If a waypoint is unreachable
A point at the end of a forest road is sometimes an “island” for the car profile: There is no road network from there that it can connect to. For the enduro profile, the same point is completely unremarkable.
Instead of letting the stage fail, DirtCompass splits it up in this case: road as far as the network extends, the rest off-road—and notes this in the status bar below the map. You requested a road stage and aren’t getting its full length, and you should be told that rather than having to figure it out for yourself.
Two Practical Tips
Set a waypoint in the middle. Long stages are expensive for the router, and disproportionately so: 554 km in one go takes about 25 seconds of computing time, while the same corridor split into two stages takes 6.8 and 3.5 seconds. An additional waypoint therefore not only gives you control over the route but is also the fastest thing you can do.
If the route makes no sense, it’s usually due to the data. The router
only knows what’s in OpenStreetMap. A barrier that no one has marked
doesn’t exist for it; a path that no one has been able to use for years
is considered open to it. And when it comes to specifying what a path consists of, the information is particularly sparse—for paths in category track, it’s missing in about 86%
of cases. That’s why the elevation profile of your tour shows “unknown” as a separate number, rather than me estimating the missing meters on one side or the other.
And most importantly
The profile calculates routes; it doesn’t recognize any restrictions. Whether you’re allowed to ride a motorcycle on a specific path is generally not indicated in the map data—and even when it is, the information is incomplete. A calculated route is a suggestion. What ultimately matters is the sign at the beginning of the path.