Trike Map - good for Hand-cycles and towing a trailer
12 Jan 2024This page updated 26/02/2026
- Trike Map for the UK
Trike Map for the UK
I ride a recumbent trike, and have found many barriers to me riding cycle paths which have caused me problems. This map is an attempt to allow other trike riders (& me!), to plan our rides with some idea of what obstacles we will encounter, and whether to plan an alternative route.
I’ve been involved in updating OpenStreetMap (OSM) for many years, and have found it works on the basis of I update the area I live in to the best I can, then go on holiday and benefit from someone elses efforts. Adding information to OSM is very simple, and I’ll create some guides and include them on this site so you can carry out updates yourself - if it needs doing, then do it! I often carry out surveys whilst on holiday, and update OSM later.
Trike Map Download
Downloading - Please take note!
It’s slow because I have a normal household internet access, and the files you are downloading are big - some are very big. For instance;
- north sea cycle latest for September 2025 is 1011mb,
It’s going to take a few minutes to download - be patient, look at your screen - somewhere it will show download progress. Don’t click on download again - doing it twice does not speed it up, but it does slow it down.
If my household connection is going to be continually swamped, I may have to change how people can download the files, or start charging so I can upgrade my internet access - I don’t want to do this.
If you find this, or any of the maps I create are useful to you, please consider making a small donation to a charity or to the OpenStreetMap foundation at https://supporting.openstreetmap.org/donate/
Verifying the integrity of your download
Using my linux computer the command: md5sum trike-2026-02-01.7z
produces the result: 60e12c4b599077a74d616a5938e9926d trike-2026-02-01.7z
If you have any doubt at all about the integrity of your download, please use this basic integrity check of the download, checking the result you get is identical to the result in this list;
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967eef04ee04ac7e9bcd2103eb851923 ave-verte-2026-02-01.7z 4505061a31d9742e72b14fb6511cefac ave-verte-2026-03-01.7z 7cca042165a3b4ae7a0b071674fe0795 ave-verte-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z 64e0a73b88cea789ab55e84c4ecd67ab ave-verte-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z d2620bb4d0375f9378bbd3ae4e0486ee ave-verte-winexe-2026-02-01.7z 8362fd6374b0b6b3fc06a36c05d8e063 ave-verte-winexe-2026-03-01.7z fe4b75ab59b4f4ede71c0f3b5079c505 barriers_filtered-2026-02-01.7z ac1faa8268e9e42745bad8f3979a01d9 barriers_filtered-2026-03-01.7z b7d7b1ea83d8882d247e208345a50356 barriers_filtered-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z 4e6788c6edfe75d1b98fd86d5b02f71c barriers_filtered-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z 71926d52a7350d760696ced1e7835388 barriers_filtered-winexe-2026-02-01.7z 5ae076cc47ec0facd07b776f76ac3e21 barriers_filtered-winexe-2026-03-01.7z d2b4886461d1e65685c9d989d22db8ca canal-2026-02-01.7z 67f796c2079d7899c241d813febde719 canal-2026-03-01.7z f3e63d14e2df57714ba560dad21d8ee8 canal-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z 2694aeb68109eb345f7dfde42c73f301 canal-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z 831559397d7341d089d9df5a9958e77c canal-winexe-2026-02-01.7z 7b6da6fed295528eafd22f649e348612 canal-winexe-2026-03-01.7z 8b931808011b732b9a2e8f3ab0ba8e18 electric_wheelchair-2026-02-01.7z afa6024f7dcae20cda8e0430446e2d8a electric_wheelchair-2026-03-01.7z 1fc0b1220bcdc01cef8e2c2bd9bd86d7 electric_wheelchair-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z fb6d173a94a525c24474f38a8f8a6ff5 electric_wheelchair-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z a0c85dd0a1e87c2449b8672613d6dc2c electric_wheelchair-winexe-2026-02-01.7z f432e5b4fcfc49e936f19822496a6363 electric_wheelchair-winexe-2026-03-01.7z d5f85adb3d3b5587a35d2aad22f5450c north-sea-cycle-2026-02-01.7z bd328af28b1abaa6793e04f06474805d north-sea-cycle-2026-03-01.7z ea3fce5a68391db10c98d92d7326ffb4 north-sea-cycle-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z 226b6289945ba3e08b83c280b3479335 north-sea-cycle-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z 4a845cad5fcc7cdf6318eeeb93f0fbd9 north-sea-cycle-winexe-2026-02-01.7z 4deb4cf21e0d79f1cf4f4a267dea8ddb north-sea-cycle-winexe-2026-03-01.7z 60e12c4b599077a74d616a5938e9926d trike-2026-02-01.7z e23ae43a19b5cd17ca70dd665465e32d trike-2026-03-01.7z 7a8b51a97f1fd86086da60099d79d961 trike-gmapi-2026-02-01.7z 5c758635038321e829db7cc4ce60d9a3 trike-gmapi-2026-03-01.7z fac28970978e67c2d202c397fd220234 trike-winexe-2026-02-01.7z 8d91153d479d81a3cc5de24073438136 trike-winexe-2026-03-01.7z
Download links below
trike_gb_latest for the latest .img & .tdb files, and
https://daphne-nick.uk/nextcloud/index.php/s/6cQesAz38DWRWBo to download via torrent links the .exe & .gmapi files for use in Windows or Mac computers.
As usual, these files are supplied for you to use at your own risk. There are guides available on the OpenStreetMap wiki explaining how to install these ‘maps’ on your garmin device.
I aim to update the map from the latest OpenStreetMap data at least once a month, and frequently more often. The map is in the early stages of development as I’m still trying to get it to show the barriers I need to avoid to my satisfaction.
Trike Map - What it does
Icons
At higher zoom levels all you see is the icon, as you zoom in details of the barrier will appear.
This icon represents a barrier which has been updated with all tags describing its type, and, if needed, sizes of any openings. The barrier there will probably block your route and prevent you going further. Zoom in to show details of the barrier.
This icon is used when the tagging is incomplete - we can’t be sure if this will block your progress or not. Adding the missing tags on OpenStreetMap is needed. Zoom in to see more information on what is needed.
Routes and features shown on this map
- Great Britain showing National, Regional & Local cycle routes.
- Other Countries / Regions - please contact me if you would like another Country - it’s my hobby, there is no charge, but it would be good if you updated OSM.
- Steps are shown if there are 2 or more steps - arbitary decision by me - I can generally manage a kerb, which is step_count=1, but maybe not anything more than that - the number of steps are shown on the map and I can then decide whether to try or not.
- Any barrier tagged as either access=private or access=customers is not shown on this map.
- Cycle barriers will appear if either their width of opening or any other dimension makes it possible I won’t fit through with my widest trike, which is 82cm wide.
- Any barriers that do not have size tags, and could therefor be a problem - there are a great many of these!
- Relief map shading on Garmin Basecamp & some devices.
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Trike Map - can you use it? There are so many barriers shown on the map, with the majority of them not relevant to a trike rider, that at the moment I don’t feel this map is actually useful, however, you are welcome to download it, and try it yourself. In many respects its more useful on a computer for planning a ride before you do it, as you can see any potential problems. You could always help to update OpenStreetMap so that only relevant barriers appear on the next edition.
Trike Map - planned improvements
I’m currently starting to update an open source repository on Github at https://github.com/Nick-Tallguy/mkgmap-styles-typ and am planning to use a system of processing the OSM data, and then using that processed file to produce the trike map - it’s going to take a while to develop, but I’m doing what I can whilst also getting on with life. The key to the map is the ‘barriers’ - to help produce a usable map for trike, wheelchair and mobility scooter users, please update the barriers. Street complete is a very useful app on your phone for most of the updates needed.
Each map is available in 3 versions;
- barriers_xxxxx_winexe-YYYY-MM-DD.torrent for downloading the Windows executable file for installing the map for use with ‘basecamp’,
- barriers_xxxxx_gmapi-YYYY-MM-DD.torrent for downloading the file which can be used with Windows or Apple Mac, or
- barriers_xxxxx-YYYY-MM-DD for downloading the .img & .tdb file for use with QMapShack, and garmin handhelds - this is in the trike_gb_latest folder.
Read on if you would like more details, or just download them and figure it out. Once a feature is correctly tagged it disappers from the Barriers Filtered map, so it’s an easy way of seeing your progress in updating barriers.
Dimensions - terms
The following tags are in common usage, with the dimension in metres unless you specify otherwise;
width https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:width
maxwidth https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:maxwidth This tag relates to a legal restriction not a physical one. Be careful, as the editing programmes don’t always reflect this (Dec 2023 and JOSM v18907 suggests this tag for a gate).
maxwidth:physical https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:maxwidth:physical The width of the opening.
opening, spacing, & overlap https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dcycle_barrier are all used with some cycle barriers.
The Types of Barrier shown on the maps
highway=steps
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:highway%3Dsteps
I can lift my trike up 2 steps, but a flight of 20 is beyond me. If you have a 2-wheeled cycle, you will want to know if there is a ramp. My daughter with her pram may still decide to take the pram over a flight of 20 steps if her partner is with her. My mother-in-law alone on her mobility scooter will avoid any steps, but may be able to negotiate a small single step. Some users need to know if there are handrails, and/or the width of the steps. At least step_count should be tagged.
barrier=cycle_barrier, and barrier=motorcycle_barrier
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dcycle_barrier &
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dmotorcycle_barrier
Some of these have been placed to slow cyclists down, and some have been placed to stop cycling completely. Others have been placed to try to stop motorcycles using the highway. Depending on the design of the barrier, you may need several different measurements.
barrier=bollard, and barrier=block
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dbollard &
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dblock
The width of opening is important. In parts of London and other big cities, large blocks have been placed to try to prevent terrorist attacks - some also stop me on my trike!
barrier=kissing_gate
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dkissing_gate
The tags in use for this feature need enhancing - although you can measure the opening, you really need to know the depth available. Some have been created with wheelchairs in mind, and there may be some you may be able to negotiate with a horse. Tagging should include the type of kissing_gate, and whether it is wheelchair accessible. I’ve been adding a tag for opening= as this may make a difference to some users.
barrier=stile
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:barrier%3Dstile
Tagging should include the type of stile, any step_count, and also if there is a steadying post and/or a dog gate.
Filters used in this map
- Barriers do not appear on this map if they are tagged as access=private, or access=customers,
- Steps appear unless they have a ‘step_count’ tag which is less than 2,
- Dimensions - I accept width, maxwidth, maxwidth_physical, and opening,
- Cycle barriers appear if they do not have tags describing their dimensions,
- Stile’s appear if they lack descriptive tags, and dimensions and are on a cycleable route,
- Kissing Gates appear if they are not tagged with their type, their dimensions are too small, and they are on a cycleable route
- Bollards and Blocks appear if they lack the size of the gaps (maxwidth:physical or opening).
The map features have altered over the years, and what was correct tagging 10 years ago, now may require updating. The terms used to describe the dimensions of the gap you go through on a barrier, also vary, so I’m happy to accept any of the following; width, maxwidth, maxwidth:physical, or opening.