Help & Documentation

Something wrong, or an idea? PitStopper's tracker is public, so you can see what is already known and follow it to a fix.

Report a bug → Bugs, wrong routing, and places that are missing or in the wrong spot. Search first, someone may have beaten you to it. Discuss PitStopper → Questions, ideas, and routes worth showing off. Start here if you are not sure whether something is a bug.

Both need a free GitHub account. Without one, the contact form reaches the same person – and it is the right route for anything private, or when a route file would help.

Overview

PitStopper.net helps you discover Points of Interest (POIs) along your routes or around any location. Perfect for cyclists, hikers, runners, and travelers who want to find essential amenities, services, and attractions along their journey.

Help Mode

Need help while using PitStopper Web? Activate Help Mode to see contextual help icons () throughout the interface. Click any icon to jump directly to the relevant section in this documentation.

How to activate:

  • Press F1 on your keyboard
  • Select Help → Help Mode from the menu bar

Press Esc to exit Help Mode.

Key Features

  • Route-based search - Upload a GPX, FIT or KML file and find POIs along your route
  • Route planning - Draw a route inside PitStopper instead, no file needed
  • Location-based search - Search around any point with adjustable radius
  • 85+ POI categories - Water, food, accommodation, services, and more
  • Quick presets - Pre-configured category sets for common activities
  • Interactive elevation profile - Visualize terrain with gradient coloring
  • Export to GPX, FIT or KML - Save routes with POI waypoints for GPS devices, Garmin courses, or Google Earth
  • Other ways to take it with you - Export the POIs on their own or as a CSV, print a POI report or an event sticker, share the plan through a link, or send it to your phone
  • Multi-pass detection - Identify POIs on out-and-back routes
  • Dark mode support - Easy on the eyes for night planning

Getting Started

Welcome Screen

When you first visit PitStopper.net, you'll see three options to begin:

Upload a Route File

Drag and drop or click to browse for a file containing your route. PitStopper reads GPX, FIT, KML and KMZ routes, as well as the .psp project files it saves itself. Drop several route files at once and each one loads as its own route. Supports files from:

  • Strava
  • Garmin Connect
  • Ride with GPS
  • AllTrails
  • Any GPS device or app

Use Current Location

Under Alternative ways to load a route or search location, the My Location tab searches for POIs around your current position. Requires browser location permission. Perfect for finding nearby amenities when you're already on the go. Tick Enable live tracking to keep your position updating as you move, or use the neighbouring tabs to search by address, decimal coordinates, DMS or Plus Code.

Plan a Route

Draw a route in PitStopper itself, with no file needed. Drop a start and a finish, add stops in between, and PitStopper snaps the line to roads or paths for your chosen activity.

If you have neither a file nor a route in mind, the welcome screen also offers two demo routes to explore with.

Interface Overview

Once your route is loaded, the title header gives way to the map and the interface consists of four main areas:

Two tabs side by side, Search and Filter selected, List and Manage beside it.
The sidebar has two tabs: Search & Filter for choosing what to look for, List & Manage for what was found.
  • Sidebar (left) - Control panel with two tabs: Search & Filter (search radius, quick presets, POI categories) and List & Manage (your POI list). Toggle with the H key
  • Map View (center) - Interactive map showing your route and POIs
  • Elevation Panel (bottom) - Elevation profile chart (toggle with P key)
  • Menu bar (top) - Every menu, and the route statistics under Info

The rest of the guide

Planning and editing a route Draw a route on the map, let it follow the roads, and reshape it afterwards without losing what you have already found. Working with several routes Hold more than one route at a time, switch between them, and search around a place instead of along a line. Finding places along your route Search for water, food, toilets, bike shops and more along a route, and narrow the results down to what you will actually use. Adding and editing your own stops Add your own points, edit what was found, explore around a location, and undo anything you did not mean. Elevation and terrain Read the elevation profile and find the climbs on your route, with gradient colouring, climb categories and the named peaks around you. Importing and exporting Load GPX and FIT files, and export a route with its stops to a Garmin, Wahoo, phone, or another app. Saving and sharing your work Save a project in your browser and pick it back up later, share it by encrypted link, or send it straight to your phone. Nothing leaves your device unasked. Settings, shortcuts and troubleshooting Settings, keyboard shortcuts and using PitStopper on a phone, plus troubleshooting for when something looks wrong and a glossary of the terms used throughout.