Route planning for cutting across roads etc.

My advice would be to use as many course waypoints as possible and then have the map screen on display when you get to a point that garmin finds troubling. I believe the unit takes your course points and plots the course as best it can from them.

MB

hmmm.....so just click multiple times to lay as many waypoints as close as possible so that the 530 has no chance to re-route to a further waypoint.....i'll check that out.

First suggestion would be to turn recalculation to Off or Prompted.

When you load a route it contains 1000s of "track points" indicating the route ideally each 10-30m and can contain "course points" (FIT & TCX export formats) which are the "cue sheet" type entries for turns generated by the route planner software and custom cues for non-turn entries, there is a discussion here https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/cycling/f/edge-530/269242/custom-cues.

The 530 will plot its own route based on your track points and using the internal map routing information (ie essentially the connections between roads). If it can't find a routable connection between two of your points it will build its own route to achieve the same (or as similar as it can) objective.

If though you disable the 530s "turn guidance" (navigation>courses>course options) it won't attempt any route "calculation" and the current location symbol will just follow your route as loaded. The discussion above then shows you what can be done with cue / course points to give an alternate "navigation", actually just turn notification with the turns shown on the map as well, You don't get the larger white navigation arrows for turns but it will faithfully follow your route as long as that is the way you go

No, that is not how it works, see below / above ?

You're right - trying to force the 530 across the park with clicking as many points as possible in RWGPS did not work. I did have my magenta route there but the 530 would not navigate across it. This is for both Recalculation off and Recalculate.

I could turn navigation off and just follow the magenta route but that would mean paying too much attention to the unit while cycling.
Wish there could be a way to have forced navigation strictly on the magenta route but understandly there could be legal and safety issues for the amateur users.

You're right - trying to force the 530 across the park with clicking as many points as possible in RWGPS did not work. I did have my magenta route there but the 530 would not navigate across it. This is for both Recalculation off and Recalculate.

I could turn navigation off and just follow the magenta route but that would mean paying too much attention to the unit while cycling.
Wish there could be a way to have forced navigation strictly on the magenta route but understandly there could be legal and safety issues for the amateur users.

bummer  - tried Navigation off, recalculate off - don't like it as it doesnt tell me give any heads-up on how far to my next turn....good thing the arrows are now in place to show direction of travel on the magenta line - even across the park where there's no tracks, but I will still have to glue my eyes close to the unit for the manual navigations. It's like using the meridian gold GPS of 20 years ago - you manually follow a laid down track. If you're following a leader then perhaps its a mode you can use but it's not practical if you're leading the group.

Machoman said:

don't like it as it doesnt tell me give any heads-up on how far to my next turn

Try the Distance to Next datafield.