Route Data API

Every whereto.bike wiki instance publishes route data as static JSON — prerendered at build time, no authentication required. These endpoints mirror the HTML pages as machine-readable data.

Endpoints

Per-route detail

/routes/{slug}.json

Full route data for one route. Localized variants follow the same pattern as HTML pages:

/fr/parcours/{slug}.json

Route index

/routes.json

Lightweight list of all published routes — enough for a listing page or search. Also localized:

/fr/parcours.json

Per-route detail shape

{
  "id": "vincent-massey",
  "name": "Vincent Massey Park",
  "tagline": "A quiet loop along the Rideau River",
  "url": "/routes/vincent-massey",
  "distance_km": 12.4,
  "tags": ["scenic", "river"],
  "created_at": "2024-03-15",
  "updated_at": "2025-01-20",
  "variants": [
    {
      "name": "Default",
      "key": "variants-default",
      "distance_km": 12.4,
      "elevation_gain_m": 45,
      "elevation_conclusion": "mostly_flat",
      "shape": "loop",
      "difficulty_score": 18,
      "difficulty_label": "easy",
      "polyline": "encoded_string...",
      "center": [45.383, -75.697],
      "bounds": [[45.37, -75.72], [45.40, -75.67]],
      "gpx_url": "/routes/vincent-massey/variants-default.gpx",
      "strava_url": "https://..."
    }
  ],
  "media": [
    {
      "type": "photo",
      "key": "abc123",
      "url": "https://r2.example.com/abc123",
      "caption": "The river view from the south path",
      "cover": true,
      "width": 4032,
      "height": 3024,
      "lat": 45.383,
      "lng": -75.697
    }
  ],
  "nearby_places": [
    {
      "id": "some-cafe",
      "name": "Some Cafe",
      "category": "cafe",
      "distance_m": 120,
      "lat": 45.384,
      "lng": -75.698
    }
  ],
  "similar_routes": [
    { "id": "hog-s-back", "name": "Hog's Back Falls", "score": 67 }
  ],
  "translations": {
    "fr": {
      "name": "Parc Vincent-Massey",
      "tagline": "Une boucle tranquille le long de la rivière Rideau",
      "url": "/fr/parcours/vincent-massey"
    }
  }
}

Field reference

Root fields:

• id — route slug, stable identifier
• name, tagline — localized to the endpoint’s locale
• url — absolute path to the HTML page for this locale
• distance_km — route distance in kilometres
• tags — content tags
• created_at, updated_at — ISO date strings

Variant fields:

• key — variant key derived from GPX filename
• elevation_gain_m — total climbing in metres
• elevation_conclusion — relative to site distribution: flat, mostly_flat, fairly_flat, average, above_average, hard, very_hard
• shape — loop, out-and-back, one-way, or absent
• difficulty_score — raw numeric score
• difficulty_label — relative tier: easiest, easy, average, hard, hardest
• polyline — encoded polyline (polyline5 format)
• center — [lat, lng] midpoint of track
• bounds — [[sw_lat, sw_lng], [ne_lat, ne_lng]]
• gpx_url — path to downloadable GPX file
• strava_url, rwgps_url, komoot_url — optional external links

Media fields:

• type — photo or video
• key — media asset identifier
• url — direct object URL (no resizing, raw asset)
• caption (photos), title (videos) — optional description
• cover — true if this is the route’s cover image
• width, height — pixel dimensions
• lat, lng — GPS coordinates (if available)
• duration — ISO 8601 duration (videos only)

Nearby places:

• Within 300m of the route track
• Sorted by distance

Similar routes:

• Top 3 by polyline overlap score (0–100)

Translations:

• Keyed by locale code
• Contains localized name, tagline, and url

Route index shape

{
  "routes": [
    {
      "id": "vincent-massey",
      "name": "Vincent Massey Park",
      "tagline": "A quiet loop along the Rideau River",
      "url": "/routes/vincent-massey",
      "distance_km": 12.4,
      "tags": ["scenic", "river"],
      "shape": "loop",
      "difficulty_label": "easy",
      "cover": {
        "key": "abc123",
        "url": "https://r2.example.com/abc123",
        "width": 4032,
        "height": 3024
      }
    }
  ]
}

The index omits polylines, full media lists, nearby places, similar routes, and variant details beyond the primary. Enough for a listing or search.

Notes

• Wiki instances only. Blog and club instances do not generate these endpoints.
• Published routes only. Draft routes are excluded.
• No authentication. These are public, static JSON files.
• Photos use direct R2 object URLs — no resizing parameters. If you need thumbnails, use your own image proxy.
• Difficulty labels (easiest, easy, average, hard, hardest) and elevation conclusions are machine-readable tier names relative to the site’s route distribution. Consumers should translate them into user-facing language appropriate for their context.
• Polylines use the polyline5 format (precision 5). Decode with any standard polyline library.