Riding with or without technology

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)

How do you find the right route?

advanced gps
4
8%
smartphone
1
2%
paper map
24
49%
looking at the signs
2
4%
sense of direction
2
4%
all of those
16
33%
 
Total votes: 49

Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6261
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by Bmblbzzz »

I voted "all of the above" though actually I don't have a smart phone and I don't use GPS much – mostly for following a preset route, like audax. Or, come to think of it, for following a route I've set myself using an online resource like cycle.travel or bikehike. For making it up as I go along, I'm happy with paper maps, which show a far wider area than a GPS device and are simply more pleasing to use.
loch eck steve
Posts: 290
Joined: 4 Oct 2015, 1:32pm
Location: Argyll

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by loch eck steve »

I like nothing better when planning my next cycle tour to lay my maps out on the floor and read them a bit like a book , it gives a good sense of anticipation , out on the road i generally look at them just if needed but try to use a sense of adventure to get me from a to b !
vjosullivan
Posts: 417
Joined: 31 Oct 2010, 12:06am

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by vjosullivan »

GPS all the way. Except for multi-day journeys, I rarely follow a predetermined route but having a rolling 1:50,000 scale OS map on the handlebars all the time makes decisions at unmarked junctions (and the countryside is full of them) much, much easier; particularly if I've decided to turn for home/base in an unfamiliar area. Infinitely easier than having the same maps scrunched up in a pocket and having to get them out, turn them over, find the right location and then discover down the road that that wasn't the location because you took a wrong turning previously.

Plus it records routes, times, distances, speed, etc. Mine even says when sunset is. Trivial information but still useful in forward planning.
E25
User avatar
freiston
Posts: 1504
Joined: 6 Oct 2013, 10:20am
Location: Coventry

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by freiston »

I have OsmAnd on my phone and like to plot routes on the desktop computer using various navigation/route-planning sites (discussed elsewhere on these boards) and then export the gpx track to the phone, though I have not ever actually used this on the road :roll: I will one day, I'm sure.

Otherwise, I take paper maps. One of my biggest faults with map navigation and cycling is misjudging distances (either on the map or cycled on the road) and so when things go wrong, I like to check with the map. When things went wrong some miles ago, I save time trying to work out where I am by getting my OS grid ref off of my very basic Garmin eTrex H.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
Slowroad
Posts: 995
Joined: 28 Jun 2008, 9:58pm
Location: Nottingham, UK

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by Slowroad »

Paper maps and following signs plus sense of direction where the first inadequate and the second missing. Most surveys can't capture the real complexity of life!
“My two favourite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.”
― Peter Golkin
roberts8
Posts: 547
Joined: 20 May 2011, 9:14pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Riding with or without technology

Post by roberts8 »

I agree about a compass.
I have one on a pinger and is has helped in small towns in Holland and Belgium.
Using a paper map I know whether to exit the town N,S,E or W.
I also write a route plan and have it visible on the bar bag.
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