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Navigation Advice Sought :)

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  • January 8, 2013 at 11:47 pm #17617
    02curtisb

    Hi Everyone,

    Just looking for some advice and tips on navigating. I’ve only been cycling for a year now but am finding when i go on longer routes (therefore in unknown areas) i keep having to stop and look at a map/end up on a motorway!

    Just wondered how others follow a route, find a route or make up a route as they go!

    At present ive tried taking a map but memorising key roads/features; making concise notes and a)sticking to top tube b)writing up my arm!

    Am considering a top tube case with a clear panel for my phone?

    PS I’de love a Garmin 800 (or now 810) but that just ain’t gonna happen! So “old school” tips appreciated 🙂

    Thanks All

    Ben

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  • February 21, 2013 at 10:29 am #711071
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    bambergbike

    I’d rather get lost than get
    I’d rather get lost than get bored, so I usually head off in random directions. I plan properly when I can’t afford to get lost (long ride planned, or limited daylight). I used to make lists of villages and bring a map or a google maps printout (1 printout for 50 km). But I’ve noticed that signposting is usually geared to getting motorists onto more major roads and on the way to bigger places, so it often ignores “my” villages. So these days I pay more attention to working out how my route relates to the bigger places where I DON’T want to go. Knowing that town X should be to my right and town Y on my left as I head through villages A, B and C makes it much easier to avoid momentum-sapping map-reading stops when I come across a signpost at a crossroads that points to five places that aren’t on my list and none that are.

    February 21, 2013 at 9:29 am #711069
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    MrBLH

    I started off using the
    I started off using the forerunner 405 too, i thought it was pretty good for following new routes up to about 100km but soon came across some issues (it’s better suited to running):
    – battery life is limited to 5 hrs, doing a long ride you could lose your way or not be able to track your pace/distance.
    – it’s rubbish in the wet, touch bezel goes crazy.
    – can only store 1 route at a time.

    I now have a 500 edge (150 quid) and think its fantastic 🙂
    Solves issues above, course following is by lines which is clearer than the arrow direction pointer. Only drawback is its not always clear if routes overlap (figure of 8).

    I also go for the just get out and ride plan every now and then and take whatever roads catch my eye.

    February 20, 2013 at 10:19 pm #711067
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    bikerdavecycling

    Like this I mean, but with
    Like this I mean, but with village names on instead of interval sessions! :”( 😀 😀 https://twitter.com/J_T_Locke/status/304321341224521728/photo/1

    February 20, 2013 at 9:24 pm #711065
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    bikerdavecycling

    Write down the villages names
    Write down the villages names of where you’re going through, one under the other. This should mean you’ve a long thin list which you can cut down and sellotape to them stem. Then simply on the road follow the signs for the villages, mentally ticking them the list as you go.

    Obviously have a good look at the map beforehand to ensure a to b can be misinterpreted as a go via main road when a parallel little road was your aim, etc…

    February 20, 2013 at 8:48 pm #711063
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    Seoige

    I had a similar problem but
    I had a similar problem but my solution whilst not be as good as a Garmin edge 800 is pretty close and more affordable. I bought a Tom Tom One car gps and attached it to the stem. Looks the total bollocks and works extremely well. Battery life is in around 3 hrs and and long trips you do not need it on all the time.Besides you can always buy a spare battery of ebay. I did that carry a map routine on a long trip it so does not work. 😀

    February 9, 2013 at 6:13 pm #711061
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    Cooks

    I did a lejog, and I’d plan
    I did a lejog, and I’d plan out my route using am a5 road atlas then write it down on my forearm with a marker pen…

    February 7, 2013 at 9:20 pm #711059
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    02curtisb

    Hi All,
    thanks for all the
    Hi All,
    thanks for all the advice. I took a good long planning session but made it from Bath – Swindon all on route and as planned. Used some online sites to plan a course and used my forerunner 405 watch. Although not a true navigation it has an arrow which follows the road and shouts when your off track. As my watch froze for half the ride i relied on my backup of a list of the expected villages with some pics from google maps.

    If anyone has a Forerunner and is struggling i can let you know how i did it as the Garmin software does not want to help but i pretty much nailed it over the course of a few evenings!
    Thanks Again!

    February 2, 2013 at 2:22 pm #711057
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    Rockplough

    On long unfamiliar routes I
    On long unfamiliar routes I plan out using google maps, using street view to identify landmarks or signposts at the junctions. Then get a strip of paper long enough to wrap round your bars. Write the route down step by step, mainly the turns – very carefully – with a fine pen then tape the strip round your bars in such a way that you can slide it round i.e. not stuck to the bars. Got my inspiration from those pre-GPS winding map things they used to use in the paris-dakar etc. Sounds complex but it’s actually quite simple and works very well.

    February 1, 2013 at 9:58 pm #711055
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    PJ McNally

    OSMand – open street maps, on
    OSMand – open street maps, on Android. Turn by turn navigation, following a pre-plotted GPS route. A bit of a faff to configure the first time, but after that, great!

    January 31, 2013 at 9:02 pm #711053
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    spongebob

    Just get lost, find your way
    Just get lost, find your way back. Then next time you go out you will know that route. After a while you will know the roads.

    I don’t need to plan a route any more I just decide as I go.

    January 31, 2013 at 8:43 pm #711051
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    Eg3ftp1

    View ranger is the best smart
    View ranger is the best smart phone app I’ve found for following a pre planned route. You can plot a route online at the view ranger website, or using google maps, then upload it to your view ranger account. the soon your phone then automatically syncs to it,. You then follow the route and it gives clear left right or straight on indications at each way point.

    January 31, 2013 at 5:52 pm #711049
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    teamrocket13

    Do you not know a like minded
    Do you not know a like minded soul to ride with? Pop into your lbs always someone in there buzzing about who could help some shops even organise their own rides for free so worth asking

    January 31, 2013 at 4:05 pm #711047
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    Kapelmuur

    Waterstones have had a ‘3 for
    Waterstones have had a ‘3 for the price of 2’ offer on OS Explorer maps, so I bought half a dozen and have been happily planning longer rides for when the weather improves. I then write the routes on old Kardex (remember them?) cards which slip into a jersey pocket.

    But what I wanted to enquire about is the discrepancy between distance recorded by my Garmin Edge 500 and on the MapMyRide app on my Android ‘phone.

    MapMyRide always records a distance 2.5% further than Garmin. It’s not a problem, I’m just curious about why this can happen when both devices are, presumably, using the same GPS info?

    January 18, 2013 at 11:45 am #711045
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    Some Fella

    Here is a proper old skool
    Here is a proper old skool tip.
    Plan your route before hand – either on a computer based map or on a real map.
    Then write the relevant turns and road numbers on masking tape which you then wrap around your top tube or head set.
    You have to do the route backwards though with the first direction at the end of the tape – (if you get my drift) and the last direction on the first bit of tape you wrap around the tube.
    When you make the turn you just unpeel that instruction to reveal the next instruction. You dont even have to stop.

    Other thing to do – which i like doing but my riding companions less so – is to get lost. You find new routes and see new things. I dont see it as ‘getting’ lost – more of an ‘adventure’! 😀

    January 18, 2013 at 11:28 am #711043
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    Tour Le Tour

    CraigS wrote:Apps are great

    CraigS wrote:
    Apps are great but the battery life on smartphones is just too poor to use GPS for 4+ hour rides.

    Not sure how I got lucky, but running Sports Tracker on my HTC desire Z I can easily have it running for ten hours and still have significant charge left in the battery. I do the odd multi-day or multi-week ride though, and I do have a little stack of spare batteries that cost me 7 euro each, which I take with me if I am heading out with only half a charge or expecting to be away from a charging point for multiple days, to make sure the phone can always fulfil the primary purpose of getting me out of trouble…

    As a side note, for longer rides I also carry the charger that came free with those spare batteries – at about 50g and free I feel much happier leaving it and a 7€ battery plugged in to some random power point while I go off to eat or shower or whatever than I would be about leaving my phone there!

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