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boxerpan wrote:

big rob wrote:Fascinating thread people but whatever happened to SOD (sense of direction)
Never had the luxury of sat nav, getting lost is all part of the adventure?
Maybe get round to buying one of these new fangled gadgets one day.

I concur, could have the 'luxury' but don't like being told what to do by anyone/anything. As said previously - come the next good solar flare and all the satellites crash and burn, me and Rob will be the only ones with even the slightest sense of direction.

Actually, apart from the dimwits that end up in rivers I'd like to think most people use them (as I do) as an extra aid. Like I say, I much prefer maps to see where I want to go and the GPS for finding my hotel at my destination. It's still easy to get lost with a map as I did earlier in the year when I took my bike 2500 miles around Spain.

Basically they're ideal once your route has been planned on the map (Wouldn't leave for a big trip without one) but it's nice to know I won't be wasting hours trying to find my bed for the night or that elusive road tht's on the map but doesn't appear to exist in real life.

My sense of direction is great. Get with it you old duffers

They're too clinical and those unexpected places and people you come across when looking for things all go out the window - as would the satnav after telling me to do a U-turn coz I've gone the wrong way. I think I know best

I have to use my Tom Tom all the time,trying to find some poxy garage underneath Tower Bridge tube station to deliver some blokes 1098 i'd be knackered without it,but take one on holiday!!!! on a bike!!! thats just plain sad.

winger wrote:I have to use my Tom Tom all the time,trying to find some poxy garage underneath Tower Bridge tube station to deliver some blokes 1098 i'd be knackered without it,but take one on holiday!!!! on a bike!!! thats just plain sad.

What makes it sad winger?

I only use mine when I need to get to a destination I haven't been to before. I'll plan the route to what I think looks a good riding route, or interesting things to see then download it to the Quest and off I go.

If I then want to take a detour I just ignore the sat nav instructions and it will keep recalculating to eventually get me to my destination.

I'm never a slave to the thing but it is bl**dy handy to have at the end of a long days riding abroad and you're trying to find your hotel bar

I intend to use it to get lost

I get bored of riding the same routes (which I have to do quite a lot) ... so thought I could do as skiddy says. Plug in the destination - head down my usual route and then just turn off and see where it goes.

I have my 'pottering bike' that doesn't do A-roads so it would be handy for that too!

Cheers, Lee.

winger wrote:I have to use my Tom Tom all the time,trying to find some poxy garage underneath Tower Bridge tube station to deliver some blokes 1098 i'd be knackered without it,but take one on holiday!!!! on a bike!!! thats just plain sad.

OK, I'll rise to it then...

My name is Paul, and I'm a GPS user... There are four scenarios where I use my GPS:

1) I need to get somewhere specific I've never been to before and I don't care how I get routed there. I just plumb in the address, turn off my brain and I arrive there at a predictable time.

2) On holiday, I plan specific routes to get to a daily destination or do a pre planned tour. I set up the rout on my computer before hand and customise it to take in the roads which look interesting on the map. When on holiday, the GPS then leads me down the prepared route without any fuss or hassle reading tank notes and folding maps.

3) I go on a voyage of discovery with no route planned. The GPS acts as a rolling map, so I have a vague idea of where I am currently, but it's not directing me to a particular point. When I have had enough, or urgently need petrol, or just want to get to somewhere to lay my head down for the night, the GPS helps me find somewhere quickly and painlessly.

4) when I've been on a bimble as described above, I can download the route trace back into my computer and see where I have been. It's also useful for marking places that I might want to return to at a future date, such as that cafe which made me a spectacularly tasty egg and bacon sandwich.

There you go. discuss.

Paul

When i'm working for a living i go with number 1

When i'm on holiday i go with first sentence of number 3

Travelling abroad on a bike is both an art and adventure,get lost?? loose two point 3 seconds of travelling time,have to pull up on the side of the road and converse with the locals to either find a hotel or your hotel!!!! heavens above that would never do!!!!

The GPS is a sad reflection of modern day society,gimme,gimme,gimme because i can't be arsed to make the effort,makes you wonder how the world survived before e'h.

For me rideing a bike is still a pure experience,when i'm on a bike the distractions are zero,when i arrive somwhere i still have that satisfaction that i worked it out,as opposed to the clinical voice telling 'You have arrived at your destination.

Be it riding up a mountainside track to a ski resort a 100 miles north of Brno thinking jesus i hope there's a hotel at the end,or riding 5 miles down a dirt track 50 miles outside Lisbon looking for a hotel that the sign was pointing at and me thinking is this april fool or what!!!! and sometimes it has been,i've dropped loads of clangers that have taken me miles out of my way,bikeing abroad is an adventure and thats all part of it.

I think if one finds it useful then fair enough.
I think if one finds it not worth having (for whatever reason) then fair enough.

I happen to love Marmite.

And vinyl records

And valve amplifiers

I like vinyl records and valve amps but have to admit a preference to Bovril, and although I use and prefer the old tech I do have a cd player and an ipod.

As for the use of my GPS, I do all that Paul does but I still take and use a fold out map in my tank bag as I actually prefer to look at and plan my route on it.

Winger, it 'is' an adventure and if I have the luxury to to ride around all day looking for my destination then I will do that but when its dark and cold and possibly raining or I'm stuck in a confusing city in 95 degree rush hour traffic sweating in leathers then I shall take the GPS option to get me out of it as soon as possible so I can actually get into my civvies and enjoy the place that I am visiting. Less amount of time spent getting lost makes for a more enjoyable time on my bike which has to be a good thing.

We all have our priorities and preferences and you clearly have your own way of doing things and that's fine, but it doesn't mean that a different way to your own is sad. Just different.

I'd go with valves (for guitars) but marmite

its technology pure and simple - means nothing in itself, its how you use it that makes it meaningful or not. Pencil or pc... we can write with either. To dismiss one over the other is kind of missing the point.

the cheapo garmin I've got often took me on so many 'interesting' detours, I now only use it in the car (as Cara gets travel sick when reading maps). Tend to make do with a pocket map of the uk that shows most major roads, or we buy maps as we go along..

Touring abroad now seems a distant memory...

Ade

Never mind, you can look forward to going again in about 15-20 years

f90x wrote:I like vinyl records and valve amps but have to admit a preference to Bovril, and although I use and prefer the old tech I do have a cd player and an ipod.

As for the use of my GPS, I do all that Paul does but I still take and use a fold out map in my tank bag as I actually prefer to look at and plan my route on it.

Winger, it 'is' an adventure and if I have the luxury to to ride around all day looking for my destination then I will do that but when its dark and cold and possibly raining or I'm stuck in a confusing city in 95 degree rush hour traffic sweating in leathers then I shall take the GPS option to get me out of it as soon as possible so I can actually get into my civvies and enjoy the place that I am visiting. Less amount of time spent getting lost makes for a more enjoyable time on my bike which has to be a good thing.

We all have our priorities and preferences and you clearly have your own way of doing things and that's fine, but it doesn't mean that a different way to your own is sad. Just different.

I do have my own way,thats why you have the luxury of a large tank!!!!

winger wrote:
I do have my own way,thats why you have the luxury of a large tank!!!!

Ha ha, I do like the large tank, that's for sure.

Paul wrote:OK, I'll rise to it then...

My name is Paul, and I'm a GPS user... There are four scenarios where I use my GPS:

1)................. I just plumb in the address, turn off my brain and I arrive there at a predictable time.

There you go. discuss.

Paul

I don't care much for your cavalier attitude whilst operating heavy machinery. The H&S gestapo have been informed