Touring - GPS usage

First time posting - please be patient.

Are any of you familiar w/ the use of GPS while touring? What advantages and disadvantages do these systems provide?

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Tim

I find that a map is much more useful. Cheaper, too.

i've got a GPS that i use for mountaineering/ski touring, mainly for emergency purposes. i'll mark my start point or an important "out" and then turn the unit off, but i can find my way back if i need to. then in bad weather i let it run and track for safety.

i've used it a few times to log bike routes and have been wanting to buy the computer interface and use it in conjunction with online maps, but i haven't yet - haven't found a system that i like that's not really expensive...

as far as touring, the main problem is power: most of the GPS units need lots of power. for example, my Garmix etrex will run for something like 10 to 20 hours on a set of batteries (i'm just guessing here b/c i forgot the exact numbers), depending on the temperature, the battery type and how you use it. so for a normal bike tour where you are actually riding 4-8 hrs per day, and on the move for more like 6-12, you can't use it very long.

i suppose if you keep it turned off and only turn it on when you need to make a navigation decision, you could preserve the batteries...

there are some units that allow you to download maps. i suppose if you had one of these into which you could download your entire route, it could be useful. my unit doesn't have this featue - only available on larger and more expensive models. also, b/c of the battery issue, i'd still be skeptical about not having the paper maps, so it's almost always going to be extra gear and extra weight - not a good thing when bike touring.

i think the real advantage would be doing tours where the maps are really bad or there is poor route information. last week my bike club gave a presentation of a bike tour in Morocco and they used GPS to help navigate - of course they also had a huge tranporter truck to haul all their gear. (i much prefer self-supported touring)

Originally posted by ndbentrider
First time posting - please be patient.

Tim

Gosh, Tim. I don't know anything about GPS systems. I just wanted to tell you that you did an excellent job with your very first post.

Will you be my boyfriend? :love:

Trollie

Thanks for the info to date - I am looking into the gps as an alternative to or in conjunction w/ paper maps - for the Lewis and Clark trail ride I am starting next summer.

I already have 2 different sources for paper maps - the Adventure cycling maps as well as a Deerfoot publication on the Trail - just thought perhaps the GPS might be handy.

Thanks for asking Trollie - but alas I must pass on the gracious offer :thumbup:

Tim

When touring I use both map and GPS at the same time, and leave the GPS running all day on top of the map in the top pocket of my bar bag

I then have a constant read out of where I am (exactly), I also have how far we have come in total and today, how far to go today and how far in total, and wether we are going in the right direction, as well as speed, max speed and so on.

My main reasons for the GPS (other than it's a big boys toy) is whilst cycling I don't have to stop and read maps for hours at a time, and know at all times what is around the next corner, and at intersections I dont have to stop, work out where I am and then in what direction to go.

However, wonderful though the GPS may be, it won't replace the map for years to come, so by all means use the GPS in conjuction with the maps, but not insted.

Where is the Lewis and Clarke trail ? if I remember my history of the colonies correctly they were a couple of guys who went on a spying mission and mapped bits of the Indian and Spanish lands of what is now western USA.

Does the trail go form the Missisippi to the Pacific ?

Lewis and Cark started from Ill. - just outside of St. Louis. The trail follows the Missouri River, as closely as possible through Missouri - along the Iowa border into S. Dakota and N.Dakota - the trail then heads west into Montana - and westard through Idaho ultimately heading to/along the Columbia river to the coast.

Their outlook/knowledge of the west at that point was based on earlier exploration by the English and information from the indiginous peoples.

I will be following a combinations of prerouted trails for the trip.

Tim

Brains -Thanks for the input.

I have been intrigued by the gps possibilities - like your idea about using both. I curently have 2 diferent paper routes and will be interested how I can coordinate these and the gps. How did you go about making a decision as to which of the units is best for cycling and touring? Any problems w/ keeping units charged etc?

Tim

GPS's eat batteries.

When on tour I have 3 sets of rechargable batteries and a mobile charger

I go through about 1 set of batteries per day and usually find somewhere to charge them up every couple of days - if not I just buy another set of disposables to keep me going.

As for which GPS - this is a massive question and there are probably entire forums out there in web land to discuss just this one topic.

But as a general rule there are four types of GPS's, Marine, Aviation, Auto and Walking

Whilst as a cyclist the auto ones might be quite good, they are not designed for bike use, so what you are looking for is a walking/trekking/hiking GPS (They call them different names in different countries, as where you 'hike' we 'trek' and most 'walk')

I would be inclined to go with either Magellan or Garmin, don't get the bottom of the range, and get the one that provides the best quality base maps for the area you require.

Waterproof to some degree I would also regard as essential.

I have a Garmin Etrex Legend. I use it on the bike sometimes. It was $150, including the $50 rebate from Garmin. That promotion runs until the end of the year. I don't know if the rebate is good outside of the U.S., for our international friends here.

The unit's got a base map of the whole U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico. The map has interstate freeways on it, and state level highways. All towns, airports, many major landmarks, and some other major roads are marked, too. You can get units with base maps of other parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, and Oceania.

For something like $100 you can get a CD with more detailed maps, sections of which can be downloaded directly from your computer to your GPS. I don't have any such CD's. I use a DeLorme map of the U.S. on my p.c. When I want to add a landmark, restaurant, waypoint, or whatever to my gps I look it up on the DeLorme program, then just create a waypoint on the GPS unit. That is, I enter the long/lat manually and provide a name for the location. The GPS unit stores the information, and incorporates into its maps.

The unit's small, and I mount it on the handlebars with an optional handlebar mount.

For road touring, I don't think a gps unit's essential. It's unlikely you would need it if you had a paper map and compass with you.

However, a unit might be convenient in cases in which your paper maps are not so well marked, and you're not sure where you are. You could know exactly where you were relative to landmarks on the GPS display, some of which are bound to be on even a poor paper map. You could even use it too instead of paper maps for parts of road tours in the U.S. If you had your destinations and adequate landmarks marked you could make your way just with the GPS display, along with common sense about the nature of roads.

If you have access to the internet along your route, you can look up the exact locations of various destinations: campsites, bike stores, camping stores, whatever. You can enter these locations into a GPS unit and have it guide you to within 30 feet or less. That could save time compared to getting yourself onto the right street and searching along it, for example.

One attraction of a GPS unit for cycling is just that it's way cool, and a lot of fun. It's nice to learn exactly how long your routes are, exactly how accurate your cyclometer is, and exactly how far various landmarks are from home. You can always see exactly the direction in which your destination lies. You can look at the unit's estimate of your ETA all the way back, too.

Where a GPS unit provides important practical assistance is in camping or offroad riding, I find. If I head out into trackless areas it's convenient for it to track my route, and constantly mark my location. It's nice to see the exact distance traveled, the average moving speed and average overall speed of a hike, the gain/loss in elevation, and the distance from other mapped landmarks at all times. If you have to stash stuff you can mark the location exactly, then have the unit guide you back from any direction with no trouble.

It is a gadget, though, so it might break or crap out. So, if you really need to know where you are you have to have a paper map and compass backup. Still, they're nice to have when they're working properly. If you're on a limited budget, though, I wouldn't count this item as essential materiel.

Brains: L & C's expedition got underway _after_ the Louisiana purchase. So, L & C were exploring American territory, at least to the continental divide. They weren't spies. After the divide, they were in British territory, but not in secret. They hoped to find a British ship, actually, when the reached the coast. (When he saw Indians on the Pacific Coast with British goods Lewis correctly figured the British had a sea base on some Pacific islands. That base was Hawaii.)

One other thing: batteries. Yes, the GPS unit uses batteries quickly. It'll go through 2 AA batteries in about six or seven hours when it's tracking one's location continuously. At least the unit will remember where you were going and all your trip information even if you shut it off and change the batteries.

Batteries are pretty cheap these days, though. You can get AA batteries in large packs at Wal-Mart now for 50 cents a piece.

wat happened to the 1" to the mile ordornence survey maps,when you got used to them you could visualise the country side, pretty much & pick out land marks if you got lost .(which was quite often:D )

Personally I have found maps to be better and lighter for any route-finding on roads. GPS comes into its own on the water or flying when you really can go the most direct route. It is of some use on off-trail widerness travel too.