staehpj1

One easy solution to that is to turn it off 99% of the time. I find that most of the time my directions are full of things like stay on route X for the next 50 or more miles, so for the parts away from towns a quick glance at the directions and I am set for most of the day. The places where I am likely to use the GPS (mostly in town or when needing a bike shop or something) are also places where charging opportunities are available.

My smart phone uses batteries that are about an ounce, with a couple spares along I can typically go for a couple weeks without charging if I am fairly stingy with usage. That means using the GPS sparingly and contacting home once per day and limiting that to an email, text message, or very short voice call. Taking along a 4 ounce power wallet means being able to use it a bit more or go even longer between recharging.

Besides I typically stop for a meal in a diner, subway, or other restaurant with an outlet that I can use at least once per day. Even if I don't I have found that small town parks often have an outlet in a picnic pavilion or gazebo. Finding a place to charge every few days just isn't a huge deal. Given all of that I wouldn't use a dyno hub on most tours if someone gave it to me for free. For me it would solve a problem that doesn't exist at the expense of added weight and drag. Not knocking it for others with different usage patterns, but for me it has more downsides than perks.

bikemig 

The garmin etrex is pretty reasonably priced and has a bike mount. It runs a long time on double a batteries and you don't need a data plan. Not a necessity but not a bad thing to have along.

biketocamp

GPS and Basecamp software are my recommendations. Good to plot out the routes before hand. You can also setup waypoints if you look ahead on a map to see points of interest. I use a Garmin Etrex 30 and bring paper maps as well. GPS systems are great... a good smart phone will work too.

Doug64

I tend to agree and disagree with you comment. I believe that GPS, smart phones, ACA maps and routes, and the internet have taken a lot of the adventure out of bike touring. I toured quite handily for nearly 20 years without the internet, cell phones, bike computers, and using state road maps for route finding.

Having said that, my wife and I spent last night looking at different routes on the net, looking at paper maps, checking on international phone packages for our phones, and looking at the availability of campgrounds where we are planning on riding for 2 months this summer. No, things are not the way they used to be, but is that bad?

Louis Le Tour

I'm pretty good at reading road signs, the gps stays home.

fietsbob

Leave the Mobile Phone too & NSA will think You never Left.

bikemig 

ha ha, good one

Tourist in MSN

I think you would have to leave your credit cards at home too if you want to accomplish that.

Walter S

If you depend on GPS as more than a convenience then I'd recommend a backup. That's why I carry an iPhone and iPad. Any electronic device will fail sooner or later. If that device has your maps and routes and other info on it then you're screwed.

Eds0123

NSA and privacy arguments aside and nothing against using compass, paper maps sun shadows and north star for hard core and simple navigation; But I am for anything that might make it a bit easier for new comers and the for rest of the world to join us in our passion of getting on a bicycle and using the better quieter back roads to get to one's favorite state park, to a camping area for an over night or a weekend adventure bicycling trip.

paddybogman

I navigated in Germany and Scandinavia for two months following road signs and using the maps in bus shelters. I also carried a 35mm camera a journal and a flashlight. A smartphone can be a map, a camera, a journal, flashlight and even a phone. Its worth bringing along you don't have to be a slave to it. You can get a Moto E or G for $100 and $150 respectively on Amazon. Ridewithgps is very useful for planning your route you can create also sorts of cue sheets and trip-ticks with your saved routes. You can download the routes to your phone. I don't sea a reason not to have a smart phone. Very useful if you need it, you can turn it off and stow it if you don't need it.

Doug64

OK, tell me about this one

staehpj1

I think electronic maps get a worse rap on this than they deserve. Yes you should carry a backup, but that is probably true regardless of what type maps you use paper or otherwise. Paper maps are also not immune to getting lost. It may not be the most typical case, but I have had a paper map blow away once and accidentally left one behind another time after letting someone use it in camp. I have on the other hand never had a GPS or smart phone get lost or fail me on tour. Undoubtedly I eventually will though.

I wasn't screwed when I lost my maps though and probably won't be if/when my electronics die. The next town of any size had/will have at least a state road map and I typically have enough of an idea of what is coming up in the next 24 hours to wing it pretty easily, especially if I am somewhere that being lost would be a big deal.

Walter S

All good points. I could stand a lesson in risk management (like less of it). It tends to rope me into rituals that limit the sense of freedom I want while touring. All to avoid an outcome that's no big deal if you're flexible and take what comes.

jargo432

I use a GPS daily in my job. One thing I've found is sometimes a GPS will get you more lost than without it.

mev

Not too tough for those who read Dutch I will tell you the bicycle is allowed here...

prathmann

As are service vehicles - but what I don't see is any indication of where it goes and whether I'm likely to find either groceries or accommodations there. Road signs may indicate what city is ahead, but they usually won't tell you much about the location of specific businesses which can be quite useful for the traveling cyclist. Very easy to pass right by a grocery store or restaurant that you'd like to stop at but don't see because it's a block or two over from the road you're on.

Eds0123

+1 No offense to anyone here in this forum and here in this discussion. In general though, there is a real phenomenon called "Technophobia", not just in bicycling world and culture.

Technophobia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

mev

In my experience in the Netherlands, the map books are reasonably good and a stop at local VVV at end of the day got me at least as much current information as I might possibly get electronically. In fact, I would prefer asking at VVV rather than looking up online. Once or twice I was looking to confirm where I was going, it was easy enough to ask someone local. I'm sure I've missed plenty of restaurants I never knew existed, but when planning out a day ride, I didn't find it too difficult to spot towns on the maps and reasonable guesses of which ones likely have stores or similar places when looking for one. So for Netherlands at least, I'd see a cell phone as perhaps a convenience but not a necessity.

Similarly for the OP questions on Canada. In my experience, there is a lot of Canada where there really won't be much question about route - since there is mostly one road choice - sometimes followed for many days. More likely to be within larger cities or trying to find a particular location. I can think of some times trying to figure out right route or a bike shop in Vancouver, Saskatoon, Edmonton or North Sydney. In contrast not much of a routing issue when I would follow the Yellowhead for many days with towns (or remnants) spaced out each 7.5 miles following original railroad tracks across the Prairies. So again, I'd think of cell phone as reasonably handy, but not a necessity.

Louis Le Tour

Ya got me there, however, I'm not planning any overseas bicycling tours.

Doug64

I was just kidding!!!

Walter S

Wow. Three days without water? In my youth I was taught the survival Rule of Threes. That says three days is as long as you can go (3 minutes for air, 3 days for water, 3 weeks for food). It's good for keeping in mind what's important. People have survived for longer. But not necessarily. And walking 100 miles too. That's quite a rough road to survive seems like.

DaleW

I use an iPhone with the Gaia app and a stem cap mount. A backup battery is a good thing.

I love your statement, "I'm just going across Canada." So understated