Originally Posted by
bmike
the Tour Divide and Utra MTB racers tend to use tracks... I see the value of the warning / pop ups / etc... just wondering how much this becomes personal preference / used to the status quo and what not.
I see REI is running a special on the HCX. Might have to pick one up.
I'll only need it in 2011 for a 600k in unfamiliar territory, as I'm organizing the 200k, 300k, and 400k here in VT that I plan on riding for PBP qualification.
Not sure I'd want or need it on PBP, as I've read that the course is well marked... (along with all the other riders out...)
Well, on a recent Seattle 1000Km, I rode with someone who used the "track" method. Daytime was fine, but as soon as it got dark he started following me because I knew when turns were coming and he didn't. He's a very experienced randonneur and very experienced with his GPS -- it wasn't just a case of lack of knowledge.
As to PBP being "well marked" ... that's the theory, anyway. But if you're a back-of-the-pack rider, then you risk 1) souvenir collectors ahead of you deciding that they want a PBP direction sign, and 2) there aren't so many riders around you anymore. Plus, 3) hope that what happened to my friend doesn't happen to you: Kids in some small French town played a "joke" on him, holding a direction sign pointing the wrong way. At the last moment they reversed it, and he realized what they were doing, tried to correct, and skidded out on the wet road. I don't think it was a ride-ending event, but very painful. With my GPS, I'd have been following the "purple line" so I'd know which way to go. I might then have seen that they were pointing the wrong way, but because I'd have been puzzled I'd have slowed down to figure out what the cue sheet says. Finally, 4) in heavy rain or fog and in the dark, it can be easy to miss a turn, possibly following others who also missed it.
Obviously, people have done fine without GPS at PBP for generations. On margin, though, it's an extra half pound that I'm happy to carry. Others prefer not to.
Nick