my garmin 500 lets me record everything about my ride. I have strava to record all my rides, so that's how I do it. it's nice to go online, upload the route, and see the ride you just did, the elevation profiles, etc. the unit costs $150 on sale, but I'm using it for way more than touring (racing, training, power, hrm, etc.) so it's more valuable to me that way. because it has such a simple processor, the battery life allows you to record at least 2 consecutive 8+ hr days, but I like to top off the battery every day because I usually can. I've also used it to download routes from ridewithgps, which has turn directions going from A to B (though city navigation is horrible). it does add another electronic gadget and a special cord to worry about, but well worth it for me.