How to Navigate?

[Adasta]

Since I can't afford a GPS, I don't own one. A sound financial practice, I'll think you'll agree. However, this does raise the problem of navigating London's urban sprawl.

Looking at cycle routes for quiet roads is great; however, it's impossible to remember all of the tiny roads one has to take to avoid busy A roads. I know some people love to stamp their authority on an A road but I'm just looking to have a pleasant cycle, be it recreational or a commute.

I have GPS on my phone which I do use, but it's a bit of a pain since I have to pull over to look at it. Are there any reasonably priced mounts for a smartphone?

Apart from carrying a map around, is there a better way of not getting lost?

 

[Jim_Noir]

I'd not trust a mount of any knind with a smartphone... what about a bar bag that has the bit on top for maps?

 

[ohnovino]

If you're meandering aimlessly, you'll want a map.

If you've got a planned route, I'll normally work it out in advance with some mapping software (like BikeHike or GPSies). Then I'll write down on a small piece of paper all the key junctions in shorthand. So it might look something like:

1 mile.....Left........A1234
3 miles....R2..........B3215 (i.e. 2nd exit on roundabout)
etc...

You can then either keep it in an accessible pocket or stick it somewhere visible. That should stop you getting lost, although it's not much help once you do

 

[Mad at urage]

Get an A-Z and a compass (like we used to before there were such technological aids )! Really, navigation didn't start when they sent those satellites up you know!

 

[HLaB]

I find if I have a planned route I can get through, maybe not by the best route but I know roughly where I want to go and its always easier the next time but my experience of cycling in big cities is limited. The biggest city I've cycled in is Melbourne and that wasn't hard to navigate; outside that Dublin but its not really that big and everything is radial; and you'd really call Edinburgh a big town.

 

[psmiffy]

The way to learn to navigate yourself around ...................... is to navigate - using a map at first - it does not take long to learn the basic layout of a city - once you have the basic layout embedded in the brain it becomes easy to make it up as you go along - I have not lived in London for over 25years and apart from a quick look at a map to sort out where a specific location is I am still able to find my way about with the minimum of looking at maps.

(In contrast with many people I know who use GPS and have no idea at all where they are most of the time )

 

[totallyfixed]

The way to learn to navigate yourself around ...................... is to navigate - using a map at first - it does not take long to learn the basic layout of a city - once you have the basic layout embedded in the brain it becomes easy to make it up as you go along - I have not lived in London for over 25years and apart from a quick look at a map to sort out where a specific location is I am still able to find my way about with the minimum of looking at maps.

(In contrast with many people I know who use GPS and have no idea at all where they are most of the time )

Absolutely, it's getting to the point where the only people who can read a map are cyclists [some] and ramblers. If the satellites all pack in for even just a few hours there will be absolute chaos on the roads. Some time last year, in fact it may even have been the year before, a bunch of university students were tested on map reading and the one thing I remember amongst all the other absurdities, was that over half thought the M1 was a river

.
Some cyclists use Garmin, I use Cardmin, ie I plot my route then write it down in shorthand on to a small piece of card and tape it to my stem.

 

[asterix]

+1 for a compass. When I get lost on tour in a foreign city it's the most valuable thing to hand. Road signs always try to get you on the biggest roads possible.

(I dislike GPS as it seems to dumb-down the whole experience of travel - convince me I am wrong and I will buy one ask for one on my birthday)

 

[Adasta]

Some cyclists use Garmin, I use Cardmin, ie I plot my route then write it down in shorthand on to a small piece of card and tape it to my stem.

This is what I usually do. I think I'll just have to knuckle down and take a map with me!

 

[ColinJ]

(I dislike GPS as it seems to dumb-down the whole experience of travel - convince me I am wrong and I will buy one ask for one on my birthday)

I don't like the idea of a bike SatNav which tries to tell me where it thinks I should go. I prefer my simple Garmin Etrex GPS which shows me how to get to where I told it I wanted to go!

I like to plan my rides in advance and am happy to stick to a route once I have plotted it so a cheap GPS is fine for me. It would be less useful for someone who wanted to be more spontaneous.


I can't see the difference between sitting down with a paper map and working out a route, and sitting down at a computerised map and doing the same thing! However, it's much more convenient following a line on a GPS screen on a wet and windy day, than stopping every 15 minutes and taking a map out!

 

[ColinJ]

Some cyclists use Garmin, I use Cardmin, ie I plot my route then write it down in shorthand on to a small piece of card and tape it to my stem.

I bought my GPS after seeing the route sheet for the A Mere 200 audax in Cheshire. The route goes down loads of little lanes and there were literally a couple of hundred junctions to navigate. The sheet was very well written but it would have been a headache to follow and I saw lots of people riding the event and getting hopelessly lost. I helped quite a few out with the aid of my trusty Garmin. For those who wanted it, I could give them an OS grid reference in seconds, accurate to 10 metres.

I have to admit though - I did ride 50 metres past one junction because I was too busy relaxing and enjoying chatting to another rider - I forgot to look at the GPS screen. A few seconds after missing the turn, I looked down and instantly saw what had happened. Brilliant - no riding miles down the road before realising that something was wrong!

I've done thousands of kms of GPS-navigated riding in the last 5 years and the only time I got lost was when I decided to switch the GPS off and change my route while I was out on the road. I haven't made that mistake again!

 

[Adasta]

I don't like the idea of a bike SatNav which tries to tell me where it thinks I should go. I prefer my simple Garmin Etrex GPS which shows me how to get to where I told it I wanted to go!

Hmm I didn't know about this type of GPS. That's more of what I want - I enjoy planning my route beforehand, particularly once I've built up a bit of knowledge regarding the surrounding area.

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm I didn't know about this type of GPS. That's more of what I want - I enjoy planning my route beforehand, particularly once I've built up a bit of knowledge regarding the surrounding area.

If you use the advanced search facility (click the grey 'button' to the right of the magnifying glass to the right of the simple search box above), search for posts by ColinJ and the search term ETREX, you will find some very detailed posts on the subject which I have made over the past couple of years.

(Funnily enough - Tynan sent me a PM today saying that he's just bought a Garmin Etrex after reading those posts!)

 

[DTD]

Must admit I have no sense of direction and navigation is something I'm trying to get better at.
Usually I manage to get somewhere only to get lost on the way back

At the moment I'm using Google Maps and a pen and trying to find routes that don't involve many different roads.
However I was proud of myself today as I got somewhere and then recognised another way to get home, had the added bonus of doubling the distance I rode.

Fancy entering my first ever sportive next month, but the one thing that bothers me is getting hopelessly lost!
Think some kind of GPS may be on the cards for next year (I'll try to get to know my way around better this year – wonder if it's because I don't drive a car?).

 

[ColinJ]

Usually I manage to get somewhere only to get lost on the way back

A GPS would be perfect for anybody with that problem! As far as I know, all of them can record a 'tracklog' of where you've been. You can go out exploring and when you've had enough, just follow your tracklog home. It's like having a perfect sense of direction!

Watch out for 25% descents on the way out though because you'll have to climb them on the way back, and one-way systems can cause obvious problems because you can't backtrack the one-way bits (not usually a problem out in the countryside).