Poll: Do you navigate with a GPS or maps?
We’ve hosted a lot of bike tourists this summer, and we’ve been struck by just how many of them now carry a GPS.
Nearly everyone who’s come to see us has either had a stand-alone GPS unit on their handlebars, or used the GPS functionality on a smartphone to help guide the way.
We’re also navigating by GPS these days. With so many free GPS routes and country maps to download, it couldn’t be easier to plan a route. We can also find the nearest supermarket or campground at any time, and this alone saves us time and frustration.
That said, we still love a good map. There’s just something satisfying about sitting at your campsite and staring at a map to see how far you’ve come and where you’re going.
We’d love to know how you’re navigating these days. Have you gone over entirely to GPS or are you still a devoted map user? Take the poll below, or leave a comment to let us know.
- GPS.
- GPS and maps.
- Maps only.
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With sign markings being confusing at the best of times if they are in a foreign (to me) language I rely on my GPS for turn by turn directions. Still, it is always nice to have the road map as a confirmation that I am headed in my intended direction.
My trusted Garmin Geko 201 has been on the handlebars for ages, but it doesn’t sport maps, can only point in the general direction. Therefore maps to go along. Nowadays an Android Smartphone sits aside, but poooh is the battery short-breathed! Impossible to rely on it. Planning on the B&M Kraftwerk hub-dynamo-to-USB thingy.
Thomas I’d be very interested in hearing about how well the hub dynamo to USB ‘thingy’ works. With everything from phones, GPS units and head/tailights being USB powered it seems like it could be a must-have… if it works well and installes easily.
Bob, you can see some more info here:
http://travellingtwo.com/resources/power-to-go-the-son-dynamo-hub
I typically carry a compact 12V battery and a 13V solar panel that works well even in cloudy (low light) conditions to trickle charge the battery – which in-turn charges my smart-phone (GPS/music/blogging/phone). But recently I’ve tinkered with a SON hub dynamo as a 5V USB charger on a recumbent trike. As long as you can handle the *very* slight drag (hardly noticeable once you start using it regularly), you may start to wonder how you ever did without! Had no trouble in my testing in keeping my smart-phone topped up and still having a bit extra to power lights when it got dark. Your mileage may vary, but I think it’s a good combo when set up correctly.
I have a Ewerk on my bike. With my phone (HTC Desire HD) it works very well. I use my phone for GPS, maps, music, journals, email/facebook etc while on the road. However the battery only lasts a day at best with moderate usage, so being able to charge it every day is a blessing! There is free WiFi pretty much everywhere in France (where I am currently touring through).
Maps! It’s all about the adventure, isn’t it? GPS takes that away from me.
I use an HTC smartphone, running Cyclestreets’ app (with offline maps) and OSMand, again with offline maps. I have a Nokia “bottle” dynamo on which I changed to connector to micro-USB, so I can keep my phone charged as I go.
In addition, I always take paper maps. A map’s battery just never dies, the screen never cracks, you can see a far bigger area at once, plus many more benefits!
We use maps.
one: they are never out of power.
two: even if damaged still usable.
three: far larger area visible for routeplanning.
four: it’s more sociable when you’re spreading a map out on a table people come and watch, talk etc.
and many more.
Jurjan. I understand your reply but I would like to add that my Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx is also never out of power. It runs on 2XAA batteries and I always have a spare set. I have never lost power with it. It is bombproof. It has fallen off my motorbike twice whilst on the move and still works perfectly.
I have lost maps in the past and the rain has turned them to lumps of mush. The 60 CSx is also a marine GPS and so you can throw it in the water and it still works.
I still carry a map as old habits die hard. But we have moved on a long way from maps. There is so much more information available with a GPS than a map.
Somehow I don’t find using maps lessens my sense of “adventure!” but to each their own.
I use both. Map for reference. GPS for navigation.
A Garmin Edge 205 (soon to be upgraded) is my cyclometer on my Novara Safari, so I have a portable charger to travel with it. I also have a DeLorme PN-20 with handlebar mount on my MTB, but whether I am touring or mountain biking, I always carry the “10 Essentials” (Actually 12 for cycling; add spare tube/patch kit and multi-tool) which includes map AND compass. For reasons noted previously, I never rely on the GPS alone, but it does make it easy to enter my rides into the computer.
My GPS is not for telling me where I am going. It just tells me wher I am now, and where I’ve been. I use Adventure Cycling maps out west (Lewis & Clark Trail) and home-made strip maps for other places, using Topo USA on my PC.
Maps and maps alone – where’s your sense of adventure!
GPS are just electronic maps. If you want ADVENTURE, just go and ask locals about this or that and see where you wind up. The only advantages of maps are the “Big Picture” and group planning over dinner. The advantages of GPS are knowing you are where you think you are when looking at the map, and finding specific spots. they both are just tools, and both lessen the “adventure.”
They are tools (just as the paper maps are tools) to help make the adventure possible and often keeps it an adventure, instead of a danger.
call me old fashioned, a bell compass and paper maps in a waterproof map holder
Working my way down from north of Frankfurt to Gibraltar. Had to buy my first map when I got on the wrong road out of Geneva – GPS remains in saddle bag. Was using printed off google maps to Switzerland. Think I may need to get upto date with this GPS technology- but then it may take away from the excitement of looking for a campsite and supermarket without knowing where they are.
2.5 months through Spain/France/England/Belgium/Netherlands on the very GPS in this article’s picture. Also have Garmin’s BaseCamp on a MacBook Air, with loaded target locations, routes, POI’s, etc. I used a paper map designed by students in Ghent, and found it rather useless and confusing. These units don’t take the adventure out of it, as you can enter a waypoint and just follow, turn off any routes, you name it. I had maps, but rarely used them. I love my GPS.
I’ve thought about this a lot and my conclusion is that relying on a GPS to navigate gets in the way of ‘real’ bike touring.
Let me explain: having a GPS makes a cyclist very independent and reduces the number of times that they need to ask a local for directions. Each one of these avoided interactions is a missed chance to break through from being a tourist to being a traveller. So leave the GPS at home and ask people for directions instead…
I had to ask a couple of times, and they were usually wrong, or gave bad directions. That is no holiday. I want to see the countryside, not chase up bad directions. Africans are known to give directions out of trying to please you, instead of providing guidance. It can get you into a lot of trouble.
Also, a GPS records where you have been. Something a map cannot do anywhere close to what a GPS can.
in fairness, Rich, you can always mark your route with a pencil/pen, so yeah you can know where you have been if you want to.
I don’t agree. Asking for directions is only one opportunity to interact and there are many other chances to meet people while on tour. I would argue that if you get lost less because of your GPS, then you have more time to stop and talk to interesting people along the way because you’re not backtracking down a dead-end road
On my last tour in Europe, if that was the case, I wouldn’t make it 20 km each day if I had to ask for directions and get to know people along the way.
Maps all the way, it’s natural and it’s why you’re cycling.
to be fair, I did have a Spot GPS which showed where i was every day to other people, but i didn’t use it for guidance.
We use maps. Often we pick up great maps at tourist bureaus. When we leave an area where a particular map is no longer helpful, we use the map as a table cloth over a messy picnic table, then roll up all of our compostable garbage inside, and dispose of it in a proper receptacle (if available).
I still use a Map for Travelling around Ireland although I have not taken my Bike abroad yet to France or Netherlands. I have Google GPS on my Mobile phone and it shows me exactly where I am and gives me an idea how far from the next Town. It is not quite as good as a smart Phone but very useful all the same.
I hope to get a good GPS System in a Camping shop with a big dial,a hand held one rather then something on the Handlebars. The best thing about a map is it has no Batteries to wear out.
Mounted units just have a mount. They aren’t built that way. Check this out:
http://hotcellularphone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Garmin-Builds-Camera-into-GPSMAP-62-Handhelds.jpg
I took it with me whenever I walked around cities as well, so that I knew where I was.
Garmin Edge 800 gave me the easy navigation through cities. I truly recommend it to others.
I voted for both. I like the map as it gives me a good overview of my options but I also like the GPS as at times it has come in handy for plotting a new route option.
Also it tells me where I am, can help heaps in cities and the like and of course captures all the data of where I have been for uploading at a later time.
I use a Garmin Edge 800.
We use a Garmin CSX 60 for a number of year and love it. We always keep it headed north and use it with a map. We fine it is not a substitute for a map but in addition to a map. Always mark locations for the next day that we want to stop.
For cycling trips, I rely on maps for 99%. Preparing the trip, setting out the route for the next day, during the day, … Only when I am really completely lost, I will use the gps functionality on my smartphone, but only to bring me back on the right track.
Another option/tool for iphone and iPad users is the Maplets App. Interesting to note Tom’s comment about it
Good tip – thanks!
We get by with maps and printed Google Maps directions as a cue sheet. We keep a smartphone tucked away in the bag in case we’re unsure of where we are or need to find something specific. Otherwise, just paper and a sense of direction/adventure.
We use our iPhone & the CityMaps2Go App. Before we get to a new country/area we download the corresponding maps through wifi. It’s then stored on the phone and with the iPhone’s GPS we know exactly where we are. In Europe we found the maps to be very detailed as they even show cycling and hiking paths.
I’ve used maps but on my most recent tour managed to use the google street view to GREAT success…in Canada and the US at least…
As others have pointed out a paper map never runs out of batteries, there’s nothing expensive to break should something happened leaving you without a clue and hundreds of dollars short. However the power problem is all but eliminated nowadays with very well made portable solar systems used to charge either, and new generator hubs are out also with adapters you can use to plug a GPS or other stuff to keep powered up. But I personally like maps and asking people, it’s more fun and adventurous.
I use both. The map is still my primary navigation guide, but the GPS assistance helps me quickly know where I am and what’s around me. It’s helped me on numerous occasions get back on route after taking a wrong turn. I know this is an adventure and all, but I prefer to cycle than spend time doing U-turns and apologizing to my riding partners for leading us astray.
I tend to tour on established bike routes. For that reason I load the European bike maps from http://www.velomap.org/ onto my Garmin. These are fantastic.
The GPS also serves as a record of my tour, which I can later synchronize with my photos to geotag where each photo was taken.
I start a bike tour with planning at home with “old fashioned” maps. That’s half the fun in my opinion. Then I plot the route on a routeplanner online and download de gpx file to my navigation device. Pure for assistance.
I think I always will be using maps, don’t know why but I’m kinda hooked on that way of planning a trip / tour.
Sorry. I Don’t care if everyone used the bloody satelite, I use maps and word of mouth from the locals who are often wrong. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
A ride with a map and use my GPS for logging, it’s more fun that way, and it’s good to know that when the batteries run out, I still have my map skills
but when needed, I can alway rely on the gps. It saves me from time to time.
My route plan starts with a map, then I highlight the places I want to see and ‘join the dots’ using the map to find the quiet roads or those following contour lines (rivers & railways are good clues). Cant really do that with GPS, although it is really useful for finding accomodation, specific addresses etc
We start choosing what we want to do and then we “investigate” on internet. But we travel with maps, I suppose we are rather oldfashioned! The guests of our bed and breakfast normally travel with map and GPS, and normally we indicate a better road from our village to their next stop.
After 2 years on the road, we did use both map and GPS. Map for planing and GPS to navigate. We think that a GPS is a must in some part of the world. For example, in China the map quality is very poor you can’t find one. If we had to relay only on map and people info, our experience would’ve been very different because we would had taken just medium to major road and get lost very often. The combination of GPS and Bike route toaster is perfect. That way we only chose small road that you do not see on map. One great help from a GPS, is getting in and out of cities that becomes almost headache free. This is good to keep the tension out of your mariage! ;o)
Taildwind to you all
Louis-P & Lysanne
On Roule La Boule
Use an old Garmin GPSmap76, a Verizon iPhone, and always have maps! They all serve their purpose. Will want to find a good replacement for the Garmin in a few years for my X-USA trip, as the old cannot carry all the maps needed.
I usually search the road or maps by opening GoogleMaps. That’s helpful. And I combine it with the map.
I have just completed my first six day cycling adventure before dementure at the ripe old age of 61! I rode Hadrians Cycle Way to Silloth, down the Cumbrian Coast to Workington and back using the C2C route.
I used the Sustran maps and my Garmin Edge 705. It worked really well and all the data collected by the Garmin was of interest. I did have an issue in charging the GPS as I camped and could not charge and the Edge is only good for a day between charges. I took a Power Monkey which did not work very well and have decided to get an E-Werks gizmo to fit onto my SON charger and use pedal power to charge during my next adventure.
I use maps because I’m a bit of a map fiend. I can’t say that I won’t ever use GPS, though. There are scads of unmarked forest service roads near me, and I know folks who ride these roads use GPS otherwise they’re likely to get lost. But for now, I rely on maps.
I prefer using a GPS unit over a map. I carried a Android phone and a NEMA map in Australia and found that I only used my phone for navigation. Maps were tossed into the garbage by about the 3 week. However, when I could pick up a free local tourist map, I would refer to it on occasion to save battery life.
I use the free google maps on my iphone. I simply punch in my destination while in a wifi hotspot (not always easy) and then scan the route while still in the hotspot. This keeps the route in memory while offline and the built-in gps without 3G locates me in relation to the trajectory. No downloading of maps and go off the sampled route too much and it becomes sketchy but this is a cheap way of navigating without the downloading of maps. I’ve done over 2000 kilometers in Europe since using this method. What can I tell you? It works.
I’m old school who migrated to New School. I use the gps primarily but I carry a map as well. My old School mentality tells me that when batteries fail, or electronics die, a map will never let you down.
…unless the map is hopelessly outdated due to new construction or other obstacles that appear after the map was printed. At the very least, a paper map still gives you a power-independent overview of the area you travel, useful for reference when not 100% accurate.
On my first solo tour ~ which I completed a couple weeks ago ~ I used a combination maps and GPS to navigate. The maps were easier to plot longer distances and multiple points. Thanks
Def. by map. Sometimes even without it. Depends on where you are. For instant on the KKH it is really difficult to get lost and therefore no map for me
Just returned from a first tour along Hadrians Wall – we used the Sustrans maps for the majority of the time with a smartphone GPS just to check where we were occasionally. If we had the option we’d try something like the Garmin 800 next time, it would probably have warned us we were going off track the two times we got lost. sdg.
Following Sustrans routes you hardly need a paper map let alone a GPS as generally the routes are well signed. Unless of course you want to track you route for later analaysis…
Detailed paper maps of India are not available, I mean showing all the tiny trails. I used Google Earth to plot my route then converted the files for Garmin use. Incredibly accurate, and I’ve cycled through beautiful tiny villages and along narrow trails that I would never have discovered with paper maps. Indeed often when people have asked me where I’m going they have said its not possible going in my current direction, but following my plotted GPS route more often than not I get to my planed desitination along some truly memorable, adventurous, non-trafficked routes. As for those who say GPS takes away the adventure, if I was relying purely on paper maps I would have been mainly on the usual surfaced roads with the associated traffic, where’s the adventure in that?? Instead I’m ‘trailblazing’ and having a whale of a time. However, I do enjoy paper maps for general route planing and for putting places into context, seeing the bigger picture… In addition more easy to take a wrong turn depending on the detail of a paper map, where’s the fun in passing a junction, not being sure if you are going the right way or not, only to find 10km down the road you have been going the wrong way and having the frustration of cycling 10km back, an extra 20kms for no reason…
Great post!
We used a mixture of a compass & maps in Europe and I gotta say, we sucked at using them… almost all our disagreements were either food related (we were hungry) or direction related, except in France following the eurovelo 6 – those maps were a joy to use. Maps can be good if you have the right scale – which, aside from France, we never managed to get right. The biggest downside was finding a supermarket or an ATM (Cashpoint) or a camp ground at the end of the day when we were hungry, tired and hungry
When we went to Thailand we bit the bullet and bought the same GPS travelling two use (duty free) and WOW, in Thailand we had no disagreements on direction, where to find food… well there is a 7-Eleven almost every km, accommodation etc.
Have just purchased the Garmin topo maps for Aust & NZ at $240 AUD (about $230 USD). Sheesh, expensive – but Aussie is a big place and i believe these maps include dirt roads & fire trails.. so looking forward to exploring more of our home country
We use maps, no GPS. We have a small compass on the handlebar and we love it: http://baukeandelske.wordpress.com/rides-gear/ It has helped us navigate for over 2 years now.
Couldn’t there be a ‘none of the above’ option? Anyone else prefer local recommendations, road signs, spontaneous unplanned exploration, tuning into one’s surroundings?
I suppose there could be but I’ve never met a bike tourist who was totally ‘flying free’. Have you done this, Tom?
Yeap, you are right. Flying free is the best way. At least if you have unlimited time and no “appointment” like a ferry or plane to catch.
Maps for me, I love the challenge and simplicity of navigating. Whether I’m cycling, sailing or tramping, it’s great to get away from being digitally connected to the system!
Android smartphone GPS using OpenStreetMap for cycles http://www.opencyclemap.org/ (maps stored for offline use) recharged by solar panel (which even charges a bit on cloudy days), backed up with printouts of GoogleMap or OpenStreetMap of the region i will be travelling in. Otherwise I grab a local map when available.