I'm just so confused about GPS

[HONDARIDER]

First off, I'm a map guy...been a map guy my entire life...since learning to orient a map with a compass as a Tenderfoot Boy Scout...to my time as a soldier...and 20 subsequent years of traveling this beautiful country of ours. I read atlases and maps like other folks read magazines...I have hundreds of them...stacks of topographical maps...travelogues...copies of outdated maps from 200 years ago...piles of those laminated jobbies that came with Nat Geo...everything that I could squeeze out of single year AAA membership...outdated hard bound world atlases...you name it, I'll read it...I'm a "cartophile"! (Not sure if that's actually a word)

So here's my issue. Most days I ride to explore. I pick a general direction based on temperature (north in the summer/south in spring and fall) and I ride. I pick my roads based on how squiggly they look or if I've never been on them before. I often find myself hundreds of miles from home with only the vaguest notion of how I got there. When I get home at night, I look back on the cool things I saw, the curves, the dirt, the foliage...but I really can't tell you exactly what my route was. Six months later, when I want to revisit the route, I'm clueless. I sometimes try to highlight my route on a map while its still fresh in my head, but I usually just go to sleep instead. I've been operating like this for roughly 25 years, and while it has served me fairly well, I have faint memories of amazing roads I've travelled and I have no idea where they were or how I might get back there.

Now I hear that GPS could help me out with this...that it can actually record my route and then provide it to me in some tangible form...like a map with a highlighted route. However, I've gone to various stores to look at them and the pimply faced little boob who isn't even old enough to drive has no clue and gives me attitude. I don't want a GPS that shows me the little window that's supposed to look like the road laying out ahead of me and dictating when and where I should turn. I want one that shows me a map view with a little dot to represent me, a hihglighted path of where I've been , and all of the many choices at my disposal...I basically want a topographical map that moves with me so I won't have to keep pulling it out of my tank bag and refolding it. Preferably I can plug it into the bike so it will stay alive for 8-12 hours at a clip. When I get home, I'd like to capture the data related to my ride, give it a cool descriptive name, and save it for posterity.

And oh yeah, I don't want to spend a lot.

Can anyone help me? I've read a ton of "Help me pick the right GPS" threads and I'm still stupid. This is why I have an IT guy at work who does nothing but wait around for my call and then runs to my aid everytime I can't figure out how to paste a spreadsheet into a Powerpoint...I am challenged in these areas...which is wildly ironic if you knew what I do for a living.

Once again, help? Please? Por favor?

 

[AZ-J]

For bike, if you get rain, you need a Garmin Zumo because it is waterproof.

If you don't get rain, any GPS will work. Most will mount easily to a bike with handlebars. Mine needed a different mount.

 

[Omega Man]

I'm not sure if you have seen This Best of Forum I stacked in threads with some great info. Gary

 

[HONDARIDER]

Thank you sir! It's a daunting pile of links, but I'm going in!

 

[BMW Triumphant]

I have a Zumo 550. I knew it recorded the roads i travelled by dropping a dot every so often. This is called a track. Recently, i discovered a menu item that lets you record the track as a route. This would be perfect for you as you could freely explore, save as a track, and repeat your ride. You could easily download the route to the Mapsource program on your computer and edit the route to avoid potions you did not want to repeat...

I don't know that this feature is on every GPS, so you need to check it out before buying.

I lovemy maps, and my GPS too.

 

[darrylri]

You aren't going to be happy with just a GPS.

The part about recording your travels will work, to a point. The Garmins will keep a tail on you that you can see in the little window. Later, you can download the results to your computer. So, you can see where you've been and collect all of your rides.

But a GPS -- along with all of the computer mapping programs I've seen -- is a terrible tool for finding cool roads. For some reason, everyone who builds a system like this makes the small roads disappear as soon as you've zoomed out to where you can't see the trees for the forest. So, you just won't see roads that go from A to B in the least direct manner.

Also, if you're just riding along and there's a road that goes off into the distance, you will have to stop and manually swipe at the display lots of times to see where it goes. And if there's another branch down the way, well... it's almost faster to ride a small road than try to see where it goes on the GPS.

They are fine tools for entering an address and going there in a direct way.

 

[HONDARIDER]

I read the first 6 threads recommended my Omega Man and now I need a nap. It seems like there's no real substitute for maps when you're NOT trying to find the fastest route to your destination. I'm guessing that I'll arrive at a combination of GPS and paper maps. That's OK if the GPS will tell me where I've been...a compass function might be useful too. There's just so many choices. Ugh!

 

[tommcgee]

First off, I'm a map guy...been a map guy my entire life...

I've had GPS since the very first ones hit the consumer market, but I never have and never will give up paper maps. There is no possible way to see the big picture without paper maps.

The only thing paper maps can't always do is tell you where you are.

 

[marchyman]

For bike, if you get rain, you need a Garmin Zumo because it is waterproof.

I beg to differ. The Zumo may be great for on bike use but for hondarider's purposes a hand-held, not bike specific GPS would be more than adequate. The screen might be too small for some to read on the bike... but that's not why he wants it. He wants a device to record a track log that he can later display on a map.

I'm partial to DeLorme GPS and have the PN-60 because it stores unlimited track points for all practical purposes. Plus, the log can be extracted in GPX format, ready to use in many different mapping applications. Some GPS limit you to 1000 or 2000 points, then they either stop recording or overwrite the earlier points. The down side to the PN-60 is that the mapping software (DeLorme Topo) is windows only. If you use windows that is not much of a down side.

Hondarider... Look at the bottom of this page. That is from a track log that came from my GPS. It is actually a simplified version of the track log that reduced the number of recorded points to make a smaller file that will load faster. I've done the same thing with track logs from Garmin devices.

The Garmin Oregon, for example, stores 10,000 trackpoints, also in GPX format and is waterproof. I believe that most of the hiking/handheld units are.

 

[HONDARIDER]

That's definitely the type of route map that I'm looking for after a ride!

 

[dbrick]

First off, I'm a map guy...been a map guy my entire life...since learning to orient a map with a compass as a Tenderfoot Boy Scout...to my time as a soldier...and 20 subsequent years of traveling this beautiful country of ours. I read atlases and maps like other folks read magazines...

I'm the same. I don't carry a GPS.

Not as a response to your original post, but you'll enjoy Ken Jennings' book Maphead.

 

[pffog]

You aren't going to be happy with just a GPS.

I agree with this, but would give up maps before my GPS. I too am a map geek, Never use state maps, not enough detail, as I like small twisty back roads, that most ignore. I look for regional or county maps, have several DeLorme state Atlases, spend time with Google maps zoomed in close, I have shown High mileage back road locals in NC roads they didn't know existed, that are now destination roads for them! The best part is many are so desolate, there is NO traffic of any kind, and makes the GAP seem like a twisty driveway. I will not give up maps, BUT I love the GPS too.

I call the GPS my lie detector, many times a road that looks good on a map, really isn't, and the real twisty ones look straight, zooming in on the GPS, will tell the truth. And yes tracking is nice, and if I stop at a spot I want to return to, a 2 second press of a button places a push pin in the location, that I can label later.

I generally wander when traveling, so I will go into Mapsource before hand and put an icon on a road they might be interesting, so when I get to the area, I have then all highlighted, and can wander at will. I also mark hazards, that corner that almost caught you with your pants down, so if I return, I can remind myself to get ready.

But a GPS -- along with all of the computer mapping programs I've seen -- is a terrible tool for finding cool roads. For some reason, everyone who builds a system like this makes the small roads disappear as soon as you've zoomed out to where you can't see the trees for the forest. So, you just won't see roads that go from A to B in the least direct manner.

You need to check your settings. On the Garmin 276C/376C/478 units you go to the map set up and put the resolution on HIGH. It will show every road up to the 1.2 mile zoom level, that lets me see every road, and path in about a 15x8 mile window. I am sure Zumo does the same. Same with Mapsource, set the detail on high.

I have found more great roads using the GPS, than maps for sure. Many times a glance as I am riding will show a little squiggle going off somewhere, and guess where I am now headed

And I always track for the same reasons above, yea, highlighting at night is a great idea, but seldom worked, and 2 or 3 days later, you have forgotten which road is was.

Here is last years Europe tracks. You can see the red pushpins from a past trip, (upper L) the tracks from last year, and the little orange icons marking roads of interest I identified when planning the trip.

 

[mistercindy]

First off, I'm a map guy...been a map guy my entire life...

Me, too. I don't use a GPS. Six years ago my dear wife bought me a Garmin 76C, a waterproof hand-held unit. She put a lot of time into picking it out, and just knew I'd fall in love with it. Bless her heart, I have no use for it. First of all, after she spent $500 on it, I had to go out and buy a $100 DVD Garmin map for the United States to load on my $500 GPS unit. What a scam. But I bought the DVD and decided to try it out. I have to say, its such a PITA that after a few hours of horsing around with it on the computer I put in a dresser drawer, and there it remains. I've never missed not having it on my bike. IMHO, a GPS is simply not worth the expense and hassle for all but the very few people who really need it.

Just my $0.02.

 

[MotorradMike]

I'm a map guy too.
Most of us are probably old enough to be that way.

Having said that, there are some very cool things a GPS will do for you that a map is poor at.
1/ As stated, it will tell you exactly where you are.
2/ Easy and accurate how far you have gone which is just perfect for measuring the exact distance from the Fire Hall to home so I don't overpay insurance.
3/ Pull into a strange town at dusk and start looking randomly for a Beer store, a grocery store, and a campground, or, ask your GPS where all that stuff is and get there before they close.
4/ It works way up North too, where a Compass is useless.

 

[175781]

I use a GPS almost all the time. No substitute. But it does take some of the fun away from exploring. Sometimes it's nice to stow it and just keep it as an insurance policy. The most addictive feature for folks that habitually leave them on is the time-of-arrival hack.

 

[roborider]

If you have an iPhone, there are good apps that will track your route and even give you speed at any given time along the route. It is not perfect, but it will certainly map where you have been driving.

Ducati makes one.

 

[23217]

If you have a GPS, and you only want to print out a map, I would use GPS Visualizer web site. It has a lot of options. I run a major hiking web site, and it is the only thing we use. The commercial mapping software is often poor. For hiking we use the Garmin Colorado 400t. Don't like the new Oregon 400t. Not perfect, but works for us. There may be better options for a bike.

Once you produce the map on your screen, you can do a print screen and copy it into photoshop. Or, you can print it out.

I can also track route for you so you, and post it here on the forum.

 

[lkchris]

First off, I'm a map guy...

Yeah, me too.

I only use my GPS as a moving map ... nice to see how close I'm getting to next turn, etc.

Otherwise, I usually know where I'm going.

Albeit, minor this is a technology enhancement and it's pretty easy.

I went to a Stihl store once and it was vacant and the new address was posted on the door. I didn't recognize the street name, so I used my SUV's NAV system to find it. It was one block over. I don't run errands or make deliveries with my bikes.

 

[Lee200]

As great as GPSs are and I use my Zumo 660 all the time, there is no substitute for general route planning and overview than a good paper map.

 

[40427]

I'm a map guy, the batteries never go dead, the screen does not fog up, they do not tell me they are recalculating.

I do have a GPS that we take in the car on trips, helps find places to eat and motels.

Other than that I find them to be too distracting.

I talked about mounting one on the bike but SWMBO nixed that idea. She wants my full attention on the road , the hazards of distracted, GPS looking, coffee drinking , cell phone talking morons.

I do stick the GPS in my tank bag occasionally and fire it up at stops sometimes for the same reasons i use it in the car.