Quote:
Originally Posted by FixerDave
I couldn't care less about routing. I ride where the wind blows me, don't know where I'm going when I hit the gas... vague ideas about areas I want to explore maybe. I do like to know where I am and I like to know what's around me, thus I love my GPS, but the last thing I want is some computer telling me where to go.
I read, and it seems I'm the odd minority in this. Everyone seems like they're always going on about turn-by-turn routing. Why?
|
I've used a GPS for a very long time simply for the moving detailed maps. That is the way I ride. When on group rides, they always put me in the lead. They know that I will be finding some new random cow path to explore, that I see on my GPS maps.
A few times I have followed people that are using routing, and they get into a panic when they miss a waypoint. They will have to pull off the road and poke buttons on there GPS. I get a good laugh from that, but whatever.
I now often use an Android app called OSMand. It lets you mark a destination, and it puts a simple arrow on the screen pointing to that destination. I explore any road I want, using the maps, and towards the end of the day I start looking more closely at that arrow, and end up at the destination. That can be an interesting way of getting to a specific spot.
Or use routing, set to shortest distance, but ignore it. Go out and ride a few interesting roads then let it recalculate a new route through some interesting roads.