Pre sat-nav

[BOBAD]

In those far-off days before we had sat-navs a cursory glance at a Michelin road map and a scribbled note on a sheet of A4 on your tank bag was all that was required for a fast blast down to southern Europe (assuming that you had a reasonable grasp of the European road network) and I used to collect these notes as a reminder of road trips I had done........ Sadly they have all disappeared now and I can't see sat-navs and dash-cam discs having the same fond memories as a single sheet of A4........

 

[Santa-2512]

Indeed, then the frantic driving round for 10 mins every time you missed a junction, looking for a roadsign or person to ask for directions Sat nag does have its uses

Sent from my HTC Desire 530 using Tapatalk

 

[Wreford Miles]

I've had some lovely cross country runs using a minimalist list of prompts...

Your picture will bring back great memories for some and prompt frantic worries in others

 

[RedRick Esq.]

As a big fan of sat nav they are great but take away some of the pure element of motorcycling

So I a actually in the process of returning to the "old days " Busy being maps and memorising the route with a few notes as reminders

Great fun

 

[milleplod]

I tried a Garmin this year, a few practice runs over here prior to a trip to Spain, using my own routes uploaded via MotoGoLoco (piece of cake to use). I hated it, found it far too distracting. I went back to route cards, with Here Drive on my phone as a 'where am I now ffs' backup.

Pete

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

As a big fan of sat nav they are great but take away some of the pure element of motorcycling

So I a actually in the process of returning to the "old days " Busy being maps and memorising the route with a few notes as reminders

Great fun

Proud of you, good fella

Can't beat a good map and a few prompts scribbled on scrap of paper or napkin from a French cafe reminiscent of 'Allo 'Allo

 

[Sleepy]

Try 'memorising' a 1500 mile route to Portugal, not using any motorways or major routes.. and finding your campsite/lodgings too.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Try 'memorising' a 1500 mile route to Portugal, not using any motorways or major routes.. and finding your campsite/lodgings too.

Break it down in to small chunks, that's what we used to do

I've seen grown men, virtually reduced to tears and paralysed with fear when their SatNav shits itself in mid France and has lost that day's route or no power altogether

They have no plan B, they haven't got a map and couldn't read/use it if they could - they feel lost like little boys, unable to forward or backwards

Now that is a sad state of affairs that modern man has been ruled to using a gadget to navigate, when our forefathers have explored the world with crude maps or following the sun

 

[Steptoe]

Try 'memorising' a 1500 mile route to Portugal, not using any motorways or major routes.. and finding your campsite/lodgings too.

I managed easy enough in 1980 on an R65.

Mind you, i rode around the coastline of Spain and Portugal so it was fairly simple, just make sure the sea is on your right..

 

[Andi_archer]

Yea no wonder it took Columbus so long to find America

 

[Marjie]

In those far-off days before we had sat-navs a cursory glance at a Michelin road map and a scribbled note on a sheet of A4 on your tank bag was all that was required for a fast blast down to southern Europe (assuming that you had a reasonable grasp of the European road network) and I used to collect these notes as a reminder of road trips I had done........ Sadly they have all disappeared now and I can't see sat-navs and dash-cam discs having the same fond memories as a single sheet of A4........

This brought back memories
I still have routes like this tucked in to A4 see-through pockets along with the occasional receipt from restaurants , hotels, campsites on the trip. You get the flavour of the holiday & it brings back wee memories when you have a look at it.
Mind you I also like my sat nav & I tend to use it most nowadays. I do love maps though & even if we're using the sat nav I ALWAYS take along maps & I familiarise myself with them before we leave.
The sat nav comes into its own in the last mile or so when you're looking for your campsite or hotel! I can remember going round in circles looking for that elusive gite.
However we do it, the main thing is to enjoy the experience of getting out on our bikes & seeing new places & meeting people we wouldn't otherwise meet.
Marjie

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

In those far-off days before we had sat-navs a cursory glance at a Michelin road map and a scribbled note on a sheet of A4 on your tank bag was all that was required for a fast blast down to southern Europe (assuming that you had a reasonable grasp of the European road network) and I used to collect these notes as a reminder of road trips I had done........ Sadly they have all disappeared now and I can't see sat-navs and dash-cam discs having the same fond memories as a single sheet of A4........

Some of us still do

Andres

 

[RedRick Esq.]

Some of us still do

Andres

Feck I bet the extra wind resistance hardly affected the performance

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Feck I bet the extra wind resistance hardly affected the performance

I was out with a mate on a 'Hyper' and felt it only fair to give him a fighting chance of keeping up...............

Here, just for you, making it up as we went along over a 'whore's breakfast' ~ excuse the croisant, that was Amanda's but then she's no whore



Andres

 

[DevonAl]

I don't own a sat nav, I still use tank bag notes/maps on the bike, in the motorhome/car my wife map reads the old fashioned way with google maps on the phone for backup. If I'm on my own in the car I print the directions from autoroute etc.

Al.

 

[Gonzo]

Yep, I'm still in the "A4 paper and map on the tankbag" camp.

I have nothing against twat-navs and have one in the car - but I've never got the point where I've felt I've needed one for the bike. I am able to read road signs, which are surprisingly helpful.

Yes, I get lost and yes, I get pissed off when I get lost but outside of commuting (and I know where my place of work is ) most of my riding is for pleasure. And dare I say "adventure" (ooooh, look at that, I've got the right bike for the job ).

I also don't feel the need to show off to lesser mortal that I have ATGNI.

 

[MikeO]

"I've seen grown men, virtually reduced to tears and paralysed with fear"

You must know some real twats JB

I was an early adopter of Satnav and have been using one regularly for over fourteen years. I think they are an excellent tool - but are clearly not a substitute for thinking.

I always think the anti-Satnav brigade are a bit like the doom mongers who asked "How are you going to do long division when your calculator doesn't work?' - history has proven this to be a completely specious point of view.

It's always wise to have a Plan B - which is why I carry a phone, puncture repair kit, spare bulbs etc. But to suggest that using a navigational aid spoils the 'purity' of motorcycling is hipsterness at its neckbearded worst...

 

[er-minio]

I didn't really have a tank bag on my R1100S in 2009:



I travelled extensively in Europe without a satnav (as everyone). To be fair the only painful bits where in-city riding. A painful evening trying to find a specific place in Bilbao comes to mind

 

[sproggy]

I've used a satnav for years (first one was a Garmin 2610) but for long trips it now stays tucked away until I need to find my hotel in the evening. Route directions on a sheet of A4 in a tank pocket backed up by a paper map - no silly detours down a dirt track to cut a mile off a major road route (thanks, Garmin), no hardware crashing, no being told I'm in Poland when I'm just outside Bologna (Garmin again), no losing satellite lock in the middle of a strange city due to the tall buildings, no faff when I stop for a break (taking the satnav off the bike and stashing it away). Just the route that I chose in advance, complete with things like choosing passes instead of tunnels (e.g. Col du Somport) and my preferred twisty bits.

Technology isn't the answer to everything. It's useful to have as a backup but most people's brains are still more than capable of finding a route across Europe, or further afield, without electronic assistance.

 

[Sleepy]

I always think the anti-Satnav brigade are a bit like the doom mongers who asked "How are you going to do long division when your calculator doesn't work?' - history has proven this to be a completely specious point of view.

I think it's more like they don't know how to get the best from their device, assuming of course they've tried one... but I always carry a map though, even if the maps don't always have the Spanish or French roads I choose.

You'd need an awful lot of large scale maps to follow the routes I do on my Zumo 660..

Never.. ever had any of the issues that sproggy mentions either.. both my 550 and 660 were/are 100% reliable.