If I'm a good boy Santa is going to bring me a Garmin Edge 305 for Christmas. Until then I'll continue taping route directions to my handlebars like the one above that I used to help guide me from London to my friends house in Cambridge last Saturday. The distance should have been a tad under 100km. However, shortly after passing the little village of Brent Pelham I got myself completely and utterly lost. The next 45 minutes or so was spent cycling up and down and round and round hilly farmland into a head wind (YES THERE ARE BLOODY HILLS IN ESSEX AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE).
Having not cycled much over the last few weeks and convinced I was about to succumb to the dreaded hunger knock (which I didn't) I managed to put myself back on route. Looking at google maps I can see I added a giant u-shape to what should have been a fairly straight line north from London. It's difficult to tell how much distance I added to my ride but I'll put it at around the 20km mark bumping my total distance for Saturday up to around 120km.
Although I did get lost using the above route it's only because I should have included more detail between Brent Pelham and Ickleton. With added detail to help navigate through this section the ride would be very good for those who like quiet country roads. Once out of London and into the heart of the Essex and Cambridgeshire countryside I was riding sections of the route for 5 minutes at a time without seeing a single car! That's pretty good going for UK standards.
I think between now and my getting an Edge 305 I'll stick to routes that I know.
2 comments:
You're surely in the common man's club with the taped instructions. :) I don't even bother to print it out. I write cues on a piece of flash card, put them in a clear clear bag and tape them to the bar, if not then it goes in my jersey pocket. My best adventures have happened when I didn't have some computer telling me blandly where to go. If one's lost, it gives an opportunity to stop and interact with people in town and a computer doesn't give you that privilege.
-Ron
Cozy Beehive Bike Blog
I agree that it did indeed give me the opportunity to interact with a number of people. I must have asked at least 4 or 5 people for help along the way and they were indeed all very helpful.
Still can't wait to get the Edge 305 though!
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