What I have noticed about GPS devices is they are great to tell you where you are but not good for planning or finding anything, at least for the smaller units like my EMap, I normally just use it to find a better road within the area I'm at.
Hotels etc can be loaded onto the GPS with Garmin's software however I don't do that to save memory. better to plan it with Microsoft Streets & Trips first.
No but I will likely be doing the Finger Lakes in NY late August,
On a whim I bought a new Honda Odyssey a few weeks ago. It has a Garmin (I think) GPS navigation system built into the dash. The talking feature includes speech recognition which is very handy. The reason I mention it is this unit not only has extensive street and highway information. It also lists almost every gas station, hotel, restaurant, etc. You can even select restaurants based on the type of cuisine.
I assume someone has or soon will have a hand-held or bar-mountable unit with similar capabilities. The bike unit probably won't include controls for left, right and rear A/C, 6-CD changer and rear DVD player of course, but it should be trivial to include a decent database of hotels, bike trails and so forth. You might want to do a Google on the subject. It sure beats carrying a bunch of maps and phone books around, especially if you're planning a multi-state tour.
Speaking of tours, I'm hoping to have spare time next year to do the Trace. Have you ridden it yet? It's supposed to be one of the most scenic bike routes in this part of the country.
Heh... Looks like fun, Mark... Might be something worth considering. Can't imagine riding one of those "bents" though... I'm too old fashioned I guess... My "plain-jane" Nishiki's going to have to do.
Me? Leave you hanging? You hung yourself when you finally determined that you were a nobody with nothing, going nowhere and weren't going to do anything about it.
Ya know? I don't want you to get all excited now, but maybe you outta take a *** 50 *** mile bikey ride. HOW'S THAT? Boy oh boy! Calm down now. You can get to put on your ..... your ... your ... helmet n n n n take your water bottle n n n n all that really neat stuff ..... Ya Know? That should put you right up there with the ........ with the ..... hmmmmm ..... well ....... anyway, it'll put you 10 miles further than last time.
It depends on which GPS you're using. I agree, my Garmin eMap is nearly useless at finding stuff. The one in my car is excellent though.
The new model is really good at finding the best route in unfamiliar territory. A couple of days after buying the Odyssey while my wife and I were driving up to Bradenton we saw an elderly man trying to hitch a ride. He looked harmless and it was really hot so I stopped for him. We ended up driving him to his destination, which was down a whole series of winding back roads out in the NE corner of the county. Most of them are not even on my state road atlas. After seeing him to his destination I turned waited for a few seconds while the screen displayed "Recalculating Route..." Then it gave progressive instructions back to our route. Nice.
eMap's memory is definitely lacking. It's OK for short trips that last only a few days but if you plan on any real trekking you'll need something better. The problem with pre-loading a trip plan into your PDA is you can't deviate. If weather or road conditions force you to change your route you're FOL.
I used to camp up there when I was a kid. Years later (late 60's - early
70's) I attended a few outdoor rock concerts in the area. Twenty-something years ago I took my own kids camping there. It's a beautiful area -- lots of good places to bike/camp. It's also a heck of a lot cooler than Texas.
Try for a moment to picture Jiminex on a 'bent. Imagine the only guy on the entire tour who spends his whole day cursing and whining about umm... everything. It shouldn't be much of a problem though since even the D riders would drop him after the first few blocks.
Hey Fat Ass, you can't "picture" me doing anything. But YOU on the other hand, that's another story.
Lets' see now, you, riding low to the ground on your tricycle/bicycle. Two fat ass cheeks dragging on either side. Helmet sittin on top of your head, because you can't find one big enough to fit your bloated nob. Rolls of fat sticking out from between your shirt and spandex pants that are bulging to the limit. Riding on the side of the road in the bike path, but cars have to swerve into the middle lane because your sticking out into traffic ..... anyway. There's a trail of smelly, greasy sweat, behind you.
All of this is hardly noticed however, because you don't have the energy to pump your fat 350 pound carcase any further then the end of the block. At which point the ambulance returns you home after a little cardio resuscitation. But of course, you'd be telling them all the while, how you could do it much better, quicker and cheaper than they're doing it, and how you used to be a medical specialist in charge of everything and that Jiminex says bad things to you in Usenet and everyone picks on you all the time. And if they're not nice to you that you're going to call their boss and tell him how they were drunk on the job and you think they should be fired.
Hey Fat ASS, Since you're the self proclaimed expert on Napco, why don't you take a second and tell us all that you know about Napco wireless equipment? Opps, That's right, it was actually YOU that's never been stopped from talking by your profound ignorance of the practical and actual installation of alarm systems.
Well, anyway, you *can* recite what you've read, pretty good. And you sure can steal information from people and say that you thought of it first. But, what the hell. Even if you didn't do that, it's absence would hardly be noticed among all the other nasty things you've done to people.
Notice how the tide has turned lately ... you fat juggernaut?
Oooooo poor Fat Ass. Doesn't have any friends anymore. Nobody left who likes him. Booooo hooo hooo.
The bridges burn, you tub o lard, and the road gets shorter and shorter. Keep on keepin quite. It's good to see you in your hole where you belong. But, never fear. I'll always be here to name you for what you really are. No one will EVER forget what you are and what you've done to people. You're a rat bastard and will carry that brand on your forehead for the rest of your hopefully short life.
You think that riding a fag bike is something special? I mean, .... come on already.
That's all anyone has to know ...to figure out what a class life you live.
I waterski. I jetski. I snowmobile. I owned and ride horses. I've even driven hotrods years ago and I certanly wouldn't classify riding a fag bike or for that matter, any of these things that I do/did, as *** something special. ***
It's just that when one grows up, they get bigger toys.
Get a life Markie ..... I mean it ...... Jeeeez, get a freekin life.... already.
It isn't the number of miles you've gone without one that counts. It's that last few feet after being struck by some nimrod in an SUV that matters. Stats indicate those with helmets fare much better than those without them. It would be a real shame for you to wind up a drooling veggie. People might even mistake you for Jiminex. :^)
Mark, with all due respect, it only takes a fall of a few feet to the pavement, regardless of what you are riding, to put you in a brain dead state. This can happen suddenly without warning at any time. I see the same sentiment in the motorcycle arena, especially in the US. Many states don't mandate helmet use, and most riders there seem to feel it should be a matter of choice. So be it; far be it for me to challenge that logic.!! But it's a pretty weak argument to your loved ones, when you are a vegetable staring up at them from a hospital bed because you wanted the "freedom to choose", and chose wrongly. I would also argue that the public roads being public, the state has the right to mandate minimum standards for use of those roads. Helmets are simply common sense safety procedures that don't infringe on any rights other than the dubious right " to choose".
When I see motorcyclists in full leather gear etc, they come across as far more professional. Those in Harley "do rags" without any sort of protection look like the fools they clearly are (IMO).
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