Cyling in the Black Hills with GPS Navigation
Posted by The GPS Advisor in GPS Bike Computers
While on an adventure and exploration trip in the beautiful Black Hills in South Dakota, I came across a serious cyclist who was touring the United States via bicycle…and using a Garmin Bicycle GPS to keep his progress and heading.
Instead of the usual sunny weather, this week in the Black Hills has been foggy and raining steadily. I could hardly find my way with my car and a map. This poor elderly gentleman was on his fully loaded touring bike - by himself - in the pouring rain.
My first though (being a huge GPS cheerleader) was whether he had spent the smart money and put a GPS navigation system on his fully-loaded bike. I can’t imagine touring the the great western states of this country without knowing where I was at any given time…especially when your only source of propulsion is you legs!
Having gone down a wrong track now and then on foot or bike in the past, I would certainly want to be accurate in my navigation!
I asked him how he keeps on track and he said, “I usually don’t venture anywhere out of town on my bike without my Garmin GPS bike computer”.
On a day like that, the GPS gave him a clear window to his current location and how far it was to the hotel for the night. Without it, he could easily make a mistake and be in for a long wet ride.
I got the sense that his bicycle GPS system was his safety blanket and trip companion - always giving him accurate location information and automatically tracking his progress using the GPS satellites in the sky.
I know that if I ever venture out long distances via bike, the cycling GPS computer will be on my list of essential gear. No doubt about that one.
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