suzi said:
OMG I'm going to have to read maps, I am useless at that will need a microchip in me so I can be found!
I'd try and cultivate a more positive attitude to maps. I think there are very few people who really can't read a map. You just have to learn how to do it. I'm not talking about taking bearings with a compass, just knowing what you are looking at on the map and how it relates to where you are.
It can help if you have a map case or barbag with map holder on the bars, so you can look at the map and trace your route as you ride. Just get used to the various symbols and what they mean, and it's easy. I find patches of woodland are a good indicator in open country, and churches and such like are good in villages and towns. Things you can see from some way off help you know where you are in good time.
Landrangers are very good, and I find them very clear to look at. Perhaps get your local one, and then practise tracing the routes you know well on it, visualising the route to see how it relates to the map. Other than that, just go out for a pootle and 'get lost', like you say, explore, with no purpose in mind other than getting used to the map.
Once you're familiar with the symbols and such like, you can go on to the joy of contours!
