How to navigate when touring?!

[hubbike]

Road signs are useful to a point, but don't forget they are often intended to route cars along particular roads and away from others - on a bike you might well want to go down the road the signs are routing the cars away from.

You might well. That's where the healthy disdain for main roads comes in. Personally I think planning is fun but it's then much more fun to end up doing something completely unexpected. For example if you come across a canal path that's headed in the right general direction. or a cycle route, etc.

We have fantastic road signs in Britain, on nearly every road junction no matter how small the road.

 

[blockend]

It depends. In the UK road signs generally point you to the nearest main road route between places. A map is pretty much essential if you want to avoid major routes. In France for example, once you're away from the ports and big cities you can virtually navigate by the sun and rarely see a main road.

As a sensualist moving through a landscape I prefer the latter.

 

[frank9755]

You might well. That's where the healthy disdain for main roads comes in. Personally I think planning is fun but it's then much more fun to end up doing something completely unexpected. For example if you come across a canal path that's headed in the right general direction. or a cycle route, etc.

We have fantastic road signs in Britain, on nearly every road junction no matter how small the road.

My big gripe with UK road signs is that they direct you onto bypasses and ring roads and away from town centres. Several times I have missed town centres that i'd have liked to cycle through because of this.

However it is much better than countries where there are no signs and it is impossible to navigate. I had to abandon some beautiful back roads in Croatia last year as I kept hitting dead ends and felt like I was in a maze!

 

[andym]

In France for example, once you're away from the ports and big cities you can virtually navigate by the sun and rarely see a main road.

Hmm, i've just taken a quick shufty at a map of France and I was struggling to find any part where you could go any significant distance without encountering a motorway or major road.

 

[willem]

Which is why I prefer route guides like the German booklets from Esterbauer.
Willem

 

[Kirstie]

We have fantastic road signs in Britain, on nearly every road junction no matter how small the road.

Unless you're in cornwall where they appear to be all stolen (I speak from a traumatic 'lost in cornish lanes with a malfunctioning GPS and a very big scale map' experience)!

 

[hubbike]

Unless you're in cornwall where they appear to be all stolen (I speak from a traumatic 'lost in cornish lanes with a malfunctioning GPS and a very big scale map' experience)!

but that sounds fun, no?

 

[shirokazan]

Unless you're in cornwall where they appear to be all stolen (I speak from a traumatic 'lost in cornish lanes with a malfunctioning GPS and a very big scale map' experience)!

but that sounds fun, no?

Depends on what sort of tourer you are. If you're in no hurry and feel like exploring then it's fine. If it's 7.30pm, you've done 100 miles and just want to get to the campsite you've been aiming for, then not so fine. Alas, I tend to fall into the latter category: I'm usually cycling to a specific destination and I've worked out where I'd like to visit en route so getting to junctions that don't provide an obvious indication of a place that's marked on my map is not great. Thankfully, my GPS hasn't malfunctioned yet..well, only a transient wobble.

 

[dellzeqq]

Evening,

I wonder whether some of you could divulge info on how you manage to navigate when touring - especially when your not staying in one area and only have a rough idea where your going (meaning you plan your route on a day to day basis in the tent!).

For example, even if you were only going 150 mile away etc that would probably span 3 or so of them small OS maps (which I think is quite costly).

Is it just a case of buying one of those big AA road atlases, and taking the pages you need with you? Is this actually beneficial if you plan on staying clear of A roads and want to get out into the countryside?

Having never toured on a bike before I am wondering how I will find my way lol, but getting lost is an adventure too sometimes (although I hope to avoid it).

Appreciate any tips & tricks!

Cheers

I think you're right either way. 1 to 50,000 OS maps do give you a wealth of information, and can add to the enjoyment of the trip. If you're only going to cross about three maps then that's not so expensive, but if you're really just cycling for cycling's sake then an AA road atlas (you can probably pick up a 2010 edition for under a fiver) is fine.

Samid's point about highlighting is good, and Frank is right about road signs - treat them with a pinch of salt.

I'd recommend Pevsner's guides in addition to maps, but they are expensive. On the other hand, if it's tipping down with rain and you want to amuse yourself in a town you've never been to before, there's no better companion.
http://www.amazon.co...tectural+guides

 

[andym]

OS maps are not good for cycling as the scale is too large - you are forever turning them over. You ideally need something between 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 (but it depends on the terrain). In some countries there are good maps of that sort of scale, but a road atlas is a good banker.

Hmm sweeping generalisation alert.

OS (and equivalent maps in other countries) also include the small back lanes and bridleways that simply don't appear on larger-scale maps. So they have definite advantages as well as disadvantages. 1:25k is too much but 1:50k can be worth considering, depending on what sort of cycle tour you are doing: for example try doing the South Downs Way or the Ridgeway with a road map - or to take a less extreme example, I'm not sure how many of the Sustrans routes you could follow with a road map.

For cyclists the ideal map would probably be 1:100k linear and custom-printed on ultralight waterproof paper.

Oh, and don't forget the Sustrans and Harveys linear maps which can be useful.

 

[hubbike]

Hmm sweeping generalisation alert.

OS (and equivalent maps in other countries) also include the small back lanes and bridleways that simply don't appear on larger-scale maps. So they have definite advantages as well as disadvantages. 1:25k is too much but 1:50k can be worth considering, depending on what sort of cycle tour you are doing.

its true. to go exploring those landrover tracks in scotland 1:50,000 can be a lot of fun!

 

[blockend]

Hmm, i've just taken a quick shufty at a map of France and I was struggling to find any part where you could go any significant distance without encountering a motorway or major road.

You may have to cross a few. I've cycle toured for years there on little more than a compass bearing, it depend how much control over the destination you require.

 

[srw]

Hmm, i've just taken a quick shufty at a map of France and I was struggling to find any part where you could go any significant distance without encountering a motorway or major road.

Kindly peruse the link in my signature. 1150 miles. One major road. Which would have been easy to avoid had we realised early enough that it was a major road.

 

[srw]

I'd recommend Pevsner's guides in addition to maps, but they are expensive. On the other hand, if it's tipping down with rain and you want to amuse yourself in a town you've never been to before, there's no better companion.
http://www.amazon.co...tectural+guides

I love Pevsner, but could hardly recommend them as a practical touring companion, especially if you follow dell's other advice and travel very light!

The best place to cycle is France. Not only because it's a glorious country with fantastic food and wine and perfectly smooth roads, but because there's a national series of 1:100,000 maps, with contours (it was a black day when the OS removed contours from their touring maps) and printed on light paper with no covers.

 

[blockend]

A chum who lives in France recommends a series of True Crime books. It's a comprehensive set covering most murderous psychopaths in any Department you'd care to mention. Just the thing for bedtime reading while rough camping alone.