London - Paris - GPS?

[Timmyflash]

Hi all,

I'm planning a London to Paris trip, either on my own or with a couple of mates.

I cycled London to Brighton for the first time fairly easily last weekend, BUT i had to stop every five to ten minutes to check my 10 pages of Google Maps to get me there! (i was talking a bit of a scenic route, so not just boring main roads)

So, how do people go all the way from London to Paris? I am very close to splashing out on a £300 GPS that works like a TomTom. What do people think? It must surely save so much time.

Also, if anyone has a route they'd like to suggest, please do! I was thinking via Calais, but is this not the norm / achievable in 3 days?...

Thanks

 

[Will1985]

Garmin 705? If you don't want heart rate, save yourself some cash and get the 605.

 

[arallsopp]

I like Newhaven / Dieppe, Avenue Verte > Neufchatel en Bray, Beauvais, Chantilly, Paris.

Oh, and you might struggle to keep the 705/605 charged, as I believe they use proprietary battery packs. I ride with an Etrex HCx, and it frequently outlasts either.

Plus, you only need fresh AAs to bring it back to life. It would have saved the ride on a number of occasions, if I ever learnt to work it properly

Would have no reservations about taking it down to Paris though. My tip would be: plan the route on a PC, then upload it to the device as a TRACK. Then follow it.

On device routing on these things is a little unpredictable, IMHO.

 

[srw]

A useful gizmo called a mapholder. It clips onto your handlebars and holds your map in place. I've got a version which sits on the top of a barbag, so I can also carry stuff.

 

[Timmyflash]

Does the eTrex have an actual map that you can look down at and follow, i.e. turn by turn? That's all i want it for really. All the other info is not that important to me, just how to get there.

I fully intend to create a TRACK, didn't realise you could do it any other way actually.

A cheaper option than the 705 would be great and i was concerned about battery life.

Re. route, is via Calais no good? I am hoping to earn a bit of money for charity and like the sound of 300 miles in 3 days.

 

[Timmyflash]

Thanks srw...

You're right though. From my trip to Brighton, i was having to stop so frequently that repeating this for London to Paris would just add way too much time to be confident about getting there in time.

Suggestions? Just practice more often? I am keen on taking smaller country roads, which i guess are much more difficult to navigate than the main roads, hence the GPS thought.

 

[Will1985]

Before the Americans blasted all of those handy satellites into orbit, people made do with maps in holders as srw points out. Do audaxers still use them?

6/705 battery life easily dealt with by having a powermonkey (or even the solar one). Jimboalee knows all about them.

 

[dellzeqq]

A useful gizmo called a mapholder. It clips onto your handlebars and holds your map in place. I've got a version which sits on the top of a barbag, so I can also carry stuff.

and you can make your own for about three quid!

I've got a little code that I've made up for directions - it's sort of like the Audax code, but (ha-ha) it works. Road numbers are in red biro, the rest in black. It can, for example, reduce London to John O'Groats to about half a page of ruled A4. I tuck the folded up code in to the leg of my shorts, and pull it out to read when on the move. For back-up I used to buy a really cheap road atlas, tear out the relevant pages and fold them up to go in the toolkit bag. These days I do the same thing with photocopies becoz I is middle class.

 

[Kirstie]

GPSs are fine until they fail! Then you need a map - so I say, take both. Laminate pages of a road atlas - each page relating to the day you're riding, use a highlighter pen on the route, and shove em down your jersey.

Then plot your route on a GPS. ETrex or 605 work well. But check and double check that it hasn't been transferred with errors.

On the first day of my LEJOG the GPS told me that I should be on the Lybian/Egptian border somewhere in the sahara desert with the immortal words 'distance to course, 3,800 miles' lol.

 

[Timmyflash]

Etrex or Edge 605?

I think i really could do with testing a couple of these options..

Does etrex have an onscreen map as with edge? Do people like it because it's cheaper?

Either way, definitely taking hard copy maps with me!

 

[climo]

If you need a turn by turn GPS the Garmin Vista HCX with mapping on DVD will do it. DVD and not SD card is crucial.

You can download a GPS track at Bikely. The problem with a track is that you don't get turn by turn directions and you have to look at the screen to follow the track.
For turn by turn directions you will have to plot a route on the PC in Garmin Mapsource but break the map down to say 50 mile sections, labeling them 1,2, etc. When approaching a turn the unit flashes up a turn direction arrow and beeps at you.

However they are a sod to get used to operating and you still should carry a map.
So unless you have a lot of time to devote to the process of learning the thing a map is best.

 

[CopperBrompton]

Practice using the GPS on a day-ride first. They're very easy once you get used to them, but there is a learning-curve (just as there once was with maps, if you can remember learning to map-read!).

Personally, for longer rides I have a basic road atlas for big-chunk stuff (the next town I should be heading for) and the GPS to get me there.