| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
http://tinyurl.com/662yn6 | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Interesting, I bet it would work just fine with my secret project. I hope they expand the line. | ||
| Pellis |
It looks like most if not all of the MAD MAPS are offered by Garmin. Not all Garmins accept these files. http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/ | ||
| Seanp |
I've heard they aren't that good though. To wit: http://www.zumoforums.com/index.php?topic=3619.0 | ||
| Jaimec |
Seanp: Can't read that link unless you're a member... | ||
| Slaughter |
I haven't been on the download site for a while. Whoever was setting up their online transactions really screwed it up and I finally gave up trying to download. I still love the idea of having some interesting routes that I can download but haven't been to the MadMaps/Zumo site in a while to attempt it. Cool idea though... maybe I'll go back and try again since we're in the middle of the riding season. | ||
| Tramp |
What did you pioneers opf nav. do before GPS? | ||
| Slaughter |
I've been dead reckoning in aircraft since the late 1960's. You can't get GPS underwater either. SCUBA will probably be the last refuge of dead reckoning navigation - especially in underwater hunting where you regularly get spun around. I have been lost in the mountains both in aircraft and on foot - and had to triangulate my position to get oriented or get out (I primarily solo hike) - in saliplanes, you're alternately circling and running in lines between zones of usable "lift." I can still get to any major city in the US without using a map. Crewed on the first invitational Smirnoff transcontinental Sailplane Derby (think the REAL Cannonball but crewing for sailplanes with VHF range of about 20 miles - and they're averaging 80MPH between cities) - without a speeding ticket - pulling a 30 foot trailer at speeds to 110 mph. (before the Arab oil embargo ended the races) Frankly, I'm navigationally lazy but GPS - like any other tool in the box, is a usable tool but if you have zero navigational skills, it'll do you no good whatsoever. Don't want one? Don't use one. Simple. (Message edited by slaughter on June 21, 2008) | ||
| Slaughter |
What did they do before precision timepieces and the sextant? How could humankind navigate over open water without knowing latitude? We have evolved. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"What did you pioneers opf nav. do before GPS?" Loran | ||
| Jaimec |
What surprises me is that the riders MOST likely to have GPS are owners of two wheeled land yachts (like my K1200LT). So how come they didn't have routes around Lake George, home of the largest touring bike rally in the world?? | ||
| Tramp |
Actually, slaughter, celestial nav. preceded sextants et al by centuries. I got to learn a great deal about it in W. Samoa. ...and, frankly, simple road signs are pretty accurate, if you ride with your head up.... LORAN is also unneccesary for motorcycles, although i enjoyed it in the 182 and the 172 (Skylane and skyhawk) | ||
| Jaimec |
LORAN comes in very handy, Tramp. How else are you gonna know about the shallow spots on the highway?? | ||
| Tramp |
 | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"LORAN is also unneccesary for motorcycles" But what I used to navigate prior to GPS...WAAS...and satalite imaging. Has anybody here tried mounting a StreetPilot on the handlebars of their bike? (Message edited by buellinachinashop on June 22, 2008) | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"How else are you gonna know about the shallow spots on the highway??" Have you been to Southern Wisconsin lately? | ||
| Tramp |
'satalite'? As a a pilot, used LORAN as well, decades ago...great IFR tool, absurd for a motorcycle. Road maps make orienteering in this country a snap. How difficult is navigating for some riders? | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"Road maps make orienteering in this country a snap." Sure, I'll just pop out a Gazateer while riding 60 on my bike. | ||
| Tramp |
some of us check our route before we get back on the scoot. complicating the fine pastime of motorcycling by adding sat-nav is a bit antithetical to the freedom of simply riding. GPS is a nice emergency back-up, I'd imagine (I work with them) but big boys and girls should really be capable of reading maps and signs. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"some of us check our route before we get back on the scoot." Some of us just let the road take us where it does. Some of us want to reroute due to road construction. Some of us get hungry for wings halfway through the already established route, but find there's no BW3's on that route. Some of us let technology aid us while riding. There's no right or wrong way to get from Point A to Point B. Matter of fact, there's nobody saying you have to get to Point B from Point A. Isn't that what "scooting" is all about? | ||
| Tramp |
Some of us ride via a programmed simulator (just busting your balls) | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Tramp you are looking at this wrong. GPS is a safety tool. I agree it is not too hard to navigate from town to town, but try an unfamiliar city. By having a machine take care of the directions you can focus on not getting run over. A few years ago I was rolling into San Francisco during rush hour. Surprisingly it was almost stress free. Before that you would be attempting to read a map, watch for traffic, pedestrians. one ways, etc... It is stressful. I don't travel anymore without GPS. It has gone from a neat toy, to a requirement. | ||
| Tramp |
I am looking at this wrong??? First, I would NOT 'be attempting to read a map"....especially in Frisco- why the hell would you NEED a map or GPS, there???? It's simply-gridded city (I've ridden there waaaaaayyy too often) with excellent street signs... How does a 'machine take care of the directions' without your attention being diverted to it? No, GPS is NOT a "safety tool"....anything that puts a rdier's eyes in the cockpit is antithetical to safety...it's a tool of convenience, alone. Sometimes, you people scare me.  | ||
| Jaimec |
If you have a GPS that communicates via voice, there's no need to take your eye off the road until it TELLS you. That's why I like it. No more concentrating on how many miles I've got left to the next exit, or where my exit will be. I can relax, enjoy the scenery and see all the things I've missed before because I was too busy looking for signs and exits. That's why I like my GPS. And since I'm a GUY, it means I don't HAVE to stop and ask directions (not that I ever did). Win win all around, I'd say! | ||
| Tramp |
yep- Road signs are so difficult to read. ...all that complicated English, like: "Market Street"...I mean, how can I be expected to ken exactly what the author is trying to  tell me in those situations... | ||
| Brumbear |
I ride to get lost and when I need to go somwhere I use a map no gps for me | ||
| Metalstorm |
Some road signs are difficult to read. Out here on the rural west coast the signs are pretty much covered by bushes & tree branches. Some times we'll grab loppers and clear the speed limit signs (in the hope tourists won't continue to drive 10-20 mph UNDER the limit) because the county simply won't take the time to do it. We don't bother with the street signs though, we already know where we're going I've been to some places up north where I would have really liked to have had a gps so I could concentrate on the road instead of how many miles until which junction to what highway. | ||
| Corporatemonkey |
Honest question Tramp, have you ever used GPS? While in a car, while riding? I am getting a strong anti-tech vibe from you. | ||
| Tramp |
I use GPS a LOT, just not on the motorcycle. I started with the old Magellans in the '80s. Much like my coffemaker, it gets regular use, but not on my scoot. You can continue label it 'anti-tech', but it's actually anti-"extraneous-toys-on-the motorcycle". So many riders have ridden all over this nation without GPS, for over a century, that the addition of this feature sort of pussifies things. | ||
| Jaimec |
Many riders have also ridden all over this country with points ignition systems and manual compression release too, Tramp. What's your point? Heck, there are people today who eschew internal combustion engines altogether!  |
