back in the day if you wanted to ride a new area you asked and if someone offered to guide you you could. it involved meeting new riders/friends and exploring a new place.
has gps mapping taken away this somewhat?

BITD we didn’t have all this internet gubbins to ask for advice so riding a new area tended to involve (for me at least) buying the appropriate map and making a loop on it. That said, I am a woefully anti-social rider and tend to just go out on my tod anyway.

it has taken away the dark art of map reading, and knowing where you are exactly.

nah – I think it just makes both options available

seems mostly people still meet up & do a tour (my mate & I got a great trip round the quantocks (cheers, S_M) last year & showed off some new forest gnarrad to someone else too). I have been given & used routes for the lakes, despite offers of guiding, just because I tend to be on stupid rigid timing when I’m up there.

I did send a gps to someone who was coming round here midweek but otherwise would have offered the tour if we could

ton – Member
it has taken away the dark art of map reading, and knowing where you are exactly.

Always known where I am.

Lost…

(Managed that with a GPS – but I suppose you are supposed to look at them 🙂 )

I almost never take a map anywhere so wouldn’t want a GPS.. don’t really want/need to know “exactly” where I am.
I’ve ridden glentress with folk with a GPS thingy on their bars! WTFs that all about?

I’d say no – lots of people don’t use GPS and there is much more to social riding than being guided in a new area.

GW – Member
I almost never take a map anywhere so wouldn’t want a GPS.. don’t really want/need to know “exactly” where I am.
I’ve ridden glentress with folk with a GPS thingy on their bars! WTFs that all about?

They were probably using it as a cycle computer – some folks like to know how far they have ridden, total ascent, average speed etc. Couldn’t be bothered with it myself but each to their own.

No. If I want to ride a new area I try to find someone local to show the way. The only time I ever use the GPS for guidance is where I find a new section I want to try.

Think it gives you more confidence to go to new areas and trails and ride them. You know where your going and you get more bang for your buck while your in the area without endless faffing. BTW if you do any road touring they are a god send. No longer looking at maps in the rain or dark and stopping every turning or junction. I used mine in Spain and France and it really made the holiday more enjoyable. Why wouldn’t you use a GPS for say Sarn Helen or Black mountain routes? If I have a mechanical or something goes wrong I can find the quick way to safety.

I don’t use the GPS to tell me where I am, I use it to tell me where I’ve been, and so that I can find the good bits again.

“Why wouldn’t you use a GPS for say Sarn Helen or Black mountain routes?”

A glance at a map and a sense of direction generally works for me, unless it’s misty. GPS saved the day on a misty Dartmoor ride once.

I would say that the best trails rarely appear in publish routes so you need local guides.

My GPS is just a forerunner 405. So it can tell me exactly where I was when I got lost and nothing more.

i disagree 400000000% with this thread – ok i can see your point…but for me having a gps has actually got me riding much much much much much further a field than i would have ever dreamed of before i had one…..ill now happily drive a couple of hours to go to wales and the likes know i have a route safely stored on the gps and it will pretty much always guide me in the correct way! im shiteeee at reading maps (never learned properly) and i often go alone so no help from any one else…i simply get some cracking routes (often from folk off here – pook etc) and go and have a bash at them, pretty much worry free! without a gps id be still stuck going round the local loops and never dared to discover the great peak district etc, i wouldnt have had a clue where to start!

gps = 11/10 🙂

Following a route and reading GPS is really crappy and on a descent you can be a long way past the right turning very quickly. I ride with a big group of riders from the vague area, we use GPS to pass routes back and forth and make suggestions for possible improvements. It works really well for that.

It’s a great tool for finding new routes (along with a map) and for recording routes but for actually doing a route and having fun at the same time? Not for me thanks.

yeah fair point – and sometimes on a totally new bit id be a be cautious on a fast new descent – but then if i like it id come back in a few weeks and do it again knowing exactly where im going –

at the end of the day, i wouldnt have even attempted it in the first place without the gps, so to me they are an essential brilliant piece of kit!

each to their own of course

Buzz thats right. Mine comes with full OS mapping from Birmingham down for £45 so its also a lot cheaper than buying maps. I am ML qualified, orienteer, mountain marathon so can read a map thanks 😉

My experience is the same as OW – gets you out to new areas to explore. Yes wouldnt recommend looking intently at your GPS on any decent descent ha ha

I don’t use the GPS to tell me where I am, I use it to tell me where I’ve been, and so that I can find the good bits again.

I find even my car crash of a memory still manages that fine 😛

Some of us aren’t very techy people though. I’m probably getting a smartphone, which will have GPS, but I’ll only use it to settle map-reading arguments.

I still try to meet up with locals when I’m riding somewhere new. Have met some very pleasant people via STW and ridden some stuff that I’m not sure a GPS would have found.