GPS: Ready To Go Cross-Country

[Stevenp]

I am looking to buy a gps for my bicycle that will come straight out of the package, ready to take me anywhere in the U.S. without me having to add anything to it. Is there such a gps? Do I NEED to add anything to have what i need for my trip? My trip will include zigzagging across all of the U.S..

Let me know!

Thanks!
Stevenp

[Hrushka]

I am not sure but I think if you get a Garmin you will need to buy the City Navigation package. And if you get the Delorme GPS you will need to buy their mapping software.

From what I read:

Garmin, any handheld trail GPS will do or the Edge.
    I am thinking of getting the Oregon 450 with City Navigation and 24K map for my cross country trip.
    My father has got the Edge 705 and is happy with it when he uses to train.


DeLorme, PN-60. 
    I heard this has a very big learning curve and am not sure how it does on adding maps.

[FredHiltz]

Not the Edge. Good for training, but inadequate for tours. Search this forum for lots more about that. The other models are fine.

Know however, that out of the box they will get you there by the route they like best. You can set their preferences to "like" bicycle-friendly routes, which will rarely put you on Interstates. But their chosen routes still need tweaking if you want the best bicycle routes, such as those scouted and mapped by experienced cycle tourists.

Know also that their maps are not perfect. They often ignore beautiful bike paths and occasionally produce bizarre routes because of simple map errors, such as treating an intersection as an overpass instead of allowing turns there.

These gadgets are good, but please do not expect perfection. And do not follow them blindly!

Fred

[Pat Lamb]

And if you get the Delorme GPS you will need to buy their mapping software.

From what I read:

DeLorme, PN-60. 
    I heard this has a very big learning curve and am not sure how it does on adding maps.

I got the DeLorme PN-20 two years ago.  It came with Topo and U.S. maps; I believe the PN-60 continues this tradition.  At that time, I needed to buy a memory card and install the maps from DVD -- took one evening.  Adding AC GPS routes was equally easy.

I'm a Luddite, though; using the Adventure Cycling maps, I really didn't need the GPS.

[Stevenp]

Yeah, that is a question i have too. I have been mapping out my course from SC to KY and then onto the Transam. I do wonder if i need the gps. I kind of like the idea of having to find things along the way instead of having software that does all of the work for me. I know the AC maps are pretty easy to follow.

So, it still remains a question, whether or not to buy the gps...

[dombrosk]

I used a GPS for the first time on a tour through the Netherlands and Germany last summer and was very happy I had it.

My original reason for the purchase was to help avoid getting lost on the bike, and it did help a lot in that area.  What I didn't expect was how useful it would be in finding food and lodging, atm's etc.  Also, when I was walking around in towns and cities I could store the location of my lodging, and then go out on a totally random walk, following whatever alley or canal looked inviting, with no worries about finding my way back.  One odd side benefit in cities was that instead of screaming out "TOURIST" by unfolding a map at an intersection, my handheld GPS looked more like I was just checking for text messages.

I bought a Garmin GPSmap60cxs based partially on the great advice on the GPS forum here, adding the Garmin "City Navigator" series maps.  (which do include a lot of country roads and lanes--- but not all!)  If I were buying today, I'd get the Garmin GPSmap 62s.

Since returning from my tour last year I've gotten interested in geocaching, but that's another whole world.

[Tourista829]

Fred, I agree with you. I wouldn't follow them blindly either. When I first learned to fly an airplane, we were taught pilotage and dead reckoning. (Many Pilots today, couldn't do this)  Like cycling, there is something to be said flying low and slow. Although, I enjoy using a GPS, I still long for the simplier days, when I drew a staight line, on a sectional map, and marked off landmarks and timed my progress between the two. Part of the challenge of bicycling touring is navigation. We are fortunate to have ACO maps where 1000's of riders have taken these routes and fine tuned them.

[FredHiltz]

OT: Ah, the delight of a Cub at 500' AGL and a sectional in my lap came rushing back when I read your note! Picnic lunch beside a grass runway somewhere and maybe leave the door open on the way home if it's warm. After stowing the sectional, of course <grin>. I cannot do that any more, but I miss it.

Fred

[Tourista829]

Fred, I still can with a folding bicycle in the back.