ubiquitous Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 Recently, I went for a bicycle ride with my new Garmin E-Trex Legend mounted on the handle bars. I didn’t have map data yet so I was just winging it and letting my GPSr track my mileage and speed. I was taking turns at random and just enjoying my ride. After about 25 miles I decided to ask my GPS to “find home”. Well, the compass arrow was pointing 180 degrees off from where I “knew” home was and claimed I was only 4 miles away. I knew that couldn’t be true. I was sure that I was much further from home than that (even given straight line distances). Nonetheless I decided to follow the arrow even if it was clearly going in the wrong direction. Shortly I came to a street with a long hedge on my right and in front of me was the entrance cloverleaf to a very busy highway. I took a water break and cursed myself for not buying a Magellan. I rode to the end of the hedge anyway and looked around the corner and there was a sign pointing away from the highway entrance with the name North Branch in bold letters. North Branch was the town I had passed through at the beginning of the ride. The arrow on the sign and the arrow on the GPSr were both pointing the same direction and it seemed to me the Legend was going “DUH!”… I am not a teacher: only a fellow-traveller of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead, ahead of myself as well as you. Quote Link to comment
+mrp Posted July 18, 2002 Share Posted July 18, 2002 I'm not sure I entirely follow your narative, but if you're trying to take the same way back that you took out, you can use the trackback feature, though I've had mixed luck with that. But it sounds like it did take the the most direct route home, though probably not accessible since you can't really take you bike on the freeway. (or was the point that you were already close to home, and the legend just showed you a quick way?) Maybe I'm just dense today. -- Mitch Quote Link to comment
ubiquitous Posted July 19, 2002 Author Share Posted July 19, 2002 I had gone in a circle without realizing it and my stubborn insistence that I have a "good sense of direction" turned out to be wrong. So the GPS was right and it was good that I "listened" to it. u I am not a teacher: only a fellow-traveller of whom you asked the way. I pointed ahead, ahead of myself as well as you. Quote Link to comment
jdege Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 Why was it "good" that you listened to it? Were you in a hurry? Was there some reason why finding the most efficient way home was critical? It may have been that had you wandered around lost for a while, you might have found something you'd never have seen, otherwise. Quote Link to comment
+Criminal Posted July 19, 2002 Share Posted July 19, 2002 Well even if it were pointing 180 degrees off, the world is round you know....... ><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< What is the price of experience, do men buy it for a song, Or wisdom for a dance in the street................. Quote Link to comment
Alphawolf Posted July 20, 2002 Share Posted July 20, 2002 quote: I had gone in a circle without realizing it and my stubborn insistence that I have a "good sense of direction" turned out to be wrong. I don't know if you have ever been a pilot or not, but the first thing you have to learn in instrument navigation (which is what GPS nav. is...)is to trust your instruments, not your instincts. Many a fine men have died in aircraft when they have chosen to ignore their instruments and go with what their senses are screaming at them. Usually a bad decision. "The Alphawolf" Quote Link to comment
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