I so hate that dithering, so many things can get in the way. I once had a Swiss manager, Mr A. Good (always on formal terms never first name) who said ‘Make a decision Mr Osborne any decision’, deal with the consequences and the majority of the time it will be the right decision. So decision made on leaving date.
Should I book a flight, should I leave it till later, cheaper now it will most definitely go up, he who hesitates is lost.
Well that’s sorted. 5th of June. I will be on my way.
I have been trying to decide whether to buy a GPS device or not. I do have on a Wahoo Bolt, and interestingly I searched out my Garmin Edge 810, which I thought had died, I attached it to my computer and low and behold it fired up, uploaded lots of updates and is now worging (I hope, I’m blaming its demise on Apple computers, it feels safe being back on Microsoft). I have also borrowed Ben’s Garmin Oregon 600. And downloaded Gaia GPS which is a route mapping App, lots of great reviews.
Yes I know I am going overboard in this coz I also have real maps. Never go anywhere without real maps, I love them, spreading them out, looking at the endless possibilities of where to go.
Anywhere the round up is this:
Garmin Edge 810 – I thought it was dead, but it seems to have done a Lazarus impression. But Smallish screen, designed for road biking.
Wahoo Bolt – Very small screen, black and white, mainly for road cycling.
Garmin Oregon 600 – Borrowed to try out for size. Bigger screen designed for on/off road routing. Borrowed to try out, in anticipation of purchasing a Garmin Oregon 700, which is supposedly an upgraded model and with different features but the same size screen.
Gaia GPS – There if all else fails.
I am hoping to charge all these up via my dynamo hub, no not at the same time, in rotation, with all the other electronic devices (GoPro, GoPro remote control, External battery, I’m sure there are mare I just cannot remember right now)
I know it is all a bit setup boring but hopefully there will be interesting things going on later that may be worth a read, please if you are interested ‘Follow’ my blog, there is a button on the right of each blog post, if not hit the ‘Home’ link and the ‘Follow’ link should be there. Thank you Katy for being the first.
Grrrrrrrrr, the Follow link is right at the bottom of the Post page (yeh the very bottom).
A Couple of Days Ride Outta....... 
Jealous! Check out openmtbmap.org for free routable maps for the Garmin. Small voluntary sub to pay, a bit of shenanigans with Basecamp or whatever, and then the world is your lobster. Haven’t checked what the Morocco maps are like but Spain is good.
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Thanks Ben, I have just downloaded a big map (Spain/Portugal/Morocco) from here, http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ who I have used before on my Garmin. But they are mainly road maps. Does openmtbmap.org have off road tracks on?
Feel free to book your plane ticket for the same day, it’s free for all till I get to Faro.
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Not sure how the openmtb stuff is compiled but since it is open source I should think much depends on someone being willing to load/identify detail. The maps of European countries seem to have just about everything, though they sometimes get it wrong on whether something is a road or a trail. But that is where the adventure begins! no harm in having both – you can switch them on and off on the fly (ie without having to bugger about with a pc.)
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In respect of Garmins, I accidentally put my Garmin 820 through a full wash cycle on Saturday (it was in my bike jacket pocket). When I opened the machine it was on and recording, so obviously pretty weather proof. You can recharge them on the fly with a back up battery so will last longer than you or me.
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Excellent Hans, that’s the kind of information I like to hear. It’s pretty definite I will get the Oregon 700 or 750. They both take rechargeable batteries and normal AA batteries and are a bit better for off roading I believe.
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