Don I'm not absolutely positive, but I think Mark had a mechanical with the GPS? Mark you out there?

A silly question- why do you need a GPS to ride a very well marked route?

Curious

Cary, if you were a 'techie' (which you're not) you wouldn't be asking that question. BTW, I now own a Garmin Edge 605 and have been DOWNLOADING!! Oh my !

My how we change with age-Mr Adventure with a GPS-maybe it is the combination of age and smart wife.

Cary, I have to admit I'm with you on this one. I rode the preview ride solo last weekend, and it was so nice to just be out on the bike. See you at the HOT tomorrow? Paul and I plan to be there.

Several reasons. In addition to route finding, I like using a GPS with maps to check out the surrounding topography as I'm riding, and to collect data about my ride & route. It keeps track of a lot of data that a cyclometer does (such as speed, max speed, averages), but also tracks route data such as elevation. It's very interesting to download the data and review it later to see how you did in comparison with other types of rides.

Yeah, I'm a techie.

A GPS certainly isn't a must, but I enjoy it for many of the same reasons Don does. Its not only nice on the bike, but the real selling point for me was understanding how to use the info on a computer. With the push of a button, you can upload the info to a website to save the route, look at the data, replay the ride, etc. It also helps me determine the names of climbs when I was too busy trying to breath to notice (and remember) exactly where I was. Its a great tool for learning roads that you're not familiar with. Still being relatively new to the area, without the GPS, I'd just be following along, and not learning the roads. With it, I can take a look on the computer later to put everything into perspective. One of the coolest things...using Google Earth, I can plot every ride I've taken in Tennessee on my computer at the same time. From that, I can see how to connect previous routes to develop new, longer routes. Its been a great learning tool for me.

Mark and Don- thanks for the insight on why you use a GPS.

"To Infinity and Beyond!"

Cary

Well, it was a great ride! Loved meeting everyone.

Here's an example of how a GPS captures some interesting data. I've downloaded the data from the 100-mile ride today. You've seen the map, but what about the vertical profile? Here's a link to the elevation changes during the ride:

http://cid-87e682f2bf059c59.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/HOT100/HOT%20100%20Profile%20%7C5100%20mile%20route%7C6.jpg

The first vertical jump (around 500 feet of change) is the climb from Burt up Petigap Road to the top of the Highland Rim. Remember that 16% grade on the road? That's it.

The drop is the trip down the Highland Rim around Dickey Hill road.

The second big climb around mile 65 is climbing up the Highland Rim from Woodbury to Pleasant Hill. And the drop is that great descent down Hurricane Creek.

The last small climb after mile 80 is the first hill after the Statesville rest stop.

Anyway, thought you would want to see an example of how a GPS can give you some interesting data as to where you've been.

The MapMyRide link that I previously posted is fine to use. My problem was with the GPS unit itself. You should make sure to take a map/cue sheet too. With the exception of last weekend (when we ran out of maps) I always take both. Wouldn't you know, the one ride that I don't have both is the only time I've ever had an issue with my GPS! (P.S. I had downloaded new firmware onto my 705 a couple of weeks ago. I've since read that a hard reset is recommended after downloading the new firmware. Perhaps that was the problem with my GPS.)