Navigating the trails????

chapp1e

Hey all,

Finally got to do my first trail today and loved it.....when I was moving...

I spent most of the time though standing around staring blankly at the map I had printed and not having a clue where to go. I kept missing paths etc and ended up spending too much time on the roads.

What's the best way of navigating the routes without spending a fortune on gps unit.

Also where do people store their maps......down the front of my shorts was not very effective after a few miles :oops: :oops:

Thx

Anonymous

Practice, and a good understanding of mapreading. Some people can read maps, some people just can't it seems. My sister, for example, has absolutely no understanding of maps, at all. Even a simple emergency exit floor plan confuses her.
This means we've quite often set out at silly o clock in the morning to take pictures of the sunrise, pointing in completely the wrong direction.

chedabob

chapp1e wrote:

Also where do people store their maps......down the front of my shorts was not very effective after a few miles :oops: :oops:

In the pocket of my shorts. Only really practical for an A4 sheet, not a full size OS map though.

compo

yeehaamcgee wrote:

My sister, for example, has absolutely no understanding of maps, at all.

Well she is a woman... :P

Anonymous

Nah, she goes well beyond the "women can't read maps" thing, and takes it no a completely new realm of ineptitude. It must actually have taken effort to be that bad at map reading

Happy Harry

I've been reading and following OS maps since I was a kid - I got it from my Dad! And your experience of getting lost and taking the wrong trail is quite normal! I still find myself totally lost when trying out a new trail and tbh that's half the fun of it. The problem is that some of the rights of way marked on the map have become disused because of easier tracks nearby. And over large areas of moorland (for instance) animal tracks or casual tracks can easily be mistaken for bridleways marked on the map. So you follow what you think is a certain trail and find yourself somewhere that doesn't match up to the map. It takes a lot of convincing to make yourself believe that you're actually somewhere else.

Carrying a cheap compass helps. If you're not sure of the trail at least you can make sure it's heading in the right direction. Also check the contour lines on the map. If the trail on the map is climbing, make sure you're not descending. And look for prominent landmarks such as water towers, masts, copses and fencelines which are marked on Explorer maps. These can help you find your position.

Finally, you'll notice the Explorer maps have the latitude and longitude co-ordinates along the edge so if you have a smartphone with a GPS app or even a very cheap hand-held GPS you can get your actual position and transpose it to the map without having to spend a lot of money on a full-strength mapping GPS. Once you know where you are you can navigate to where you want to be.

Anonymous

As Harry sort of suggests, best way to find your way in the wilderness is to mark out waypoints, and use a compass to get there.

Happy Harry

yeehaamcgee wrote:

As Harry sort of suggests ...

Ha! I never use a sentence when three paragraphs will do just as well!

Anonymous

chapp1e

Thanks all,

I was trying to do it with a map print out so thats probably some of the problem, I'll get myself some decent OS ones and practice I suppose.

I've seen today some map holders you can get so may invest in one of these as well.

Happy Harry

chapp1e wrote:

I was trying to do it with a map print out so thats probably some of the problem, I'll get myself some decent OS ones and practice I suppose

Ah. Yes. I meant to mention that but waffled on so long that I forgot to :oops:

If you're not familiar with OS maps you'll be amazed at how much information is on them (most importantly rights of way). I can sit and read one for hours and keep discovering stuff. They are quite expensive at £8.00 each but hopefully you can find one that covers the whole of your riding area. The Explorer at 2.5 inches to the mile gives the best detail and the Landranger at 1 inch to the mile covers a bigger area with less detail. You can legally ride on all marked rights of way except footpaths. Have a look at them in your local bookshop. They've recently been doing a three for two promotion.

As to carrying them, I've usually got two in my back pack in case I decide to explore a new trail. If I am exploring then the folded map fits perfectly in the back pocket of my Endura baggies. If you download somebody else's map you can follow it on the OS map before you start the ride.

There you go. Three paragraphs when I could just have said 'Yes'

Anonymous

Have you had a look at www.bing.com/maps ?
Once you zoom in to a reasonable level, you can change the view between ROAD, and OS MAP.
Admittedly not great for taking out on the trail with you, but bloody handy nonetheless.

Happy Harry

You mentioned that before but I forgot about to look. It's brilliant isn't it? On one level it shows the I: 50 000 and zoom in a bit further and it goes to the detail of the 1: 25 000.

I can't see a print facility - obviously to protect their map sales. But you could do a screen capture if you could be ars*ed. Great for ride planning.

Excellent find yeehaa. I'll bookmark it.

Anonymous

Aye, if you could freely print it, then OS would get pretty peeved I reckon.
Still very handy for planning routes though. Saves having to buy a map and then realise there's nothing of worth on it.

*AL*

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Practice, and a good understanding of mapreading. Some people can read maps, some people just can't it seems. My sister, for example, has absolutely no understanding of maps, at all.

*sigh*

I remember in the days before sat-nav the Mrs would attempt to read the map for me.

As we live in Cornwall, we'd make the 'upward' journey as normal, but she'd turn the map upside down all the way back home :roll:

Anonymous

Ah, but that requires a basic level of map understanding, that UP is north, even though she didn't know what to call it..
Ma soeur, on the other hand couldn't even grasp that.

*AL*

You have my deepest sympathy.

I'm an proper old school Silva compass wielding Jedi master map reader (ex 10 tors etc) so I just can't understand how someone can't read a map.

I've tried on countless occasions to explain the basics, to no avail.

Though we are talking about a woman who travels from Bodmin, Cornwall to the Exeter arena and missed junction 30 (and 29 for that matter) and had to exit at j28 (Cullompton)
This is a journey which under normal circumstances doesn't require the motorway at all :roll:

bbug

chapp1e wrote:

Also where do people store their maps......down the front of my shorts was not very effective after a few miles :oops: :oops:

Thx

If I'm going somewhere new, I print off an A4 sized map of my route, then put it in this:-

http://www.oldbikeshop.com/detail.asp?ItemCode=ROUTEH

It's a roll-up route holder that's designed for classic bikes on rallies. The sheet fits in between two clear plastic sheets which are rolled up around either of two rollers. This keeps them dry(ish). You scroll up or down to the bits you want to see. It sits nicely on the handlebars and doesn't weigh too much. I have to say, it's better for route instructions than maps, but I have used it for maps too.

chapp1e

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Have you had a look at www.bing.com/maps ?
Once you zoom in to a reasonable level, you can change the view between ROAD, and OS MAP.
Admittedly not great for taking out on the trail with you, but bloody handy nonetheless.

Thanks mate, just looked at that and makes a massive difference, i can see clearly now where i went wrong in someplaces. Will be using this.

chapp1e

bbug wrote:

If I'm going somewhere new, I print off an A4 sized map of my route, then put it in this:-

http://www.oldbikeshop.com/detail.asp?ItemCode=ROUTEH

.

Thanks mate, as you say this would probably work better on my road bike for route instructions. Learnt on Sunday I need more info :oops:

Am looking at getting one of these http://www.polaris-apparel.co.uk/product-22307/MAP-TRAP.html

chapp1e

Happy Harry wrote:

If you're not familiar with OS maps you'll be amazed at how much information is on them (most importantly rights of way). I can sit and read one for hours and keep discovering stuff. They are quite expensive at £8.00 each but hopefully you can find one that covers the whole of your riding area.

lol I'm realising I jumped on without planning, too keen i suppose!! Used to do loads of orienteering when i was a lad so should have known better. Going to re-familiarise myself with an OS map this weekend. Thx

Duggan13

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Have you had a look at www.bing.com/maps ?
Once you zoom in to a reasonable level, you can change the view between ROAD, and OS MAP.
Admittedly not great for taking out on the trail with you, but bloody handy nonetheless.

Wow, that's brilliant. Yoink.

I love reading OS maps, even for no reason which is a bit weird I suppose.

Anonymous

Me too. the character development and dialogue is a bit lacking, but the descriptions of the locations are amazing.