Nooby 17 Year Old Me...

[CB ARGH]

Hey guys and gals,

I'm interested in doing a bit of long distance riding. One thing that has got me stunned is knowing where to go, and how to get there. With technology these days I could easily go out and spend $1000 on a GPS unit, but I don't have that sort of money. How do YOU find your way around? Do you just use the old style and plan using a map? This may sound severely dumb, but how do you read the map and ride at the same time? Do you stop every once in a while to read the map? Etc?

Any help would be great, I'm planning a day trip down to the mount or Hamilton, from Auckland.

Thanks,

STEVE

[Gubb]

Tank bag with a clear window on top, with a map inside.

[fridayflash]

do it the traditional blokes way....folow your nose,wing it,and insist you
know where youre going
alternatively,buy yourself a copy of the most excerent[sic]
nz motorcycle atlas,and put it in your map window of your tankbag [if you have one] open to the relevant map page,which you can glance down at
when you need to jog your memory. [assuming youve already been over your
intended route] good luck

[Ixion]

Sun by day, moon and stars by night. Seriously. Work out what direction your destination is , and take your bearings accordingly

It's a small skinny country. If you find your feet are wet, you may have ridden too far.

Hamilton is south. Face the rsing sun, it's on your right .

For the Mount, bear 45 degrees, more or less , around Hamilton way.

[fridayflash]

btw, aucks to the mount via paeroa,waihi etc then over the kaimais
and backroads hamilton then home to aucks would put a smile on your
dial, and be a great first effort,build your confidence etc
just ride safe and watch for rogue cages

[vindy500]

umm follow the signs....

[Grub]

buy yourself a copy of the most excerent[sic]
nz motorcycle atlas,

Actually, believe it or not, there's a much better set available with a larger scale and therefore more detail. It's the Kiwimaps North (or South) Island complete drivers atlas.

When I got lost in the gravel-roaded forest between Maungatapu and Rotorua and came to a T intersection where the cross road was "No.2 Rd", I knew I was really in the shit. So I finally got the map out (it was a hassle because it was in the backpack) .. the detail of the map was so good that No.2 Rd was there. It had no right to be, but it was.

I'll often look at possible routes using Google Maps because you can drag the blue line around and it drops into all these amazing back roads.

Then I take the map, sometimes in a tank bag with clear pocket bu tmostly in the backpack. Why? Well to be truthful, sometimes just wandering is pretty damned cool, especially if you have the time and the urge to just explore.

[James Deuce]

Plan? Are you OCD or something?

[rainman]

All you need to know are the names of some of the towns you should be passing through. Have a decent look at the map before you go (take it with you in case you get hopelessly lost) and just go have fun. Don't panic about getting lost, enjoy the ride, but do watch for hazards - those are quite different out of town than they are in town: cowshit, rogue sheep (ask Toaster), tractors, dodgy road surface, gravel...

And, if you get lost, you can always.... ask for directions. The locals are usually friendly around most parts, and there's lots of places to stop for a coffee and a break and check the map if you really have to. This is meant to be fun, remember!

I would hate to ride from here to there if all I got to see was my map.

[The Pastor]

LOL this should be in "biker angles" fourm.


Such a chick type question.

[Nasty]

LOL this should be in "biker angles" fourm.


Such a chick type question.

Don't know any chicks who would ask a group of bikers that question ... so I guess it is in the right place ...

Grub is right about the maps ... I have traveled the north extensively and the map is fantastic ... he hates the tank bag with window .. but it does work .. I don't use a tank bag cos I don't like them. Basically I use the follow the signs and follow the nose methods. I am yet to get lost like the grub

[CookMySock]

wises.co.nz for detailed driving directions if you haven't been some place before. Trip times are more accurate than google.

maps.google.com is the same thing but allows you to drag 'n drop a mid-point to change your route - VERY good for organising rides as you can a yank the route aroute big-time and it just re-calcs everything on the fly. Nice. Trip times sometimes quite a bit out - quicker to drive it than google suggests.

Best tool for touring, wises - more accurate. best for route planning, google - more flexible. Though if you can't get a straight answer out of one then try the other.


DB

[Rosie]

The New Zealand Motorcycle Atlas (Hema maps) is very useful. If you are an AA member, their maps are also useful. Mainly because they are free, and you can keep them in your jacket pocket for easy reference, and it doesn't matter if they get trashed.

Depending on how navigationally-intensive the route I'm taking is, I'll look at the map, and make note of the next 3-4 important navigation points and repeat them to myself a few times, so I remember them. After that, I stop, look at the map, and figure out the next 3-4. On main highways, there are lots of signs, so looking at the map every time I stop for fuel is enough. On complicated routes through back roads or city centres, I may need to stop fairly frequently because of the number of road names etc I need to keep track of.

[NOMIS]

I never take a map to where im going, never get lost.. some people have such bad snese of direction. take notice of your surroundings. jeez.
lol

I dont get it theres road signs ever where.

[Ixion]

Because following the road signs will invariably take you down the boring main roads. Where everybody goes.

What biker wants to ride on main roads?

Real roads don't have signs