Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Questions and answers about routes.

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benconnolli
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Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by benconnolli »

So I am currently going through a phase in cycling of exploring my limits while exploring the U.K. and would like to try my hand at one of these itts. I will admit that I have not done extensive research yet but I do not want to ride with a gps beeping away at me. All the rides I have looked at seem to be very “you must follow the gpx it is the only way” I have self made some audax type directions for mainly road routes but street view only works on streets.

I am happy to put the time in translating a route, if the tools were available. Any tips on how I could solve this problem?
ScotRoutes
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by ScotRoutes »

You don't need a GPS, just a map and, maybe, a highlighter pen.

plotaroute.com will create textual directions if you use it to create a route (even by uploading a GPX file).
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sean_iow
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by sean_iow »

I assume you just want to ride for personal reward, as if you want to submit a time for a recognised route you'll need to record your ride on a gps.

You should be able to navigate your way round a route with just a map and compass. I used to take a paper copy of the route in case of gps failure but I don't bother now as it would be so much slower that if my gps did fail I'd just scratch. I do take enough of a map to be able to navigate back to the start.

If you wanted to record the ride you could take a gps and not look at it, or even put tape over the screen. My gps doesn't make any noises if it's the beeping that anoys you, I have to follow the line on the screen like a paper map but with my current position shown on the screen.

Careful selection of a route should find one which has easier navigation. Out of the routes I've ridden I'd say the HT550 has the easiest navigation as often there is only one track to follow. That doesn't mean it's the easiest to ride...
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Bearbonesnorm
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by Bearbonesnorm »

I recall James rode (raced) the TD without a gps and did very well.
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Ray Young
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by Ray Young »

I don't think a GPS is a must so long as you have the route on a physical map then you can follow it albeit at a slower pace due to more stoppage time. On the Borders 350 I tell people to stick to the gpx line on the Fruid Reservoir/Devils Beeftub bikehike section but only to save time as 1/2 of it has no path to follow at all. Quad bike tracks appear now and then but only lead you astray. Absolutely no reason why you couldn't navigate it from a paper map though.
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whitestone
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by whitestone »

Bearbonesnorm wrote: Wed Nov 20, 2019 9:23 pm I recall James rode (raced) the TD without a gps and did very well.
I think the early editions of the TDR were before bike based GPSs and certainly before Trackleaders, a friend was one of the first Brits to do it and he had to text Matt Lee from Antelope Wells to say he'd finished. Navigation was by ACA(?) maps and dead reckoning notes - 15.5miles from XXX lodge take the road to the right. Amusing tale about one of the first European riders to do the TDR (but could have been the RAAM): he'd taken the notes but mistook miles for km so got rather lost! :lol:

On-line road route planners like that from the AA do give directions along the lines of: "Follow the A123 for 4.5miles then take the second exit from the roundabout and follow the B234, etc." but I've not seen anything similar for off-road routes so I suspect it's a bit of work using whatever tools you prefer.

A GPS doesn't have to be a nagging companion, you'd only get off-route warnings from TCX files that use turn-by-turn notifications and then only if those details are on the underlying mapping that the file generator program/site used. If you load a simple(r) GPX file then that option isn't available and it's just an electronic version of a line on a paper map.

As Sean notes, away from habitation ITTs tend to be on the track so often it's a case of find it then follow it for an hour or two before you need to check things again. The YD300 is pretty easy to follow as are the various incarnations of the YD200.
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touch
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by touch »

Road routes are quite easy to write directions for: they have obvious junctions and most of them have signposts. You just need a list like:
"At the next junction, follow signs for London"
"After 10 miles, take the left signed Edinburgh"
etc etc etc

You can't do that for off road routes because there's no sign posts and often it's not easy to even spot the junctions where you need to make the turn. Using distances between turns is more difficult too because, unlike a road ride, there can be a huge variation in speed off road and it's harder to judge distance without a GPS telling you. "6 miles to the next turn" on your notes could mean 15 mins to the junction or it could be 2 hours.

You could navigate with paper maps. I took printed copies with me on the Highland Trail once but that was about 30 pages of A4 to carry.
Generally, most of the ITT routes are easy to navigate. They usually go off into remote areas and that means there is often only one path for miles around so it's easy to keep right. Most people want to use a GPS to navigate because it takes less brain power. After several days of riding (especially when you say you want to push your limits), you get tired and simple things like reading a map become much more difficult.
ScotRoutes
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by ScotRoutes »

A simple odometer will give sufficiently accurate distance measurements.
touch
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by touch »

Not if you're carrying your bike it wont :lol:
ScotRoutes
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Re: Off road ITT purely by written directions?

Post by ScotRoutes »

touch wrote: Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:27 pm Not if you're carrying your bike it wont :lol:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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