Touring Tour Guide Books and Maps.

I would use a sat nav with European maps on, not just relying on old fashion maps. They are very useful.

Ming.....

 

If you like old maps then Amazon is the place as they do not only maps but tour guides at reasonable prices.

Ming.....

 

I got a Michelin map on the ferry,not last minute or anything! It's got some one one side then flip it over for the other. I do use a sat nav but have the map as a back up.
Mine's a plastic one so it won't fall apart if it gets wet.I might get another one with a smaller scale next time as I need to put my glasses on to read it so I have to stop to read the bloody thing.

I find Google maps is very good for route planning,then cross reference on a paper map.

 

It depends on what you want the map for.

If it's just the main routes then a map of Europe will be useful.

If it's more detail you need then you can't really go wrong with the Michelin maps of the countries you're going to.

I've got sets of maps on my iPad but they're only any good when you're off the bike and looking at places to go.

In the end I don't think you can beat a map for route planning. I have a Zumo and Basecamp to plan routes but I'm not impressed with the software and the way it works with the Zumo and still end up using a map initially before setting up the waypoints.

I've also got guide books on the iPad but rarely use them as looking at an iPad is no substitute for a real book that you can flick backwards and forwards.

Bon voyage :biggrin:

 

Stanfords : the best place for maps and guides in the UK. Worth a visit if you're ever in London.

 

Maps to get an idea of the route then i head off and trust my intuition.. Getting lost is part of the adventure.....Would not recommend if heading to the sahara though...

 

The Zumo gets you there but not always by the best route and if you do a detour then it can send you back to a waypoint behind you.

Better to create a series of waypoints along the route and navigate from one to another resetting the gps to the next waypoint when you reach one rather than to the end point after travelling via each of the waypoints. Setting specific service stations as waypoints is also usefull as you can set them up to coincide with fuel and comfort break stops.

Pitch black, teaming down with rain, 23:30 at night and after riding for 360 miles the Zumo got us to the door of the hotel in the Harz region of Germany without drama, I would not like to have relied on a paper map or notes in weather conditions we had on the journey out nor the equally wet journey back. Also at night seeing paper map detail can be a little problematic.

Do not forget to save the gps data when you are out and about as it can be useful at the end of the day to see where you went, what you saw and what you missed.

 

Very true Col. The Zumo has got me out of a couple of tight spots (getting late, raining and cold) where a map (especially on a bike) would have been useless.

It has also twice tried to take me via Paris when the waypoints were specifically set up to avoid Paris!

I used Map Source on a PC for years before getting Basecamp and had no issues with it at all and created some pretty complex routes using waypoints. Unfortunately the PC was scrapped when the power supply blew and took out the mother board and so I had to start using the iMac which uses Basecamp. A truly shite piece of software. Unintuitive and user unfriendly. It seems to create duplicate waypoints if I use a waypoint in more than one route which are then copied to the Zumo.

What I have learnt is is when the planned route is called up on the Zumo you have the option of selecting a waypoint or the final destination. My old Quest followed the waypoints with no trouble. The Zumo appears to ignore the waypoints if you select the final destination when you start the route. This means that it ignores all my carefully planned waypoints and tries to take me the most direct route (which is via Paris when heading south according to Garmin).

I haven't had the Zumo for too long and I didn't realise this was how it worked....

A very useful piece of kit but it's far from foolproof (and as a paid up fool I can give you a warranty on that)

I've never used the save function as I only use it for my main trips and to get out/into towns. When I'm touring an area I tend to use maps with Zumo as a backup if I manage to get lost!

 

With the Zumo even if you are not using it for guidance it logs your route, that is what I mean by saving the data.

In Germany the hotel owner lead us on a ride and eventually we hit a series for straights and haiirpins that went on and on for miles, a couple of days later we wanted to travel over the same road and used the saved logged data to plot a route direct to it.

Never feel 100% confident in a gps so like to have a map handy with a good guide.

A usesful source is the Touren Faren guide which lists biker friendly hotels in and around Germany, Switzerland etc

 

I had a 550 which was used in Germany, now I have a 650 (I think that is the model number) with full Euro mapping but only used it in the UK since I bought it three years ago.

Today Id be tempted to see how the iphone fairs with its gps ability

 

Mine's a 340 which is bottom of the range I think (still over £300!)

Works well if you understand its limitations (which I didn't)

I had a look at mine Col and as far as I can see it doesn't automatically track a route unless you set it Trackback (or something like that)

 

I've got the 340 and that was just over £300 it's fairly basic but does the job.

You can route plan with TYRE which is free so you can plan your own route.

We did have a couple of hiccups last year but it was the first time I'd used it in anger.I'll try and get a bit more practice in next year.