Satnav left me feeling deflated

[markrennick]

On sunday morning, with a destination in mind but taking an unknown route. I followed my nose until I got lost, then turned on the satnav to get me there.

The satnav took me the most direct route over very bumpy farm tracks. That's where I got a puncture in the rear tyre.

I had to leave the bike & get a lift home, then returned with a bottle of ultraseal & a pump the next day & managed to get home - stopping to pump it up every 15 mins.

This is the 2nd time this has happened to me, and I've learned my lesson. From now on I'll put ultraseal in the tubes when I change them. And I've installed a bicycle pump on the subframe, just in case..

[nhmaf]

I carry a spare tube and tire irons in the rear underseat compartment on my LS.   I've got some of those pressurized gas cartridge things, but sometimes a hand pump is more reliable.

[markrennick]

Spare tube's a good idea. I have plenty of storage space on the RT.

Alternatively a sidecar with spare wheel on the back..

Actually I used to have a sidecar, and often carried a toolbox in it for balast. Without a passenger, you had to take left turns carefully or the sidecar would become a topcar!

[Lucky_Lou]

Never use a sat nav in Wales.........................i did once and it took me down a lane scraping the car doors on the hedges no turning points for 5 miles.. absolute nightmare god knows what would have happened if anything had come the other way.
Lou

[markrennick]

At least you had a reverse gear!

Thanks for the warning tho. I'm camping in N. Wales in august, going by bike if weather's good. I'll try & avoid the back roads.

[suecanada]

GPS does do some strange things. It ignores any avoidance like gravel roads that you may have indicated NOT to use. "As the crow flies" gets a bit ridiculous. Following the road/hwy signs works better in built-up areas. GPS's best use is when you need to find a motel in a strange city and you are hot and tired. Maps are indispensible but for off track...gee I don't know. Laying a crumb trail is possible but that's when you want to go off road. Taking ya off road down dumb roads is inexcusable!!! I get hotter than usual when that happens!

I bought the SPOT satnav tracker messenger at the MOA rally and hope that it will be good for Derek to follow me and also great for saying I am OK when the cellphone can't get through. Also has an SOS feature. One needs to be conscious though to press the button!  
So I guess satellites are good...just not great! Another tool so to speak at our disposal.

So ultraseal is good for putting into a tube any old time???

[Lucky_Lou]

At least you had a reverse gear!

Thanks for the warning tho. I'm camping in N. Wales in august, going by bike if weather's good. I'll try & avoid the back roads.

Where abouts are you going ?, there are some fantastic bike routes in Snowdonia they have had a quiet season with the weather being so bad early on so i doubt you will have any trouble finding a nice site.
Lou
Oh be warned Welsh plod have zero tolerance with bikers....... miserable gits

[Bob_Roller]

Here in the western/southwestern US, many people have lost their lives from following GPS instructions and getting off the beaten path and get hopelessly lost in inclement weather conditions .

General advice to anyone not familiar with a region, if the GPS instructions get you off of paved roads, turn around and go back !!!!!!!!

[markrennick]

So ultraseal is good for putting into a tube any old time???  

It's not recommended for punctured tubes, but it worked enough to get me home, with a couple of stops to pump it up. I didn't fancy taking the wheel off by the roadside.

Turned out it was a small nail hole, which looked sealed when i took the tube out next day.

Where abouts are you going ?, there are some fantastic bike routes in Snowdonia they have had a quiet season with the weather being so bad early on so i doubt you will have any trouble finding a nice site.

Got a place near Machynlleth, in the southern bit of Snowdonia.  I'm just camping for a w/e with old friends - 'tin toppers', so doubt I'll get much riding in.

But getting there & back will be enough for this one. If I need a detour I could turn on the satnav  

[Lucky_Lou]

Got a place near Machynlleth, in the southern bit of Snowdonia.  I'm just camping for a w/e with old friends - 'tin toppers', so doubt I'll get much riding in.

But getting there & back will be enough for this one. If I need a detour I could turn on the satnav  

Know it well i was in Dolgellau on Saturday just up the road..
Lou

[Dizerens5]

A satnav gets totally defeated when a street is temporarily closed for any reason. Happened to me recently in an endless outer-London suburb, late at night in deserted roads. It taught me always to have a good map anyway. And don't follow it slavishly: there have been several bad incidents in this country when drivers took too literally the order to "turn next left" and just went blindly on to a railway...did not realise they were on a level crossing, grade crossing in the US!

[markrennick]

A satnav gets totally defeated when a street is temporarily closed for any reason

Yes, had that one too. I've even said 'NO' out loud each time it told me to turn round.

Mine's even worse because it's ancient & tomtom stopped supporting it a few years ago. Now if I go on a new road, it thinks I'm driving through fields.