Into the Void: GPS Coordinates – The Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of

Last night I dilly-dallied in the foggy space between sleep and wakefulness. It is in that murky world where I find myself troubled by things that are close enough to be real. I guess you could say it’s where my stress and worry get a workout.

So last night my dream-thoughts were occupied by having problems with my GPS and getting route coordinates into a usable format for Garmin’s Base Camp software.

Some people dream of soaring among the clouds and being able to fly. Me? I’m dreaming about f’n spreadsheets.

I’ve talked before about what a hideous beast my Zumo 450 had been with its intermittent bricking problem. With The Void Rally on the horizon, I will be relying on a GPS to route and keep time for me. I just didn’t feel confident that the 450 would work every time, so I got a new Garmin 660.

I’m hoping with all my might that I don’t find myself wanting to punch it in the face, too.

My Zumo 660

Having a device that works is of course just a piece of the puzzle that will be the Rally for me. As a first timer, a rally virgin, if you will – let’s just say I have no idea what I’m doing.

I’m plagued with self doubt and fears that I am going to just cock this whole thing up.

Will I be able to stay awake?

Will I have the stamina to do a saddle sore?

Will I put together a decent route?

Will I be eaten by a bear, alone in the dark of night on the side of the road somewhere?

All valid questions, right?

I can only surmise that based on my dream – being able to put together a decent route is high on my subconscious worry list. Why can’t I be more confident?

 

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

You may also like...

19 Responses

  1. I have no doubt that you’ll do well and that if a bear even dares to look at you sideways along the road … you’ll kick its ass from here to Sunday.

    I believe in you! 🙂

  2. Glantern says:

    You will do fine i’m sure and with that comfy tiger i’m sure stamina won’t be an issue. And aren’t Tigers>Bears?

    But putting together a route on a Garmin GPS is the stuff nightmares are made of. I understand your worry there haha

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      I’m usually in bed by 11!

      I’m going to do a little practice getting some routes in the GPS to make sure I can spend the time planning a good route and not trying to figure out if I got it right in the box.

  3. Trobairitz says:

    I think we are our own worst enemy when it comes to confidence and new things.

    The rest of us are sure you will do just fine. If we can help with sheer will alone we’ll try.

    And I agree with GLantern – your Tiger will trump all the bears. No worries there.

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      I think we are our own worst enemy when it comes to confidence and new things.

      Isn’t that the truth? I’ve got to change my attitude.

      Thanks for the vote of confidence, chica. 🙂

  4. OG says:

    They offer the 660 with lifetime maps now?!?!?! Damn you Garmin, damn you!

    Oh and good luck with the rally 😉

  5. Ivan Sims says:

    I do the soaring thing and it’s fun… Just haven’t done that in a long time… My nightmare is forgetting my school locker combination after Christmas break… I hate that dream… I graduated from high school… probably twice your age…

    Ride safe…

  6. Endrianto says:

    That’s GPS Right?? We must knowing the right cordinat before use that.But Anyway,this Great Article.Thanks For Share:)

  7. bobskoot says:

    Fuzzy:

    The joys of using a cheap automotive Nuvi doesn’t keep you awake at nights. It doesn’t save tracks, nor can you input routes. Simple and not stress creating . . .

    Wanna Trade ?

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    • Fuzzygalore says:

      I actually have a Nuvi for the car. It’s simple and to the point if you need it.

      These dang machines are a blessing and a curse. I’m sure my stress is just hoping I can put a route together that isn’t too aggressive for a long distance n00b. And that I can actually get the route out of Base Camp into the GPS.

      With my old Zumo 450, The one time I actually put a route into it – I thought I got the full route but somehow only ended up with a section between two of the points. If that happens for my rally – I will die.

      I’ve been practicing gps/electronic routing and getting all that into the device so I am familiar with the pitfalls. Since I don’t generally route with anything but paper, I need to be sure I know what I’m doing. I know it isn’t rocket science and believe it or not – I work with 0’s and 1’s alllllll day long so I should be able to work it out.

  8. Big Bike Motorcycles says:

    yeah garmin is best GPS until now i thinks… nice review 🙂

Leave a Reply to Glantern Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.