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.
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?
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! 🙂
😆 Thanks, babe.
I’ll do my best. What else can I do? Think I should pack some bear spray just in case?
I have to say part of me is really hoping that some of the bonus locations will be some wonderfully hokey roadside places. How great would it be to HAVE to go to South of the Border?
Hmmmm … how many saddlesore rides can one do between here and Randy’s Donuts in LA? 🙂
Ohh, Randy’s Donuts is just the first of 10 of those giant donuts here in LA. 🙂
Yep 🙂 I think I have every one of them on my “to do” map. Now, to find a way to have enough vacation time + $$ to get them done!
But you’ve got the Maple Donuts – that counts for a lot!
You should really have Kenny post your donut ride on Stay On the Gas. Those donut pics need to be shared with the world!
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
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.
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.
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. 🙂
They offer the 660 with lifetime maps now?!?!?! Damn you Garmin, damn you!
Oh and good luck with the rally 😉
Yea, it seems like that should have always been the case!
Thanks. I need all the luck I can get.
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…
Wow, you must be REALLY OLD, Ivan! 😆
That’s GPS Right?? We must knowing the right cordinat before use that.But Anyway,this Great Article.Thanks For Share:)
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
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.
yeah garmin is best GPS until now i thinks… nice review 🙂