GPS RECEIVERS FOR BICYCLISTS
Our electronic world continues to expand and electronics for bicycling
are no exception. The industry’s
cyclocomputers (or cyclometers) have gotten increasingly complex over the past
decade. Now you can buy Cateyes or
Sigmas (or several other brands) that not only give you your speed, time and
distance, but add features like average speed, maximum speed, auto turn off and
on, multiple bike data, cadence (pedal turns), altitude, cumulative altitude
gain, and so on. But all of them
electronically pale in comparison to mounting a GPS receiver on your bicycle!
GPS’s used to cost thousands of dollars, but now we have some that
start around $150. These
intelligent little receivers, designed for handholding or mounting on bicycle
handlebars, are built light, tough and waterproof—and they take cyclocomputing
to new heights.
For those of you just learning about these gadgets, here’s a little
background. GPS stands for Global
Positioning System and it 
was originally conceived in 1960.
It has been developed, at a cost of over $10 billion, under the auspices
of the Department of Defense and the U.S. military. Twenty-four satellites have been positioned to circle the globe every 12
hours so that through “triangulation” from at least three of them you will
know your “position” worldwide, as well as time and speed information.
Simply stated, a GPS receiver can tell you exactly (within 49 feet) where
you are on this large earth! It
does this by giving you your exact longitude and latitude (or data to place you
on other grid systems, if you choose). Once
you have this information repeated all along a trip (car, bicycle, on foot,
etc.) a clear “route” is evolved, with mileages, altitude changes,
directions to return to where you started, and so on. If you carry a GPS receiver and a map with you when driving, riding or
hiking, you will always know where you are, where you have been, and where you
are going. The only downside of the
system which you must consider—they need a relatively clear view of the sky.
Their performance can be compromised by such features as narrow canyons,
heavy forest canopies, and tunnels. You
need to be careful if you carry the receiver on your person as well, because
putting it in a pocket can interfere with its ability to see the sky, too.
Screen Images from eTrex
Great Basin Bicycles sells the Garmin brand, and the waterproof eTrex is
the most popular GPS receiver for cyclists (easily identified by its bright
yellow case). As an option, a
handlebar mount is available to place it on your bike much in the same way as an
ordinary cyclocomputer is mounted. The
receiver’s size is approximately 4 ½” by 2” by 1” and it weighs just
over 5 ounces. It has an LCD
display just over 1” by 2”, with backlighting for use at night.
It allows you to enter “waypoints” (complete with symbols if you
wish) and to save up to 10 tracks for future reference. As a trip computer, throughout your ride you can check such data as
current speed, average
speed, time of sunset, maximum speed, trip time and trip distance. It also provides altitude information and a compass heading through
satellite feedback (the model called the eTrex Summit adds an electronic compass
and a barometrically determined altitude, the latter providing ascent and
descent distances and rates). All
these receivers draw your route, including whatever waypoints (reference points
like intersections or water crossings) you choose to enter. They also will direct you very precisely if you get lost and want to
retrace your route back to where you started. And for you computer types, all you need to add is map software (such as
TOPO! for the Reno-Lake Tahoe area), plug your eTrex into your computer, and
your route can be drawn on USGS topographic maps. Check out the article in this Singletracks on the Steamboat Ditch
Loop—that’s how the map was done.
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