Better Riding Experience With GPS

While riding around Sri Lanka, the handlebar mounted pouch that held my GPS gave way right in front of a shop that sold tape. So I taped the pouch over the instrument cluster and it held till the end of the ride.

I’m so used to the GPS. It makes my life easy as I don’t need to stop and ask people for directions. A GPS also lets me explore a place without worrying too much. For example, I was riding towards Antwerp in Belgium where I had already booked a hotel room for the night. As I was cruising along the motorway, I noticed a beautiful village on my right with lush green meadows and windmills. I took an exit to go check it out. I ended up stopping at a cafe in the village and then continued riding to the next village. I went on riding like this for an hour and explored a part of Belgium I would have never seen if I had stuck to the motorway. I kept ignoring the GPS instructions all this time and went where I felt like. Then finally, when I had explored enough, I started paying attention to the GPS and it took me back to the motorway using the shortest route. All this without stopping to ask anyone for directions or figuring out road signs.

I wonder how people used to manage with just paper maps not too many years ago.