Orienteering could be a great sport to help you train nav skills quickly. This is basically finding 30 points on a map as quickly as possible, so you have time pressure as well. Normally done running, but you can also choose walking, and bike versions are organised occasionally. Great fun!
Excellent! The frozen mud has made mountain biking GREAT fun lately. Faster than mud - but also fun as get knocked about off line the frozen ruts! I find that safe and fun! Also feel more secure on the slippy roads on the MTB than would on a gravel or racing bike. Love my Polaris waterproof socks. Not cheap but really work, and Merino lined. And Gore wind blocker outer wear and plenty of layers inside! I find myself taking layers off at times too! On the downs off road is more fun so no time to feel the cold. Good point on the slower speeds keeping us warmer. MTB is best for frozen or below riding!
I think I first discovered your channel back in the summer when looking for wild swimming videos. A few weeks ago one of your videos popped up in my recommendations and you have seriously lifted my spirits. You are always positive and energetic and look like you are so much fun and a great person to be around. You have an amazing story and I loved the video about your career and all the different things you have done with your life. You really should write a book I would certainly listen to the audible person as long as you read it. Stay safe and keep up the good work.
Hi Juliet, I stumbled upon your channel this morning while browsing and can't stop watching your little adventures out and about on your bike! I started riding again myself a month or so ago after more than 20+ years and love it! Watching your videos just makes me want to get out there! I suffer from numb, painfully cold fingers and toes while riding my bike too so this was the first video of yours that I watched. Hopefully new gloves and socks will do the trick :)
Secret to not getting cold : The couch. :) In my defence, it's -10 here and snow. Great vid again Juliet :) Also, no skully? my ears would be frozen....
I´m in Denmark-cold- went to the mountain bike.Hiking boots, ultra winter clothing in layers so i can take stuff off if i get too hot. Usually i would ride my fixie, but the wind has been too much, plus the mountain bike is fun for a change! But I do not ride off road any more. I´m 75 now so I don´t take the chances I used to!
I recommend picking up a book such as "Wilderness Navigation: Finding Your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS" (Bob Burns and Mike Burns, Mountaineers Books) and something like a Suunto MC-2 compass, assuming your bike packing adventure disallows using GPS. There are of course other books and compasses to choose from. That maze of country lanes you ride on would be a great place to practice, assuming you could find a detailed map.
My advice for navigation is to start riding with a map. Use it to go into areas you're not super familiar with but not so deep you can get totally lost. Little bits at a time and preferably by yourself. Got to work through it in your own head. You'll get tired of stopping to pull the map out, but it's the only way to learn. Also you can look at the map of your rides on strava tracing the path and recalling the route in your mind. Not many of us have an innate sense of direction, it takes practice 😁👍
Hi Juliet, whilst I use Komoot/Wahoo I also have OS - Ordinance Survey - app on my phone. It’s handy to work out routes and those ‘where the flip am I?’ ‘happenings!’ It will centre on your location and you can download map sections which can be used off-line. It has this really cool thing where you point phone and it will show you what is around and how far as you face different directions. Do love a map 🤗. Stay warm!
I learnt navigation a long time ago on a walking nav course and it was all old school OS maps and compass, which is what I still use today when I am hiking. Not so practical when cycling but it has definitely set me up with a good foundation on how to navigate. That said I got completely disorientated the other week when I was out on my gravel bike and ended up in completely the wrong place. It happens to the best of us. Like your videos by the way.
If I’m riding somewhere new, the day before I’ll click through the route turn by turn on Ride with GPS so I can follow it on the map. It gives me a rough mental image of the route. After the ride I might go back and review the route again, now remembering what those roads were actually like (and if I missed turns, where that happened.) I feel like doing this builds the skill of learning new routes from a map and I’ve gotten better at it each time.
Find North compared to your front door, where is the ocean compared to your front door, where is the nearest and biggest mountain compared to your front door, a little bit of concentration will keep north in your mind as you ride. Don't over think it or make it too complicated. North will do it for you. Have fun!
In some countries following street cats is quite an effective method if they are not asleep. Avoid monkeys, though as they are too smart for their own good and will just get you into trouble.
Hi Juliet, love the vid, these long wandering off road days are magic and the hard dry cold ground last week was especially good on the mtb. For exploring I use Memory Map app (Viewranger is similar) which position you on an OS map 'offline' on your phone so you can always see terrain and type of track choice (you could buy whole country or just a part of UK). For your event or any pre-planned route you can plot the route on Memory Map on your computer, then sync to your phone. Carrying and practicing compass use too is a good idea although I only tend to use that if in the hills proper. PS like you I use the mtb to kind of assess routes up here in the Highlands that I can then link up via the road sections on the gravel bike.
Learn to use a compass. Map reading is learning to apply what you see on the map with your environment...landmarks..contours..can you use a gps to find grid reference,then compass to determine direction...or just knowing what direction you are heading in and check the compass to make sure you not totally going the wrong way...
When it opens up - try some mountain bike orienteering (bmbo)...3 hour events usually...and teaches you to use and orientate the map to find your way. Practice makes perfect
Navigation. I use viewranger app and I thoroughly recommend it. It's not free but it is very good. You get turn by turn sat nav style directions but on a 1:25000 ordnance survey map. So you can see at any time exactly on a map where you are. You do need a phone to use it so you would need to be able to charge. I use a 25000mah battery/power pack which easily lasts a couple of days.
Like everything in life navigation takes practice. What you learn: its just a mind process of constantly asking where am I and where do I want to go. Start easy. When I taught ocean navigation I actually started them out in a city with a map. Either by car or bike or walking go to places using a map. Then off to country roads, by car. Not using a gps but a paper map. All of the sudden you learn that a map ,a gps, a mountain, a tree, the sun or even a star are just tools that help you answer your two questions: Where am I and what general direction I need to follow. In order for these tools to help you, you need to study them before you go. Once you start your route make sure you know where you come from, this will lead you to answering the question of where you are. Then you need to decide where to go. When people get lost its because they have decided to go without truly knowing where they are. Before we went to ocean navigation courses they had to do a couple of find the flag games on land. Just practice. Study the map and visit the area if you can. You should be able to make it. If you have more detailed questions let me know… all the best. Love your videos!
On new or uncertain routes, you will improve your directional sense and be better oriented generally if you pause more frequently during a ride to take your bearings. I think as you become more aware of the north, south, east, west of your location relative to the general terrain and topography, you'll need fewer pauses. One word to help with the cold: fugu.
Mtb is my choice for winter. Fixed, road on warmer windless days. 107kg helps me stay warm but is unhelpful on very hot days. I really hate indoor hamster wheels!
-1??? We need to get you out on a proper winter ride. The other night I did an hour fat biking on groomed snow in -14. It’s all good, enjoy your channel!
Good points about mountain-biking to generate more heat; you have to work harder to go slower (than the road/gravel bike) and has allowed me to ride 10 degrees F colder than if I were riding with road/gravel wind chill. Also riding on new snow further reduces the wind-chill effect and gets me off the road. It's really fun! Otherwise, I don't ride on trails in winter because they quickly get too muddy and rutted-up. I've been riding a lot of road recently waiting for the next snowstorm. Like everything else, practice makes perfect , likely with map skills as well. I'd use my smartphone with my favorite map app ("MTB Project" or "Trailforks", etc) to verify my location and get used to knowing exactly where I'm at and when I've left the route. This has saved my hide at times when navigating solo in the mountains. I got "lost" when not verifying my relative location and going way too far off course, and then trying to bushwhack my way back to the perceived location of the trail. I bonked, spent hours back-tracking and re-tracking and aborting the ride as a result. Many lessons learned! My smartphone life-line was no use when the battery wore down in the middle of my "emergency"; I've since started using an external battery pack to make sure I don't battery-bonk as well. I use the Strava beacon feature to transmit my location to my spouse; she did comment "I knew something didn't look right when I saw your progress deteriorate on route". An over-reliance on technical devices probably doesn't help either. Knowing how to recognize landmarks and understand map reading and such probably is an essential foundational skill that ought to be established first. Find a mate good at those skills and have them help you by going out on a "clinic" on new terrain and use old-school maps and apps to truly get to the heart of the matter and build your skills and then confidence. Good luck!
Love your enthusiasm! !! Looked like you absolutely loved the mtb ride.Been on my mates Boardman loving it to death😁😁😁.Getting my own in 2 weeks,can't. Wait.keep up the great videos your smile is infectious ps you are right about MTB warm as Toast.
I am not too good at navigation either at times. But I now use ‘ViewRanger’, alongside my other navigational aids, which is Kamoot and Google Maps. ViewRanger is essentially a very detailed ordnance survey map. You can download it onto your phone or navigational device so you can access it offline. It has options for mountain bike, touring bike, hiking, etc. When you are lost it pinpoints exactly where you are even if offline, so that facility has help me out loads of times. It doesn’t drain your battery either.
Great video as ever Juliet! There seem to be a lot of options for orienteer training: devonorienteering, compass works, britishorienteering (links won’t post); it’ll be interesting to hear more about if you decide to do some formal training!
Osmand+ The app store. Works off line. download the hillshade layer and contour lines enhancements. You will never get lost again, believe. It tells you where the 🎂 is for 💯 mile radius. Loads of other cool stuff worth exploring on and off road. Also sorry for saying enhancements. After thought, if you know the route your taking would it be possible to recon it prior to your bikepacking event. Might give you edge. Just saying.
I rode today its -7 here, loads of ice on the roads I fish tailed twice but only fell once, no damage but I think I will do Nordic walking until the ice has gone.
I started to gain a proper sense of direction when I began to comb the same exact area mixing biking and hiking, some walking added here and there 🚶♂️; Obviously if it's all new, you can't possibly have the time to square the situation up that slowly 🚦❌ Hope it was regenerating enough riding your MTB , even on the road it feels like e steady presence beneath yourself 🚵♂️
Love your videos, you are so lucky to be able to pick and mix a different bike, in an ideal world perhaps all keen cyclist would have a road, gravel and MTB. I’m in rural Suffolk and have a mix of country lanes, B roads and Byways, I can only afford one sub £1000 bike and Gravel is the weapon of choice, a road bike is awful on gritty pot holed lanes but a MTB is overkill for byways and dull on B roads so the gravel is king off all the terrain in my area, but now you’re giving me bike envy and I want move to the West Country, my wife will be cross🧐😬😉
Here's my totally made up theory on your inability to navigate: you're not good at monitoring your cardinal direction. You're only thinking in terms of "this lane connects to that path connects to that downhill to that spot ..." I think the way to test this would be that you should be able to stop at ANY point and know which way is north, S, E, W. You can carry a compass (or a smart phone) and check yourself. If you can't stop anywhere and figure out roughly which way is NESW (before looking at a device) then you need to work on that. Once you've got that nailed down, the 2nd level is: where am I going? At the start of your trip you should be able to point the direction to your ultimate destination, as if you could just fly straight there. And you should also be able to stop anywhere and point to where you're going, even if you're currently "going in the wrong direction" (often happens in order to follow a route). Theoretically, you can always get where you're going if your just follow the direction, but the "secret" to being able to navigate is to simultaneously know (a) the route, and (b) where you are relative to the destination. If you can't just keep track of your current direction you could start with having a constant display of direction while your ride. Maybe that will "train" you. (Totally made up theory. YMMV.)
Just watched your MTB video. You need an Electric MTB 😁 you won't regret it! You can keep your warm kit on and be comfortable. If you want to have a hard work out, keep on eco or turn motor off! Marin do a EMTB trail don't they? You need to have a word with them. Great videos 👍
1500 kils is impressive enough. Nav is difficult for most. Tech has helped quite a bit but even with it seems to have its challenges. Sometimes the adventure is the risk of being lost. Enjoy. Ohhh and girl eat that whole cake.
I think you're quite good at navigating - you're just being harsh on yourself. Everyone makes the odd mistake now and then. I was really impressed at how well you navigated around the Bare Bones route (only 1 mistake!), especially as you can't see any other competitors. I've watched plenty of documentaries on long-distance rides / ultra runs where someone loses the route at some point. So my advice is to brush up on your skills (def learn compass skills) and try the ViewRanger app that everyone is recommending, but then to think about your strategy for managing things when you go wrong. How will you check you're on the right route and how often? How will you deal with the mental strain of going wrong and making the route longer for yourself? That kind of thing.
When allowed see if any local Mountain Leaders do a navigation skills day, you should have plenty down there. Get an OS Explorer Map of your area, lay it out and learn what your surroundings look like on a much bigger picture than just a small smart phone screen. Too many people rely on smart phones or cycle computers and see the world as a tiny section on the screen. On another note, have you checked out Wim Hof on what he says about a cure for Raynaud's. Check his web site "Cold Therapy / What can I do against cold hands or cold feet". xx
Great positive video 👍I’m with you, Road bikes are no fun in the winter , my winter bike is a mountain bike from this winter onwards . Sorry to say that Gravel bikes are no good at anything in my opinion ( just marketing and sales) to many dog walkers on the small amount of gravel we have ! Well done for getting out 👍
I’ve owned a Cyclo-cross bike in the passed , but I personally didn’t like the gearing for the road . But yes I agree good fun through the mud 😄I live on the edge of the Peak District and find the terrain just to rocky for a gravel bike , but maybe it works better on the flat lands !? You are keeping us all motivated in these dark times 👍Great work .
There's a map reading course on the OU website. Google "open university map reading" it's better than getting lost. Have you got room for paper maps???
Never tried the lemon version of the Co-op irresistable cake. Just had some of the chocolate version with fresh strawberries after my 3 hour cold road ride.
You are bad for my shopping list... gravel bike. mountain bike. The list is getting longer. Just a question not related to this video, you use the wattbike and I am thinking of buying one. I would use it for Zwift (racing and workouts) and wondered how good it is in following a workout and is it quick enough shifting when racing? But the main question I am trying to figure out is how easy it is to change the geometry of the bike. My wife is 5'1" and I am 6'3" i.e. we go from a geometry of a 3XS road bike (canyon) to mine which is akin to a 58cm frame size. I read the for/aft of saddle and bars is allen key. Still quick to adjust or a faff? Interesting to hear your view on this. Cheers
2 hours today. Feb 2021 U.K. Bloody freezing. Three layers and cycling leggings with a bandana under the bike helmet and over the ears. Thick leather gloves. Still got back with legs like ice cubes but great fun! Bracing doesn’t come close. Joggers out in shorts. Get real!
Hi Juliet, could you please tell us the exact type of Fizik winter boots you showed? Am in dire need of good winter boots right now! Thanks from Munich!
Oh and quote of the VLOG... "To hell with training, I'm going to get some cake!" Excellent form! My wife and I went out for a great ride yesterday, got home and our daughter had made ginger kisses... so good!
Look at a map and study your route the night before your ride,but then I don't mind getting lost,helps you to discover other routes,,I got the same type of cake earlier "carrot cake"with iced top and walnuts,yum yum yum,🤗🚴♂️
I did my share of cycling in a few different countries and only in the UK i have been lost almost on every single ride. I am sorry to say, but in the UK the trail and road marks are not always consistent or hidden behind bushes, or simply missing. So maybe it is not your fault (:
![ILLSLICK - KILLSHOT REMIX [FULL VERSION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RIK8RrqIAzE/mqdefault.jpg)
Personally I’m a MTB er and love your vids.. Great to see you out on it, maybe more MTB content.... 😘
Orienteering could be a great sport to help you train nav skills quickly. This is basically finding 30 points on a map as quickly as possible, so you have time pressure as well. Normally done running, but you can also choose walking, and bike versions are organised occasionally. Great fun!
Excellent! The frozen mud has made mountain biking GREAT fun lately. Faster than mud - but also fun as get knocked about off line the frozen ruts! I find that safe and fun! Also feel more secure on the slippy roads on the MTB than would on a gravel or racing bike. Love my Polaris waterproof socks. Not cheap but really work, and Merino lined. And Gore wind blocker outer wear and plenty of layers inside! I find myself taking layers off at times too! On the downs off road is more fun so no time to feel the cold. Good point on the slower speeds keeping us warmer. MTB is best for frozen or below riding!
I think I first discovered your channel back in the summer when looking for wild swimming videos.
A few weeks ago one of your videos popped up in my recommendations and you have seriously lifted my spirits.
You are always positive and energetic and look like you are so much fun and a great person to be around.
You have an amazing story and I loved the video about your career and all the different things you have done with your life. You really should write a book I would certainly listen to the audible person as long as you read it.
Stay safe and keep up the good work.
Thanks James!! I guess I just really enjoy riding my bike so it puts me in a good mood 😄
Feels like -14°f rides to work are just plain suffering but I'm still smiling since I'm on my bike
Hi Juliet, I stumbled upon your channel this morning while browsing and can't stop watching your little adventures out and about on your bike!
I started riding again myself a month or so ago after more than 20+ years and love it! Watching your videos just makes me want to get out there!
I suffer from numb, painfully cold fingers and toes while riding my bike too so this was the first video of yours that I watched. Hopefully new gloves and socks will do the trick :)
Secret to not getting cold : The couch. :) In my defence, it's -10 here and snow. Great vid again Juliet :) Also, no skully? my ears would be frozen....
I´m in Denmark-cold- went to the mountain bike.Hiking boots, ultra winter clothing in layers so i can take stuff off
if i get too hot. Usually i would ride my fixie, but the wind has been too much, plus the mountain bike
is fun for a change! But I do not ride off road any more. I´m 75 now so I don´t take the chances I used to!
I recommend picking up a book such as "Wilderness Navigation: Finding Your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS" (Bob Burns and Mike Burns, Mountaineers Books) and something like a Suunto MC-2 compass, assuming your bike packing adventure disallows using GPS. There are of course other books and compasses to choose from. That maze of country lanes you ride on would be a great place to practice, assuming you could find a detailed map.
My advice for navigation is to start riding with a map. Use it to go into areas you're not super familiar with but not so deep you can get totally lost. Little bits at a time and preferably by yourself. Got to work through it in your own head. You'll get tired of stopping to pull the map out, but it's the only way to learn. Also you can look at the map of your rides on strava tracing the path and recalling the route in your mind. Not many of us have an innate sense of direction, it takes practice 😁👍
Thanks for going out on the mtb. Missed seeing you venture out in crappy weather. You are truly in love with cycling. Ride safe.
Hi Juliet, whilst I use Komoot/Wahoo I also have OS - Ordinance Survey - app on my phone. It’s handy to work out routes and those ‘where the flip am I?’ ‘happenings!’ It will centre on your location and you can download map sections which can be used off-line. It has this really cool thing where you point phone and it will show you what is around and how far as you face different directions. Do love a map 🤗. Stay warm!
I learnt navigation a long time ago on a walking nav course and it was all old school OS maps and compass, which is what I still use today when I am hiking. Not so practical when cycling but it has definitely set me up with a good foundation on how to navigate. That said I got completely disorientated the other week when I was out on my gravel bike and ended up in completely the wrong place. It happens to the best of us. Like your videos by the way.
If I’m riding somewhere new, the day before I’ll click through the route turn by turn on Ride with GPS so I can follow it on the map. It gives me a rough mental image of the route. After the ride I might go back and review the route again, now remembering what those roads were actually like (and if I missed turns, where that happened.) I feel like doing this builds the skill of learning new routes from a map and I’ve gotten better at it each time.
Find North compared to your front door, where is the ocean compared to your front door, where is the nearest and biggest mountain compared to your front door, a little bit of concentration will keep north in your mind as you ride. Don't over think it or make it too complicated. North will do it for you. Have fun!
My recommendation for your navigation problem is a series of homing pigeons that can lead you aas you ride.
In some countries following street cats is quite an effective method if they are not asleep. Avoid monkeys, though as they are too smart for their own good and will just get you into trouble.
Hi Juliet, love the vid, these long wandering off road days are magic and the hard dry cold ground last week was especially good on the mtb. For exploring I use Memory Map app (Viewranger is similar) which position you on an OS map 'offline' on your phone so you can always see terrain and type of track choice (you could buy whole country or just a part of UK). For your event or any pre-planned route you can plot the route on Memory Map on your computer, then sync to your phone. Carrying and practicing compass use too is a good idea although I only tend to use that if in the hills proper. PS like you I use the mtb to kind of assess routes up here in the Highlands that I can then link up via the road sections on the gravel bike.
You should come over to the Dark Side more often, it's always much more fun. 🤙
Learn to use a compass. Map reading is learning to apply what you see on the map with your environment...landmarks..contours..can you use a gps to find grid reference,then compass to determine direction...or just knowing what direction you are heading in and check the compass to make sure you not totally going the wrong way...
Cake is a terrific motivator. 👍😁
When it opens up - try some mountain bike orienteering (bmbo)...3 hour events usually...and teaches you to use and orientate the map to find your way. Practice makes perfect
That's a great idea!
Navigation. I use viewranger app and I thoroughly recommend it. It's not free but it is very good. You get turn by turn sat nav style directions but on a 1:25000 ordnance survey map. So you can see at any time exactly on a map where you are. You do need a phone to use it so you would need to be able to charge. I use a 25000mah battery/power pack which easily lasts a couple of days.
For practicing navigation, do map and compass work by night.
Like everything in life navigation takes practice. What you learn: its just a mind process of constantly asking where am I and where do I want to go. Start easy. When I taught ocean navigation I actually started them out in a city with a map. Either by car or bike or walking go to places using a map. Then off to country roads, by car. Not using a gps but a paper map. All of the sudden you learn that a map ,a gps, a mountain, a tree, the sun or even a star are just tools that help you answer your two questions: Where am I and what general direction I need to follow. In order for these tools to help you, you need to study them before you go. Once you start your route make sure you know where you come from, this will lead you to answering the question of where you are. Then you need to decide where to go. When people get lost its because they have decided to go without truly knowing where they are. Before we went to ocean navigation courses they had to do a couple of find the flag games on land. Just practice. Study the map and visit the area if you can. You should be able to make it. If you have more detailed questions let me know… all the best. Love your videos!
We shall see how it goes for me this weekend. The high temp on Sunday in Memphis is about -6C. That's really cold for us. I may try to venture out.
On new or uncertain routes, you will improve your directional sense and be better oriented generally if you pause more frequently during a ride to take your bearings. I think as you become more aware of the north, south, east, west of your location relative to the general terrain and topography, you'll need fewer pauses.
One word to help with the cold: fugu.
Mtb is my choice for winter. Fixed, road on warmer windless days. 107kg helps me stay warm but is unhelpful on very hot days. I really hate indoor hamster wheels!
-1??? We need to get you out on a proper winter ride. The other night I did an hour fat biking on groomed snow in -14. It’s all good, enjoy your channel!
Good points about mountain-biking to generate more heat; you have to work harder to go slower (than the road/gravel bike) and has allowed me to ride 10 degrees F colder than if I were riding with road/gravel wind chill. Also riding on new snow further reduces the wind-chill effect and gets me off the road. It's really fun! Otherwise, I don't ride on trails in winter because they quickly get too muddy and rutted-up. I've been riding a lot of road recently waiting for the next snowstorm.
Like everything else, practice makes perfect , likely with map skills as well. I'd use my smartphone with my favorite map app ("MTB Project" or "Trailforks", etc) to verify my location and get used to knowing exactly where I'm at and when I've left the route. This has saved my hide at times when navigating solo in the mountains. I got "lost" when not verifying my relative location and going way too far off course, and then trying to bushwhack my way back to the perceived location of the trail. I bonked, spent hours back-tracking and re-tracking and aborting the ride as a result. Many lessons learned! My smartphone life-line was no use when the battery wore down in the middle of my "emergency"; I've since started using an external battery pack to make sure I don't battery-bonk as well. I use the Strava beacon feature to transmit my location to my spouse; she did comment "I knew something didn't look right when I saw your progress deteriorate on route". An over-reliance on technical devices probably doesn't help either. Knowing how to recognize landmarks and understand map reading and such probably is an essential foundational skill that ought to be established first. Find a mate good at those skills and have them help you by going out on a "clinic" on new terrain and use old-school maps and apps to truly get to the heart of the matter and build your skills and then confidence.
Good luck!
Love your enthusiasm! !! Looked like you absolutely loved the mtb ride.Been on my mates Boardman loving it to death😁😁😁.Getting my own in 2 weeks,can't. Wait.keep up the great videos your smile is infectious ps you are right about MTB warm as Toast.
Nice to see you with a MTB, so funny ride today with snow, Water, mud, gravel 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Great to see the MTB getting some use! PLUS! I've just learned how to set up my go pro on the chest mount! Great tips as always
I am not too good at navigation either at times. But I now use ‘ViewRanger’, alongside my other navigational aids, which is Kamoot and Google Maps. ViewRanger is essentially a very detailed ordnance survey map. You can download it onto your phone or navigational device so you can access it offline. It has options for mountain bike, touring bike, hiking, etc. When you are lost it pinpoints exactly where you are even if offline, so that facility has help me out loads of times. It doesn’t drain your battery either.
Thanks for the tip, i will try it out
Great video as ever Juliet! There seem to be a lot of options for orienteer training: devonorienteering, compass works, britishorienteering (links won’t post); it’ll be interesting to hear more about if you decide to do some formal training!
Getting on the bike can be hard in winter hey but worth it in the end. I love MTB's on savage byways they come into their own.
Osmand+ The app store. Works off line. download the hillshade layer and contour lines enhancements. You will never get lost again, believe. It tells you where the 🎂 is for 💯 mile radius. Loads of other cool stuff worth exploring on and off road. Also sorry for saying enhancements. After thought, if you know the route your taking would it be possible to recon it prior to your bikepacking event. Might give you edge. Just saying.
Beautiful biking country side. Must go there for a tour when travel is possible. Awesome.
I rode today its -7 here, loads of ice on the roads I fish tailed twice but only fell once, no damage but I think I will do Nordic walking until the ice has gone.
I started to gain a proper sense of direction when I began to comb the same exact area mixing biking and hiking, some walking added here and there 🚶♂️; Obviously if it's all new, you can't possibly have the time to square the situation up that slowly 🚦❌ Hope it was regenerating enough riding your MTB , even on the road it feels like e steady presence beneath yourself 🚵♂️
Crazy workouts. Inspirational. Really. Thank you and keep it upright.
Great vlog, very familiar route love those lanes 👍 I too get lost so my advice is not worth a lot but yeah maybe an online course would help
Thank you! I’ll look into that
How nice it must be to get to the top of a ridge and have trails and paths leading off in all directions. Lucky!
Love your videos, you are so lucky to be able to pick and mix a different bike, in an ideal world perhaps all keen cyclist would have a road, gravel and MTB. I’m in rural Suffolk and have a mix of country lanes, B roads and Byways, I can only afford one sub £1000 bike and Gravel is the weapon of choice, a road bike is awful on gritty pot holed lanes but a MTB is overkill for byways and dull on B roads so the gravel is king off all the terrain in my area, but now you’re giving me bike envy and I want move to the West Country, my wife will be cross🧐😬😉
Our local outdoor center bewerley park used to do adult learning courses look to see if someone like them do map reading courses
for navigation try a thumb compass and get some tips from orienteering
Looked fun around the bridleways. Will pay them a visit soon. The cottages in background for your cake stop are where I lived until 15yo :)
Keep navigating- practice, practice, practice!
Hi me and my mates ride tracks and bridleways in Dorset and Somerset, we use ordnance survey map screen shots on a mobile phone,works well for us.
Compass? I always bring one so I know in which general direction I’m going! When it’s cloudy you can’t use the sun for navigation.
Juliet you have some awesome skills, navigation is Not one of them 😁. You did manage to find cake though, so all is not lost. 🍰
Here's my totally made up theory on your inability to navigate: you're not good at monitoring your cardinal direction. You're only thinking in terms of "this lane connects to that path connects to that downhill to that spot ..." I think the way to test this would be that you should be able to stop at ANY point and know which way is north, S, E, W. You can carry a compass (or a smart phone) and check yourself. If you can't stop anywhere and figure out roughly which way is NESW (before looking at a device) then you need to work on that. Once you've got that nailed down, the 2nd level is: where am I going? At the start of your trip you should be able to point the direction to your ultimate destination, as if you could just fly straight there. And you should also be able to stop anywhere and point to where you're going, even if you're currently "going in the wrong direction" (often happens in order to follow a route). Theoretically, you can always get where you're going if your just follow the direction, but the "secret" to being able to navigate is to simultaneously know (a) the route, and (b) where you are relative to the destination. If you can't just keep track of your current direction you could start with having a constant display of direction while your ride. Maybe that will "train" you. (Totally made up theory. YMMV.)
Just watched your MTB video. You need an Electric MTB 😁 you won't regret it! You can keep your warm kit on and be comfortable. If you want to have a hard work out, keep on eco or turn motor off! Marin do a EMTB trail don't they? You need to have a word with them.
Great videos 👍
1500 kils is impressive enough. Nav is difficult for most. Tech has helped quite a bit but even with it seems to have its challenges. Sometimes the adventure is the risk of being lost. Enjoy. Ohhh and girl eat that whole cake.
I think you're quite good at navigating - you're just being harsh on yourself. Everyone makes the odd mistake now and then. I was really impressed at how well you navigated around the Bare Bones route (only 1 mistake!), especially as you can't see any other competitors. I've watched plenty of documentaries on long-distance rides / ultra runs where someone loses the route at some point. So my advice is to brush up on your skills (def learn compass skills) and try the ViewRanger app that everyone is recommending, but then to think about your strategy for managing things when you go wrong. How will you check you're on the right route and how often? How will you deal with the mental strain of going wrong and making the route longer for yourself? That kind of thing.
In my search for warm feet led me to Seal Skin soxs. Comfort over style!
You need to come ride in North East, America, Great Lakes region. Lake effect cold and snow, inches - feet of snow.
Honestly I gotta say I prefer to ride in warm weather. I'm only riding in snow here as I have no choice
I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself - Devon and Cornwall are navigational phantom zones. Which event are you planning to do?
Doesn't Skilleshare have any navigation courses?
Better to be too warm than too cold! Some of those tracks are well chewed up.
Compass ~ fixed to handlebar to give you general direction
Only if you know which way you’re meant to be going 🤣
You could try Orienteering to improve your navigation skills
When allowed see if any local Mountain Leaders do a navigation skills day, you should have plenty down there. Get an OS Explorer Map of your area, lay it out and learn what your surroundings look like on a much bigger picture than just a small smart phone screen. Too many people rely on smart phones or cycle computers and see the world as a tiny section on the screen. On another note, have you checked out Wim Hof on what he says about a cure for Raynaud's. Check his web site "Cold Therapy / What can I do against cold hands or cold feet". xx
Dump the electronic navigation stuff for a month. Get a map and compass and look upwards, the sun is an awesome pointer!!
Great positive video 👍I’m with you, Road bikes are no fun in the winter , my winter bike is a mountain bike from this winter onwards . Sorry to say that Gravel bikes are no good at anything in my opinion ( just marketing and sales) to many dog walkers on the small amount of gravel we have !
Well done for getting out 👍
Thanks Paul!
Have you ridden one? They’re brilliant fun!
I’ve owned a Cyclo-cross bike in the passed , but I personally didn’t like the gearing for the road . But yes I agree good fun through the mud 😄I live on the edge of the Peak District and find the terrain just to rocky for a gravel bike , but maybe it works better on the flat lands !?
You are keeping us all motivated in these dark times 👍Great work .
Map and a (handle bar mounted?) compass. Practice using them first.
Cake 🎂 and mountain biking 🚵♂️. Can’t beat it.
Wow! Epic Icy ride. Are those glasses Photochromatic or did you change lenses when you got outdoors?
Photochromatic
There's a map reading course on the OU website. Google "open university map reading" it's better than getting lost. Have you got room for paper maps???
Never tried the lemon version of the Co-op irresistable cake. Just had some of the chocolate version with fresh strawberries after my 3 hour cold road ride.
nice fun video as always, just wondering if you made it through that big mud puddle right by the dog, navigation is not my strong suit either
Have you ever tried kamoot? You can plan out courses and even link up with a smart bike computer like a Garmin or wahoo.
Yep, I do use it
@@JulietElliottsChannel and you still get lost?
My ears would fall off without any head cover :D
Variety is the spice of life !!great video Juliet.I guess that practice makes perfect with the map reading 😂👌👍
You are bad for my shopping list... gravel bike. mountain bike. The list is getting longer. Just a question not related to this video, you use the wattbike and I am thinking of buying one. I would use it for Zwift (racing and workouts) and wondered how good it is in following a workout and is it quick enough shifting when racing? But the main question I am trying to figure out is how easy it is to change the geometry of the bike. My wife is 5'1" and I am 6'3" i.e. we go from a geometry of a 3XS road bike (canyon) to mine which is akin to a 58cm frame size. I read the for/aft of saddle and bars is allen key. Still quick to adjust or a faff? Interesting to hear your view on this. Cheers
Love your mtb vids. Would like to see more. I know your a pro, but I wish my wife could ride like you. She does too. She also gets lost easily.
One tip could be to do the race with a friend who is tops with a compass ! Great vid, I’m off out tomorrow....
What a ride!!! Pure, pure MTB fun! :)
I love when you say morning
The mtb race your in can we watch the dot via spot tracker? Cheer you on..
@juliet Elliot take a survival course. They teach basic map reading skills. LOL, life before Garmin.
sounds fun. Maybe I will
Riders in Canada, Finland etc ...get quite a chuckle out of what the British call "cold" 😉
2 hours today. Feb 2021 U.K. Bloody freezing. Three layers and cycling leggings with a bandana under the bike helmet and over the ears. Thick leather gloves. Still got back with legs like ice cubes but great fun! Bracing doesn’t come close. Joggers out in shorts. Get real!
When in doubt i use the compass on my (mapless) Garmin, discovered i was heading south when i thought i was heading west
Hi Juliet, could you please tell us the exact type of Fizik winter boots you showed? Am in dire need of good winter boots right now! Thanks from Munich!
sure, Fizik Terra Arctica x2
Oh and quote of the VLOG... "To hell with training, I'm going to get some cake!" Excellent form! My wife and I went out for a great ride yesterday, got home and our daughter had made ginger kisses... so good!
I’m directionally impaired too. If I’m going forward, I think I’m going north. 🤷🏻♀️ No sense of direction.
-5c here flask of hot coffee, and flat pedals with walking boots
Navigation is something youve either got or not as instinct but if not garmin device or similar
Lake make wonderful winter boots. Toasty.
Mountain bike and cake.... Perfect
Just wondering about your helmet in this video looks great any chance of a review/ price?
Look at a map and study your route the night before your ride,but then I don't mind getting lost,helps you to discover other routes,,I got the same type of cake earlier "carrot cake"with iced top and walnuts,yum yum yum,🤗🚴♂️
I did my share of cycling in a few different countries and only in the UK i have been lost almost on every single ride. I am sorry to say, but in the UK the trail and road marks are not always consistent or hidden behind bushes, or simply missing. So maybe it is not your fault (:
My secret is don’ t go out 🥶😂🤣😅 stay safe out there👍
Thats boring as hell though
@@coviddodger2692 it’s a joke🤡
Here in Portugal is already spring tg
Love the videos keep them coming
thank you
Mtb bridleways and dogs must surely be more fun than roads and cars 😃 I love it
Who did you say sponsored your ride today? Maybe they have an on-line course in navigation? Just a thought.
Great thought! I’ll check
Juliette does 1500k bikepacking race and inexplicably ends up in Kazakhstan with Borat...please make sure your filming it!
How many GoPros are you filming with?
practise makes perfect