Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Cycle-touring, Expeditions, Adventures, Major cycle routes NOT LeJoG (see other special board)
pwa
Posts: 17357
Joined: 2 Oct 2011, 8:55pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by pwa »

Cowsham wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 4:10pm
freeflow wrote: 11 Nov 2021, 4:32am A smart phone is a tool. Treat it as such and your life will be immesurably better. No need for existential angst when you can switch them off untill you decide you want to use the tool.

+1 the smart phone has enabled me. I see it as a means to be more mobile and adventurous wrt cycle touring. If stuff goes wrong I can book a place to stay or summon help or book other transport eg ferry or train journeys etc.
I fully understand and appreciate these points, and I don't think they are wrong. But cycle touring is a game that we play and we can shape it the way we want to. And one trick is to cut yourself off from your normal life. Leave it behind, just for a while. Sure, you can still take a smartphone and do that but you will need some discipline if you do.
gloomyandy
Posts: 1140
Joined: 16 Mar 2012, 10:46pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by gloomyandy »

In terms of "asking locals" I think it may very well depend on whereabouts you are. I agree that asking someone in a town about campsites is probably not going to work. However asking a local who is out walking a dog in say the Outer Hebrides for a good spot to pitch a tent may well give a useful answer. I've also found that locals in more remote places often "know someone" who can help and are happy to take the time to help you. Similarly I've often found that if say the B&B I contacted is full, then the owner may well be able to suggest someone else that may have room. Perhaps it comes down to the type of community you are visiting?
User avatar
Cowsham
Posts: 4951
Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by Cowsham »

pwa wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 5:05am
Cowsham wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 4:10pm
freeflow wrote: 11 Nov 2021, 4:32am A smart phone is a tool. Treat it as such and your life will be immesurably better. No need for existential angst when you can switch them off untill you decide you want to use the tool.

+1 the smart phone has enabled me. I see it as a means to be more mobile and adventurous wrt cycle touring. If stuff goes wrong I can book a place to stay or summon help or book other transport eg ferry or train journeys etc.
I fully understand and appreciate these points, and I don't think they are wrong. But cycle touring is a game that we play and we can shape it the way we want to. And one trick is to cut yourself off from your normal life. Leave it behind, just for a while. Sure, you can still take a smartphone and do that but you will need some discipline if you do.
Oh I won't need discipline -- battery life dictates that. Don't have farcebook or what'sapp either. Would give my details to that shower of .... I have no need for it.

True the best knowledge is local and I ask people I meet often getting great help. But for the small weight penalty having a window to a great resource is a tool I can use to further my adventures.
I am here. Where are you?
simonhill
Posts: 5211
Joined: 13 Jan 2007, 11:28am
Location: Essex

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by simonhill »

I note that Horizon (the OP many pages back) said he would ditch for "a short winter tour". I don't know what short is for him or where, but guess it is in the UK. For my last summer's Travelodge and Wetherspoons tour in E Anglia I could easily have ditched my phone. For my just ended tour in Portugal it was invaluable.

Last minute changes to UK entry rules had me booking a new PCR test as the LFT one I had sitting at home was no good anymore. I also had to renew my (time limited) NHS COVID certificate and then had to fill in a detailed online passenger locator form - results sent by email or download. All this stuff was needed at airport check in and was done 1 day before departure. Plus my boarding pass which is e-only and therefore on the phone.

When people say - we used to do it without a phone, so still could, rather ignores that the world has moved on. I didn't want to do any of the above, it was forced on me. I could have done most of it on a hotel/cafe computer and printer, but whether I sit on my hotel bed with phone or in the lobby on a PC isn't too much different, just one hardware generation removed. Doing it without the internet would have been impossible.

With the demise of film, I stopped taking photos, mainly because I never looked at them and many were becoming 'samey'. The camera on my phone was never used until I realised it could occasionally be useful for other purposes, much like a pictorial notebook. One such was to photo an estate car style taxi to show to hotel booking that I needed a car like that.

So, Cycle touring - time to ditch the smartphone - depends where you are going.
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by horizon »

simonhill wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 4:01pm I note that Horizon (the OP many pages back) said he would ditch for "a short winter tour". I don't know what short is for him or where, but guess it is in the UK. For my last summer's Travelodge and Wetherspoons tour in E Anglia I could easily have ditched my phone. For my just ended tour in Portugal it was invaluable.
Actually I agree with you but ironically it was in France last year (in the middle of the pandemic) when I had my Damascene conversion. The battery had finally run out, it was near the end of the day, a couple of locals had put me on the right track and the campsite was marked in the map. I don't doubt that the battery problem could have been fixed. But the yellow Michelin maps I had with me were perfect: I could select routes much more easily and each camping municipal was marked next to the name of the town. Even the radio was of little use. Coming back through Newhaven was a bit comical with the Border Force man trying to QR my phone for me (or whatever) - my ignorance didn't need to be feigned, it was real enough (he let me go on the promise that I fill in the form at home).
When people say - we used to do it without a phone, so still could, rather ignores that the world has moved on.
Yes, that's true. Having said that, I reckon a tour in the UK is still possible and the other thing I would say is that we as a society might have taken things a bit too far too quickly. I do acknowledge though that public phones have disappeared, handbooks and guides are now on-line only and what was printed paper is now digital.

There is a parallel thread on here about the problem of car batteries running down if you very rarely use your car. The same for me is true of the smart phone: unless you really indulge, it might be used only rarely and isn't worth the faff but cannot quite be ditched altogether. I think what this thread is about is that moment when you take the plunge, throw a couple of babies out with the bathwater and relish the freedom (though if that were an easy decision I don't think I would have bothered sharing my thoughts about it on this thread).
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
tatanab
Posts: 5030
Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by tatanab »

horizon wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 5:52pmBut the yellow Michelin maps I had with me were perfect: I could select routes much more easily and each camping municipal was marked next to the name of the town.
Beware, those maps show only the sites that are in the Michelin Camping Guide, which is not a great many.
BikeBuddha
Posts: 52
Joined: 11 Aug 2019, 6:15pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by BikeBuddha »

Jdsk wrote: 11 Nov 2021, 9:46am What hasn't come up...

... safety issues.

... using a smart 'phone as a satnav device can mean one less piece of technology. Ditto camera.

... all of the other things that a smart 'phone can do.

Jonathan
I hear using a phone as a satnave is quite draining, meaning you have to charge with your dynamo hub, all day...
User avatar
freiston
Posts: 1500
Joined: 6 Oct 2013, 10:20am
Location: Coventry

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by freiston »

BikeBuddha wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 10:22pm
Jdsk wrote: 11 Nov 2021, 9:46am What hasn't come up...

... safety issues.

... using a smart 'phone as a satnav device can mean one less piece of technology. Ditto camera.

... all of the other things that a smart 'phone can do.

Jonathan
I hear using a phone as a satnave is quite draining, meaning you have to charge with your dynamo hub, all day...
That's not my experience. What I find that particularly drains the battery when out and about are apps that are repeatedly trying to check in with a server when the data signal is poor. For navigating, I use Osmand which can work offline and so I can keep the phone in airplane mode and the battery will last very well; I have done this once when a change of plan meant that I had 40 miles of little lanes to navigate but no planned route - the route auto-planned by Osmand was very good. Otherwise, my preferred method of navigating with the phone is to load a previously prepared gpx track onto Osmand and just check the phone every so often to make a mental note of the next three turns or so and that I am on track (I don't use Osmand in its navigation mode - I just use the map with the line and the ability to locate me on the map). This way, my battery seems to require no more charging than it does for my usual usage even without resorting to airplane mode.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
User avatar
Cowsham
Posts: 4951
Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by Cowsham »

tatanab wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 6:26pm
horizon wrote: 1 Dec 2021, 5:52pmBut the yellow Michelin maps I had with me were perfect: I could select routes much more easily and each camping municipal was marked next to the name of the town.
Beware, those maps show only the sites that are in the Michelin Camping Guide, which is not a great many.
I find tourist maps are best to take with you for each area you're travelling in. I take my phone as well but I find the map is easier to look at on the go and saves phone battery.
I am here. Where are you?
rareposter
Posts: 1964
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by rareposter »

There seems to be an almost irrational fear of needing to have the phone within a few feet of a socket all day.

Modern smartphones will last nearly 2 days of "average use" on a single charge. I've extended mine to 4 days without a charge by putting it on battery saving mode which dramatically cuts down on the phone trying to update itself, send notifications (like "John has just updated his story on Facebook" stuff, it removes all of that) and dims the screen a bit when you are using it.

Sure if you start hammering it, playing music or streaming video, it'll absolutely trash the battery life but, as people on here have suggested, on a cycle tour you're riding the bike and interacting with what is around you, not using the phone much. I've done entire days where it's only come out for photos and even in normal mode it'll still have 70%+ of battery life left in it.
Cowsham wrote: 30 Nov 2021, 4:10pm
+1 the smart phone has enabled me. I see it as a means to be more mobile and adventurous wrt cycle touring. If stuff goes wrong I can book a place to stay or summon help or book other transport eg ferry or train journeys etc.
This - you've got an unbelievably useful tool with you that can (under most normal conditions in a modern country) tell you pretty much anything about anything. From basics like the nearest place to stay or a station to much more advanced things like translating languages, I can't understand why anyone would want to remove that - it enables you to do so much more.
Sure I've done days out and tours before smartphones much the same way as I got through school without the internet but in an era where most people are connected and most people (and companies) expect you to have that connectivity, not using a smartphone is like telling someone you live off grid. Of course you can do it but it's kind of easier not to!
User avatar
horizon
Posts: 11275
Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Cornwall

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by horizon »

rareposter wrote: 2 Dec 2021, 2:55pm I can't understand why anyone would want to remove that - it enables you to do so much more.
I've done my best to explain it but even I struggle to put my finger on it exactly.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
mattheus
Posts: 5030
Joined: 29 Dec 2008, 12:57pm
Location: Western Europe

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by mattheus »

horizon wrote: 2 Dec 2021, 3:35pm
rareposter wrote: 2 Dec 2021, 2:55pm I can't understand why anyone would want to remove that - it enables you to do so much more.
I've done my best to explain it but even I struggle to put my finger on it exactly.
It's like asking why anyone would want to go without a roof over their head and a comfy sofa;

if you have to ask ...

:)
User avatar
TrevA
Posts: 3545
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by TrevA »

I remember when we did our JOGLE in 2009. It was before the rise of the smartphone, so everything was done using paper. We had phones, but not smartphones. We had 1:250,000 maps of the whole country, with the route marked on in highlighter. These were mostly great, but not in towns, as they weren’t detailed enough. We often got lost. We sometimes had to resort to following a compass bearing, knowing that we were heading generally south.

We booked all our accommodation in advance and for each place, printed off a map showing where it was. However, we still had to resort to ringing the B&B, stating “we are at X, how do we get to you”. It would have been far easier to pull out a smartphone and look at Google maps to navigate our way there.

We were doing a blog of our ride, but we had to keep finding places that had internet access - libraries, Internet cafes, etc, so could only update it every few days. Again, would have been far easier to update on the phone as we went along.

So whilst you can tour without a smartphone, life is easier if you do have one with you, even if it’s only for used for emergencies.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
toontra
Posts: 1182
Joined: 21 Dec 2007, 11:01am
Location: London

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by toontra »

TrevA wrote: 2 Dec 2021, 5:57pm So whilst you can tour without a smartphone, life is easier if you do have one with you, even if it’s only for used for emergencies.
Indeed. I've toured pre and post smartphone and certainly know which I prefer. Arsing around with paper maps in strong wind and rain still haunts me.

If you already own one, then to leave it at home whilst touring would be a strange choice indeed. Bad things can happen at any stage on a ride and having the use of smartphone features may actually save you a lot of time, money or maybe worse.

If it annoys you just turn it off until/if you need it. I can't see any downside.
JJF
Posts: 324
Joined: 17 Feb 2007, 9:14pm

Re: Cycle touring: time to ditch the smart phone?

Post by JJF »

I have a smartphone but can only use it for a very limited range of functions....certainly not for navigation. Unfortunately I don't have grandchildren living near. Is there a book or other source of information?
Post Reply