Directions and Detours

Not quite a year ago, I bought a Delorme Earthmate PN-30 to use while cycling.  The PN-30 is a GPS unit that mounts to my handlebars.  I must say that I love it because it allows me to create routes from mapping software, and then once those routes are loaded into the unit, gives me turn by turn directions while riding.  It also comes in handy when the route isn't rideable.  Here is a picture of the GPS in my "cockpit", as us cycling types call it. 

Once again, Saturday was a gorgeous albeit chilly and windy day in the Boston area. Strangely, it felt more like Fall than Spring, but I like both seasons equally, so it's all good. Of course, I went out with Dan for another ride.

We were to do a 57 mile ride through Cambridge, Sudbury, Wayland, and Needham, which ended up being a 63 mile ride.  Gotta love those bonus miles.  The main reason for the bonus mileage was this:

Several of the roads around the river (the Sudbury?) that runs through Sudbury and Wayland were still flooded from all the rain we have had.  So, this is where the handy GPS unit I use on rides comes into play.  A few minor adjustments to the route and we were on our way.  Until we got here:

So we decided to check it out anyway.  It was actually pretty cool.

And, of course, a gratuitous bike shot.  This is the type of thing that the Rivendell Bike Group on Google drools over.  They might comment on how the tweed rack bag matches so well with the scenery.

All I can say is thank goodness for the GPS.  It tells me where to go, and keeps me from being swept away by the raging currents of the mighty Sudbury.

The interesting thing about GPS is that sometimes it routes you to where the road isn't much of a road.  Dan and I ran into this situation today, too.  After cutting through Babson College, we were supposed to take a right on some street, but it was essentially just a trail through the woods.  Being the adventurers we are, we took the trail.  After some meandering and a little bit of dirt road, we came to this:

Which from the other side looked like this:

It was pretty creepy, but since we were in Wellesley, most likely on Babson College property, and not in the middle of nowhere, we pressed on and eventually got back on track.  However, if I run into any dirty sundresses draped across barricades at 3:00 AM in rural New Hampshire, I might have to give this randonneuring business a second thought.