Tim asked for a bicycle GPS for his birthday; unfortunately, when we looked into it, we found that said devices are far more expensive than we can afford on our meager, double-student, seriously-are-we-ever-going-to-have-real-jobs salaries.
So we have continued to print out the directions for our bike routes on small pieces of paper, laminate them with packing tape, and fashion them to our cycles or bodies with various sophisticated mechanisms such as clothespins, hair elastics, safety pins, or pieces of string found on the side of the road. Sometimes I get lazy and just write the directions on my arm with a sharpie.
Today, however, we made a last-minute change and rode the Great Brook Ramble instead of what we had originally planned.
We didn’t have the directions, and hadn’t ridden the route for a couple years. We decided to wing it, and hoped that the turns would look familiar.
About half-way through the ride (coincident with a very familiar feeling that I didn’t actually know where I was in relation to the rest of the physical world), I recalled that my phone has navigation capabilities, so I punched in the cross streets of our endpoint. I tucked the phone away and as I rode with the wind on my back, my chest occasionally vibrated and piped up with helpful advice such as, “In 600 feet, turn left.”
Garmin, you’re so not needed.
The route took us past many small farms, Great Brook Farm State Forest, and some gorgeous houses I’ll never, even with a real job, be able to afford. I believe the following field becomes a cranberry bog in the fall.
“Smile!” I said.
“No,” he said.
Luckily his glare looks kind of like a smirk, which is kind of like a smile, which indicates that the subject of this photo is enjoying himself.
5 comments:
Ironically, we just discovered our phones have the same capability yesterday, as we were driving around Cache Valley! Very convenient! And, don't worry, you aren't alone in wondering if a double student situation will ever turn into real jobs!!!
Ha, ha...I would love it if you would use your GPS phone app out in public, like a store, and it must remain close to your bosom during this expedition. That would be fantastic.
Is the "buzzing in the bosom" related to the "burning in the bosom"? (You know, good directions-good decisions?) The bike ride looked absolutely beautiful. Nice choice.
You look ultra tough lifting your bike. I mean, come on! It must weigh a finity of pounds. :)
Looks like a fantastic adventure. I'm so glad your phone is so smart.
I had to read this post--the title was irresistible. Glad you're getting out and about, and have such high tech wonders to help you get lost, I mean, NOT get lost! Sheesh!
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