ILLUSTRATION: DEAN FOSTER

THE BIG PICTURE PREVAILS

Emily, I thoroughly enjoy your columns but the Nov/Dec 2022 one (“Looking at the Big Picture”) about using a paper map when riding really resonated with me. For me, a GPS gets you from A to B, while a paper map gets you to explore and dream and look at alternative routes. I do use a GPS when I’m in a new city and have to get to a specific location, otherwise I just explore.

Whenever I end up in a new province or state, the first place I stop is the tourist bureau to pick up the provincial/state map. I sit and look at it, then out comes a highlighter to mark a couple of possible routes. I’m on my second copy of the Perly’s Ontario Ride Guide as the first one fell apart after too many years of getting wet and marked up. I had to buy it used on Facebook, as it is no longer printed.