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Had a bash at one of these at the weekend : good fun.
I found (once I learned to ignore the 'Red Mist') that I kept loosing track of where I was on the map.
The map was in a holder thingy on the H/bars, leant to me.
Anybody got a solution gizmo ?
Bluetack maybe or a pushpin but they'd come off too easily....
Do they give you writen paper directions? If so when doing these on motorbike we used to tape them together then onto tubes put in a roller box made from 2 lengths of small dia plastic pipe in a lunchbox taped to the handlebars. As you go and read of the instructions then you turn it to next isntruction, rolling it from one tube to 't other.
However. if they just give a grid location to go, that's all useless information to you.
I use a Miry map board, but there are some other similar ones available elsewhere these days e.g. Nordmark
Just google "map board"
What's the problem mate - the map is held and displayed on the bike OK, but you want to mark your location on it?
I think you just need to learn to do it mentally - it would be too fiddly and time-consuming to put some sort of temporary marker on it as you go along. It's a main skill (and attraction) of the sport - rapid map reading and course-plotting when cycling.
[sry if I've misunderstood the q]
A good tip for the checkpoint descriptors (usually on a small piece of paper separate to the map IME) is to rubber band them around your forearm. That way you can easily look at them without arsing around with a separate bit of paper.
Yeah you got it Garry - a way of marking my realtime position on the mapboard without memorising it.
I cellotaped up the descriptors so they would not get trashed!
He's got a mapholder. He just hasn't got a memory function. Steel plate under the map and a magnet? ;0)
Hmm. Chewing gum ? The maps are smooth stuff though.
Permanent pen ? What if I go wrong... potential though.
Pins and a wooden board may be a go-er....
Thats a nice mapholder though. 🙂
He just hasn't got a memory function.
OK, in which case maybe one of these and a navigator?
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Are you worried about missing a turning or something? What we used to do was at key points, say a turning we needed to take, we'd look for an obvious point\feature (house\pub\telephone box etc) just beyond the turning and basically if we got there we'd gone too far, but not by much if you get my drift, turn back and take turning - repeat between all key points....
OHP/whiteboard pen
or better still, practice. In time, you'll be able to hold more route in your head.
Ah I see. Sorry, misread the OP.
Did you have a rotating map board?
For MTBO (on an orienteering map, probably 1:15,000) you need one. As you ride along you rotate the map so that it is always orientated to the direction you are going, which makes it easier to read on the move.
At a trailquest type event (what they now call score MTBO !!) you are using a 1:25,000 or 1:50:000 OS map with more widely spaced checkpoints so fast nav isn't generally so much of an issue.
Also, you'll note that the Miry and others have the board mounted a fair way above the handlebars, which also helps.
I use a Miry board and have historically used a thin metal plate and magnet but now use wee bits of electrical,tape and move them around. Works fine.