A couple of times I’ve thought about buying some kind of navigation device such as a Garmin or even using an app on my phone but always talked myself out of it. There are a few reasons why and here are the main ones.

• Cost. As far as I can see a half-decent bike computer will cost well over a hundred pounds. Reading up on these it looks as though anything less would be false economy.
• Need. I think I have got lost once in the last four or five years that I’ve been cycling and that was because of a mis-placed sign.
• Aesthetics. I go cycling to escape the world in which I am surrounded by technology. Taking it with me (apart from a phone for safety purposes) would seem to defeat that purpose.
• I like maps. I can get all the information I need from a paper map or a physical guide-book.
• Power. These things need charging every so often and if there’s no power source available, do I need an old fashioned back-up anyway?

Maybe I will change my mind or someone will convince me of the advantages of an electronic navigation device but until then, paper wins.