Using Google Maps to navigate on bike rides
I've never really found Google Maps to be of any use for navigating bike rides. It gets your position wrong, does not alert you to turns (or too late), mistakenly tells you you're on the wrong way when you're not, takes you off major roads you could follow and into little side streets for on reason, and more.
Yesterday I gave it a try while going a well-known (to me) and mostly straightforward route. Here's a summary of how often different things happened:
- "GPS signal lost": 9
- Tells me I'm on the wrong way when I'm not: 1
- Alerts me to a turn about 200 meters after I've already taken it: 1
- Fails to alert me to a turn: 6
- Gives correct instructions at the right time: 0
It's 2024, and this is Google. The sat nav system in my parents' car did better 25 years ago, literally. How?