The zumo 595LM is the latest and greatest GPS from Garmin. The screen is large and easy to use with gloves on, and new features make it more useful than ever. Photos by the author.
I?m a late GPS adopter; I first started using one on my bike about five years ago, when I was planning a ride from Fort Collins, Colorado, to the Overland Expo outside Flagstaff, Arizona. I still like to carry paper maps, but it?s nice to be able to glance down and see where you are, and in unfamiliar towns I like having the voice in my helmet telling me where to turn, allowing me to give the surroundings my full attention.
When I heard about Garmin?s new 595LM model, my interest was piqued, mostly because of one feature in particular: Garmin Adventurous Routing, which calculates routes that include curves and hills, and avoid major highways. The user can adjust the ?intensity? of the adventure using a sliding scale with three settings for each feature: all the way to the left (fewer hills and curves and more major highways), the middle and all the way to the right (more hills and curves and fewer major highways). More on that in a moment. The 595LM is fairly straightforward to install, with the most difficult part being routing all the cables?in addition to power, there are three mic/line-in/line-out jacks plus a USB?under the gas tank and/or fairings. It comes with a U-shaped bracket that mounts on most handlebars, as well as a suction cup and 12V cigarette lighter adapter for use in a car.
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