Jim,
Probably better street name pronunciations in English, but they still leave a lot to be desired. Not close enough to make any sense quite a bit depending on the name it is mangling. Wife & I laugh about it & usually can figure out what it means, but not always.
Like the idea of telling which town to head towards - many roads here are just numbers (Zumo gives the street name usually) but many turns do have the next town on the road sign. I have ound several dirt road/no road "turns" also. It will recalculate the route but sometimes wants to take the "no road" road anyway.
Mike
Hi Mike. Yes, the wife and I laughed at lot at the French ones especially! Trouble is you don't have time to try to figure out exactly what the street is (even if there IS a sign with the street name). Sounds like the street name is also a problem for you too.
Dirt roads? Hmmmmm.......... touchy subject! So, I'm in deepest rural France. FULLY loaded, wife on the back, nice and <top> heavy. Riding with a big group, heading for a city. However, we have a friend who lives not too far off the route, so we tell the group leader that when we get to the back of the group (we are using the 2
nd man drop off system) - I'll tell the Zumo to take me to my friend's place, and we'll catch them up in the evening at the hotel. All goes according to plan, we are at the back, Zumo says take next road on the left. I wave goodbye and take it. It's a very narrow road, about 10' or 12' wide. First corner is 50 yards after the junction, a hairpin left. Then 100 yards downhill to a 90 degree right. Another 50 yards, and the tar disappears - it's now a dirt road, but not TOO bad. Zumo says it's just a mile long so I figure I can manage a mile. Uphill another ¼ mile, and a hairpin left over a crest, now going downhill. Surface is getting seriously bad, but Zumo is still telling me this is the correct route. Car/truck tracks are deep, rocky ruts, center is a grass covered hump, verges are rough vegetation. Steep downhill towards a right hand hairpin, and despite Zumo's assurance, the rapidly worsening surface tells me "no way, dude!" - so I need to turn. But I'm on a steep dirt road, 10' wide with huge ruts and no verges to speak of. Ahead looms another right hand downhil hairpin..... I stop, the mrs gets off, and at the hairpin I take about 30 cuts to turn round, with the air temp around 100 degrees. My legs are burning, the 110 is doing what 110s do when they reach 1000F, the wife is in tears, but I get round. I point the bike back up the tank-testing track, and decide I HAVE to stop, or the flesh on my thighs will start to go crispy and black. So I'm at the side of the track, and put my (short, stumpy - I'm a little over 5'5") legs down. Except the left one is smack in the middle of the left hand rut. About 3" or 4" lower than the other side. You can guess what's coming - yup, down goes the bike, completely on its side, onto the rocks, not just the usual 30 degree angle, but horizontal. I'm seriously pissed at Zumo; wife loses it completely; we are stuck miles from anywhere in stinking hot temperatures, bike is horizontal and what do we do next..... Luckily along come another couple - walkers - who help lift the bike (with damage, grrrr...), then ask why I was crazy enough to bring the world's heaviest tourer onto a true off-road experience for armoured vehicles..... I say, in my best French accent "Le Zumo...." and they nod, knowingly! Off we go again.....................
Jim