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@Fox
Until I got a Garmin for Christmas I'd successfully plotted and navigated routes of up to and over 100 miles with this sort of thing:
It worked fine - I never really got lost and found it quite reliable, so far more reliable than the Garmin actually (I never once felt the urge to throw my route cards in a hedge), but I am very much still getting the hang of it.
The reason I got a Garmin was because it is easier to plan a route out in ridewithgps, upload it to the Garmin then go; my standard previous procedure was map in ridewithgps, copy route directions, go through in streetview and correct/enhance them, print out onto 10" x 4" cards, go for rides. I still sort of prefer this method, but it's very time consuming, which is why I got the Garmin.
Ironically Paul, you might find that a Garmin with navigation stops you worrying about the stats, because if you're following yourself on the map you don't see the stats, you just see a little blue triangle on a map. So I haven't found that having the Garmin on makes me want to crush personal bests or become a stats nerd.
Of course, you don't need to buy a Garmin to achieve this, just buy some of this:
And tape over your screen. Et voila, your ride is no longer competitive :)