South America and back on a 250 Super Sherpa Minimalist Adventure

Hi Rory,

It has taken some learning to figure out the iPad. Much like a GPS or different operating system, it is a bit like learning a new language. Is it useful as a travel computer? Well, so far so good. I am a bit slow as I am learning how a touchscreen tablet works differently than a laptop. But my needs are simple when out on the road. My sister was kind enough to include a small bluetooth keyboard as well as a camera connection dongle for inserting the memory card from my camera to upload photos. The keyboard is nice since it allows faster typing and has function keys for [ / ] that I have to type to link to photos in ride reports. I am quicker typing on a keyboard than tapping on the onscreen touch keyboard. Also, the keyboard acts as a hardshell screen protector when folded up.

The first task I had was finding an app to upload photos from the camera card reader to the iPad. The included photo app didn’t seem to recognize anything. With a little google search I found that you can download iPhoto for the iPad for free. So the first app I downloaded was:

iPhoto for the iPad for uploading photos from your digital camera.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iphoto/id497786065?mt=8

Next I had to figure out how to upload photos to Smugmug which is where I host the photos that I link to on my ride reports. I downloaded the free Smugmug app from the itunes store, but it was just for viewing your Smugmug photos. An app that I found that allows uploading to Smugmug is:

PhotoSync for uploading photos from your iPad to Smugmug:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photosync-wireless.../id415850124?mt=8

For writing ride report updates I have been using the Notes app included on the homescreen. It works fine.

For linking photos in a ride report that I am typing in the Notes app I have just been using the web based Smugmug site:

https://www.smugmug.com

The only thing different I have encountered is that the copy button on the web based Smugmug site doesn’t work on an iDevice, so you must touch the actual code link on the iPad screen and select all, copy, and switch to the notepad app to paste the link. After typing up the ride report post and linking the pictures, I copy the whole thing from the notepad and paste it into the text box that you get when you tap the "new reply" button at the lower left of the last post on your ride report. If you type directly into the ADVrider text window, you will lose what you have written if the wifi goes out or some glitch happens. It can be painful to lose everything you have written, which is why I write in the notes app and copy and paste into the ADVrider new reply window.

Other than writing ride reports, another thing that you need is a good maps app. Although apple maps is getting better all the time, google maps is the gold standard. Very helpful with gas stations, restaurants etc. free Google Maps app:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-maps/id585027354?mt=8

Another thing that I need is to check the weather radar to see where the rainstorms are and steer clear of them if possible.
Yahoo weather is a nice free weather app that is optimized for the iPad. Let's you set up cities to flick through to instantly see what the weather is doing. Nice radar images of the current weather. Uses your current wifi to bring up the weather instantly where you are sitting. Quicker than web based weather apps.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yahoo-weather/id628677149?mt=8

Now mind you, all this is slower on an iPad than the laptop I have been using for the last two years. The main advantages are compactness, longer battery life when camping and lower replacement cost than the MacBook Air. Also it has a great camera which could be used in a pinch if you don’t mind holding up a tablet and looking like a dork taking pictures. Which of course, wouldn’t bother me since my middle name is Dorkus. (Not really, unless Dorkus is Latin for Thomas).

Netbooks, Chromebooks, android tablets, smartphones or even an iPod touch are all viable alternatives as lower cost travel computers I imagine. I am just reporting what I find using the iPad mini that my sister bought me.

I think other apps that might be nice to have would be read-it-later apps like Pocket or Instapaper for reading offline, maybe some games for whiling away the time in your tent. That reminds me I downloaded the Netflix app:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/netflix/id363590051?mt=8‎

since a netflix subscription works in all of South America. And tried it on the hi-res iPad screen. Works perfect. Unfortunately, Comcast Xfinity doesn’t work south of the border. I prefer streaming video so I don’t clog up the limited storage space on the iPad.

I will report more as I continue to investigate. Hopefully this will be of use to others who may have an iPad and need to upload photos and write ride reports. The more the merrier.

Saludos,
Juan Computadora

John for a really great weather app that includes radar data based on your gps location check out RadarCast https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/radar-cast-elite-noaa-hi-def/id601606659?mt=8 It is 2.99 but totally worth it. Or this one, lists global support. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/eweather-hd-weather-forecast/id401533966?mt=8

Hi edjo69,

Thanks so much. I am waiting to get home and get my replacement credit card in the mail so I can buy stuff on the iTunes store. For now I went to Walmart and bought an iTunes gift card for 15 bucks so don't have much credit for buying more than the essentials. A lot of these apps are available on the Google playstore as well for those with Android tablets. I am open to any and all good ideas. I will be the South American Cuy (guinea pig) and test this stuff out.

I did find a killer free maps app for viewing offline when there is no wifi around. It is called Maps with Me Lite Offline Map. It allows you to download maps info to your iDevice and view it offline. As you zoom in on a country you are offered the ability to download the whole country for free. I downloaded Argentina and it is amazing. Has a lot of dirt roads and all the banks, gas stations, supermercados (supermarkets), and camp grounds. I turned wifi off and the app really works as advertised. This app alone is going to make the iPad a handy little exploration unit:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/maps-with-me-lite-offline-map/id431183278?mt=8

I have nothing better to do than download apps and study Spanish while I come back to earth here in Arizona. The weather in Nebraska was snow and cold last week. It looks like Spring is coming next week as it does most years in late April, so I will be hitting the road to Nebraska soonish.

Saludos,
Juan Guinea

Hi John, hope all is well with you!! May I ask how do you connect your digital camera to iPad and transfer photos/video? I am curious because I am considering to get a mini iPad myself. At the moment, I am waiting for AirStash Flash Drive to arrive. With the device, you can insert SD memory card from camera or whatever into Airstash and you connect it with iPad (or any tablet or laptop) using Bluetooth method so you can transfer photo/video/files.

I am going to play around with Basecamp Mobile and Montana after next week and see how it plays out.. I'll keep you updated.

That Maps With Me looks really amazing I am going to try that out, has a llot of great features. Thanx for posting this.

Good Find on the "Maps with Me Lite"

Found the manual for the app when I went looking for the differences between the Free version and the Pro version ($4.99).

http://mapswith.me/files/MapsWithMe User Guide 1.2.pdf

Hi WOXOF,

Thanks for the link. I think I will upgrade to the pro version when I get home just because I like to see these apps make money and stay in business.

Another thing that really comes in handy is a Spanish/English dictionary that works offline when you are away from wifi walking down the street and see a sign or word you don't know.

I downloaded this free app and it is quite good:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/free-spanish...dictionary/id321568349?mt=8

I imagine it would be better with a phone or iPod touch that you could whip out of your pocket, but it works quite well with the small iPad. It has phrases, verb conjugations and fun quizes to test your knowledge.

No way you can whip out a laptop walking down the street, but the iPad mini actually fits in my riding jacket pocket so could theoretically be carried around town or into a café when you want to look up something from a menu. We'll see.

Sr. Computadora, that sounds like an unfortunate side effect of using Apple. In Chrome, if you lose the wifi while writing a post, you won't know it until you hit submit, when after some period of trying, it will come up saying "can't connect to the internet..." (etc.) All I have to do is hit the back arrow and I'm right back at my post editing box with everything I've typed in still intact.

Still, safer to write in Notepad or equivalent and store on your local drive. What I've been doing for a while now is writing in gmail composition and copying over since you can keep it saved in your account which you can access from any internet device and doesn't require any local storage.

BTW, it's "cuy", instead of cuyo....

Thanks, I'll correct it.

Riding a fast bike racing a kid in Mexico triple digit fast splitting lanes down the straight and narrow is one way to clear the mind of all thought but the here and now. You are in the moment. No past, no future just the now. Trouble is it’s dangerous as hell. If you are lucky, thoughts of self preservation bubble up and force their way through and you ease off the throttle to live another day.

The thing is, if you live to be an old man like me, you can lose yourself on a small bike as well. Just find a twisty mountain road on a sunny day. Leaning into the corners, favoring the right side to miss the always anticipated wide swinging truck around the blind lefts, your mind focused only on scanning ahead for obstacles. It turns out it doesn’t require riding fast and loose to bring a zen-like calm, focus and clarity to the cloudiest of minds.

It can be hard to talk for a while after a long day of riding in Latin America. Writing ride reports is one way to come back to earth. Riding and writing seem to be the only therapy I need in life. I count myself a lucky man.

After being a stranger in a strange land for several months I fit right in wherever I am.

Saludos,
Tio Juanito

People judge you by your appearance around the world. It's human nature. Nothing you can do to stop that. Don't believe me? Rent a Cadillac and wear expensive clothes and see how you are treated crossing the border into the U.S. Then grow your hair and beard out, wear a hand knit Tibetan sweater and sandals. For me it was the difference between being waved through and being strip searched.

It's the reason I wear my hair short and drive a nice truck. You can still be a free spirit inside no matter what you look like on the surface. It's why I prefer riding a small unobtrusive bike in Latin America and blending in with the locals. It puts people at ease and is less threatening. That along with an easy smile and polite manners will serve you well wherever you travel in the world.

I used to try and explain to young kids in the construction trade that having neck tatoos, wooden plugs in their ear lobes and studs through their nose was going to cut their earning power down by ten bucks an hour or so and limit their employment options in the future. Much the same as getting married and having kids out of high school would limit their travel options for a couple decades. Hopefully some young person reading this will stop to think for a moment. Ride reports seem to be a more effective means of communication than an old man telling a young person face to face what he has noticed in life.

The secret to my happiness it turns out is to go with the flow externally while internally swimming upstream against the current of society's expectations that don't ring true for me.

more later....

Wise words from an experienced man.

Riding is the best therapy in my experience. I believe if you live through 45 years of fast riding, it's because you've been been fully concentrating on the current horizon, not worrying nor daydreaming.

No doubt about judging books by covers. I think perhaps the attitude from which the appearance develops is the true base limiting factor for earning potential, the appearance merely confirming.

Peace

+1...unfortunately, the people who need to see this great insight are probably not on this forum.

Same here, another subscription on my long list. Thanks for the link, John.

I thought I detected some static coming from over here, on my RR.
Are you running a resistor spark plug?
Just messing with you JD. I see you diverted a pile of traffic over to our "trip"
I am enjoying your take on things.

There's a huge canyon in Brazil we need to go check out. It's only 800 km from where your Sherpa is parked. I'll try and find the aerial YouTube link for it. Amazing stuff,
There's a few pics in the " I liked this road thread" in Pics Pics Pics

Hey, John, you still in Arizona?

Funny you should mention that. When I was dropping the Sherpa off in Uruguay we headed downtown for pizza where we met Canario's riding buddy who was showing me pics on his phone of a killer canyon in Brazil that he has his sights set on. Nothing but switchbacks dropping into the abyss. Looked good to me.

The ten year Brazil visa costs $300.00 for us Americans so I want to spend some time there if I pay that much dinero. I met some mighty nice Brazilians on the road this year as did you and Thorne. Might have to go check it out.

The reason so many people are reading your ride report is because it is a really good ***** effort. I am enjoying it thoroughly.

See you next year.

Your Sherpa pal,
John

Hi George,

Yes I am. Won't be heading to Nebraska until next week sometime.

Thanks for the detail on the ipad John. For a newbie to that equipment you sure seem to be catching on fast! Keep us informed please as you make new discoveries and in-roads to using the mini-ipad.

Thanks for the wise words and the link and the Hektoglider's RR ... Value Plus!