Yep, I used to bike-measure routes (and map-measure them) because I "needed" the data. When I got my first gps watch (the Timex model with the separate receiver unit you wore on your upper arm) I felt so liberated, because I could now choose routes on the fly (and even go off-trail) and still "get credit" for the distance. I'm not sure exactly where the need for numbers comes from, but I think mainly I distrust my subjective assessment of things, and hard numbers like time, distance, and heart rate tell me objective truths. All those other numbers from current watches, though... I mainly don't even look at them.
Yep, I used to bike-measure routes (and map-measure them) because I "needed" the data. When I got my first gps watch (the Timex model with the separate receiver unit you wore on your upper arm) I felt so liberated, because I could now choose routes on the fly (and even go off-trail) and still "get credit" for the distance. I'm not sure exactly where the need for numbers comes from, but I think mainly I distrust my subjective assessment of things, and hard numbers like time, distance, and heart rate tell me objective truths. All those other numbers from current watches, though... I mainly don't even look at them.