The GPS in Bicycle Mode

It's the first day of the July holidays, and the Rosales family is driving to a cabin in the mountains. Dad is driving, and Mom is holding his phone, with the GPS on. The phone is a little sticky. Last Sunday, their son Rodrigo took it on a bike ride with his friends and spilled juice on it. "Only two hours," says Mom. "The GPS knows the way."

After an hour, the GPS says, "Turn right." The road gets narrower and narrower, and soon it's just a dirt path between two cornfields. "Why are we going this way?" asks Rodrigo's sister, Nayeli. "The GPS is choosing the fastest route," says Dad. He doesn't sound very sure.

Ten minutes later, the GPS says, "Continue straight." In front of them, there's a narrow wooden bridge with a sign: NO CARS. A cow is standing in the middle of it, staring at them. "Is it telling us to cross that?" asks Mom. "The cow or the GPS?" asks Rodrigo.

Dad stops next to a man who is carrying firewood. "Excuse me, sir. How do we get to Los Pinos?" The man looks at the car. "By car? Go back to the main road and turn left at the gas station. Then follow the big road up the mountain. Why are you down here?" "Our GPS is sending us this way," says Dad. The man laughs. "Then your GPS thinks you're a bicycle."

Everybody laughs, except Rodrigo. He takes the phone and looks at the corner of the screen. There's a tiny picture there, and it isn't a car. It's a bicycle. "Oh," he says quietly. "I forgot to change it back after my bike ride."

Mom touches the little car picture, and the GPS says calmly, "Recalculating." When they finally reach the cabin at sunset, two hours late, the GPS announces happily, "You have arrived."