Veloviewer. Who is using it, and what do you get from it?
Discussion
My most immediate challenge to increase my max square and cluster comes in the form of the type of terrain I struggled through last night - really rutted, boggy moorland, proper ankle breaking stuff that's miles away from any roads or rough trails. I'll need to get creative with the squares marked with red here.
Most of the rest of the tiles around me should be relatively simple, the occasional jaunt into some 'private' land but thankfully we have the Right to Roam up here in Scotland so they can't really stop you if you aren't making a t
t of yourself.
Most of the rest of the tiles around me should be relatively simple, the occasional jaunt into some 'private' land but thankfully we have the Right to Roam up here in Scotland so they can't really stop you if you aren't making a t
t of yourself.
I give up. Quit. Outta here.
After 2300hrs last night, I was trying to get back to my car and took a left down a single track lane to avoid part of the A27 Salisbury/Romsey road. So far so good. Tiny lane, reduced to two narrow strips of tarmac either side of a central strip of dirt, gravel, and moss. Lucky for me I picked the right hand tarmac strip really, because it meant that when I hit the fox that ran out in front of me I mostly went down onto the soft verge.
3 hours in A&E this morning, and it looks like at least a week off the bike. Speaking of which, I've not inspected it yet. I managed to ride/scoot the last 2 to 3 miles to the car, and to drive back from Romsey to Bournemouth, but the bike is still in the boot and I haven't the mobility in my right arm (bruising, steri-strips, and dressing) to drag it out. X-rays show no signs of fractures in either shoulder or elbow so that's sort of a bonus.
And the fox? Well it wasn't lying in a heap next to me on the road, so I can only assume it got off lightly. Or it crawled off to die in agony? Either way there's nothing I can do to help it. Very worrying though, going down hard so late and so remote. I'd seen only 2 cars between Middle Wallop and the A27, and there was little likelihood of passing traffic finding me until daylight. But as I picked myself up off the ground, 2 people appeared, in their dressing gowns. I'd only gone and crashed outside the only house down that lane. And made so much noise hitting the ground and yelling out that i'd roused them from their bed(s?)
This may mean my wife putting her foot down and calling a halt to my long day/night rides. And if the bike is damaged? No idea how I could afford to replace it really. I'll give it a couple of days for my arm to loosen up a bit then take a good hard look at the bike and my kit.
Grrrr!
After 2300hrs last night, I was trying to get back to my car and took a left down a single track lane to avoid part of the A27 Salisbury/Romsey road. So far so good. Tiny lane, reduced to two narrow strips of tarmac either side of a central strip of dirt, gravel, and moss. Lucky for me I picked the right hand tarmac strip really, because it meant that when I hit the fox that ran out in front of me I mostly went down onto the soft verge.
3 hours in A&E this morning, and it looks like at least a week off the bike. Speaking of which, I've not inspected it yet. I managed to ride/scoot the last 2 to 3 miles to the car, and to drive back from Romsey to Bournemouth, but the bike is still in the boot and I haven't the mobility in my right arm (bruising, steri-strips, and dressing) to drag it out. X-rays show no signs of fractures in either shoulder or elbow so that's sort of a bonus.
And the fox? Well it wasn't lying in a heap next to me on the road, so I can only assume it got off lightly. Or it crawled off to die in agony? Either way there's nothing I can do to help it. Very worrying though, going down hard so late and so remote. I'd seen only 2 cars between Middle Wallop and the A27, and there was little likelihood of passing traffic finding me until daylight. But as I picked myself up off the ground, 2 people appeared, in their dressing gowns. I'd only gone and crashed outside the only house down that lane. And made so much noise hitting the ground and yelling out that i'd roused them from their bed(s?)
This may mean my wife putting her foot down and calling a halt to my long day/night rides. And if the bike is damaged? No idea how I could afford to replace it really. I'll give it a couple of days for my arm to loosen up a bit then take a good hard look at the bike and my kit.
Grrrr!
Hmmm?
Resignation withdrawn.
Anyway, here's the result of yesterday/last night's escapade...
Before:
The ride itself:
After:
...with one glaring omission just north of East Tytherley that I probably wouldn't have let slip if I'd have had mapping for this section. Much of the route was, once again, complete guesswork, moreso the further east I was.
Resignation withdrawn.
Anyway, here's the result of yesterday/last night's escapade...
Before:
The ride itself:
After:
...with one glaring omission just north of East Tytherley that I probably wouldn't have let slip if I'd have had mapping for this section. Much of the route was, once again, complete guesswork, moreso the further east I was.
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 17th September 13:52
yellowjack said:
I give up. Quit. Outta here.
After 2300hrs last night, I was trying to get back to my car and took a left down a single track lane to avoid part of the A27 Salisbury/Romsey road. So far so good. Tiny lane, reduced to two narrow strips of tarmac either side of a central strip of dirt, gravel, and moss. Lucky for me I picked the right hand tarmac strip really, because it meant that when I hit the fox that ran out in front of me I mostly went down onto the soft verge.
3 hours in A&E this morning, and it looks like at least a week off the bike. Speaking of which, I've not inspected it yet. I managed to ride/scoot the last 2 to 3 miles to the car, and to drive back from Romsey to Bournemouth, but the bike is still in the boot and I haven't the mobility in my right arm (bruising, steri-strips, and dressing) to drag it out. X-rays show no signs of fractures in either shoulder or elbow so that's sort of a bonus.
And the fox? Well it wasn't lying in a heap next to me on the road, so I can only assume it got off lightly. Or it crawled off to die in agony? Either way there's nothing I can do to help it. Very worrying though, going down hard so late and so remote. I'd seen only 2 cars between Middle Wallop and the A27, and there was little likelihood of passing traffic finding me until daylight. But as I picked myself up off the ground, 2 people appeared, in their dressing gowns. I'd only gone and crashed outside the only house down that lane. And made so much noise hitting the ground and yelling out that i'd roused them from their bed(s?)
This may mean my wife putting her foot down and calling a halt to my long day/night rides. And if the bike is damaged? No idea how I could afford to replace it really. I'll give it a couple of days for my arm to loosen up a bit then take a good hard look at the bike and my kit.
Grrrr!
Oh that sounds brutal! Sorry to hear that. Hope the bike is OK!! You've tiling to do, it's got to be...After 2300hrs last night, I was trying to get back to my car and took a left down a single track lane to avoid part of the A27 Salisbury/Romsey road. So far so good. Tiny lane, reduced to two narrow strips of tarmac either side of a central strip of dirt, gravel, and moss. Lucky for me I picked the right hand tarmac strip really, because it meant that when I hit the fox that ran out in front of me I mostly went down onto the soft verge.
3 hours in A&E this morning, and it looks like at least a week off the bike. Speaking of which, I've not inspected it yet. I managed to ride/scoot the last 2 to 3 miles to the car, and to drive back from Romsey to Bournemouth, but the bike is still in the boot and I haven't the mobility in my right arm (bruising, steri-strips, and dressing) to drag it out. X-rays show no signs of fractures in either shoulder or elbow so that's sort of a bonus.
And the fox? Well it wasn't lying in a heap next to me on the road, so I can only assume it got off lightly. Or it crawled off to die in agony? Either way there's nothing I can do to help it. Very worrying though, going down hard so late and so remote. I'd seen only 2 cars between Middle Wallop and the A27, and there was little likelihood of passing traffic finding me until daylight. But as I picked myself up off the ground, 2 people appeared, in their dressing gowns. I'd only gone and crashed outside the only house down that lane. And made so much noise hitting the ground and yelling out that i'd roused them from their bed(s?)
This may mean my wife putting her foot down and calling a halt to my long day/night rides. And if the bike is damaged? No idea how I could afford to replace it really. I'll give it a couple of days for my arm to loosen up a bit then take a good hard look at the bike and my kit.
Grrrr!
Get well soon.
ukbabz said:
Sorry to hear about the off, hope you heal quick and the bike is OK!
I've been impressed at the amount you've ridden! Although always worth keeping safe above ticking a virtual box (I've ridden down some tracks that tested bike handling skills for a road bike)
Just digging into the Strava numbers...I've been impressed at the amount you've ridden! Although always worth keeping safe above ticking a virtual box (I've ridden down some tracks that tested bike handling skills for a road bike)
...and my GPS data suggests I was at 21.7 mph at the moment of impact. A good deal faster than the 14/15 mph I estimated when the A&E doctor asked me how it happened.
Collision site here...
...just about where the apostrophe is in "Miles's Lane". And a mention too for the couple from the bungalow just visible to the left of the picture. They came out quickly, still in their dressing gowns, with torches, ready to help. It took me four minutes (Strava segment data) to recover myself, gather stuff that had jettisoned from my pockets, and get moving again. It felt much longer than that if I'm honest. Quite pleased to see that I'm only third last on the segment too, not dead last as expected...
Solocle said:
Grr, second shot at this tile that's come up short.
I'm going to have to bite the bullet and hop this fence, then go to that utility pole.
So. Close.
My solution for that one...I'm going to have to bite the bullet and hop this fence, then go to that utility pole.
So. Close.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3532277487
...was to go down to the next Level Crossing and do a bit of mild trespassing by crossing the tracks, climbing the gate, and going cross country to the end of the woods. That bit is decent grass and rideable, but there was a need to go into a rough field full of brambles and gorse, and some boggy bits, to get the tile. As usual for me, I chose to go further than strictly necessary as a bit of "belt and braces" to ensure I didn't need to go back. I stayed near the railway line fence in case I needed to duck out of sight too. Hopping the fence at the station may work too, but I wasn't comfortable with that idea as I recall.
Happy tiling!
ETA: Just to emphasize - the field that those utility poles are in may be better than the field I went through, but it's probably worth not wearing your best shoes to cross it...
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 17th September 21:35
yellowjack said:
My solution for that one...
https://www.strava.com/activities/3532277487
...was to go down to the next Level Crossing and do a bit of mild trespassing by crossing the tracks, climbing the gate, and going cross country to the end of the woods. That bit is decent grass and rideable, but there was a need to go into a rough field full of brambles and gorse, and some boggy bits, to get the tile. As usual for me, I chose to go further than strictly necessary as a bit of "belt and braces" to ensure I didn't need to go back. I stayed near the railway line fence in case I needed to duck out of sight too. Hopping the fence at the station may work too, but I wasn't comfortable with that idea as I recall.
Happy tiling!
Yeah, the level crossing was my first port of call, but I got turned back by a security chap! I tried the station last time - I walked beyond the end of the platform, down those wooden slat things (it said "no passengers beyond this point", but hey, I wasn't a passenger...). However, then it was a locked gate, which I wasn't inclined to climb over, especially not in full view.https://www.strava.com/activities/3532277487
...was to go down to the next Level Crossing and do a bit of mild trespassing by crossing the tracks, climbing the gate, and going cross country to the end of the woods. That bit is decent grass and rideable, but there was a need to go into a rough field full of brambles and gorse, and some boggy bits, to get the tile. As usual for me, I chose to go further than strictly necessary as a bit of "belt and braces" to ensure I didn't need to go back. I stayed near the railway line fence in case I needed to duck out of sight too. Hopping the fence at the station may work too, but I wasn't comfortable with that idea as I recall.
Happy tiling!
The footpath - power line combination should be a pretty clean break, though, and it's a nice obvious point for which to aim.
I have some walking boot things, but getting covered in mud on my lunch break probably isn't the best idea...
Edited by Solocle on Thursday 17th September 21:41
cheesewotsit said:
Heal fast, YJ.
True spirit of the thread and VeloViewer. Looking at some of the tiles I need to get, I might annoy some farmers :\
yellowjack said:
...and do a bit of mild trespassing by crossing the tracks
...love that True spirit of the thread and VeloViewer. Looking at some of the tiles I need to get, I might annoy some farmers :\I've got my own personal code. I won't go onto big estates within view of the main house, for instance. But remote woodland is fair game, as is grazing land, but I won't enter arable land with crops on it. I've no qualms about riding on public footpaths either. I'll happily stop, or even dismount for walkers, depending on path width, and that usually heads off any grumpiness from "legitimate" footpath users. In short I'm happy with a little bit of civil trespass, but won't trespass on railway lines or military land, for instance, where criminal prosecution is possible. Take nothing, damage nothing, and leave no trace.
I've only really had one problem and that was an employee of the Clarendon Estate who got upset at me cycling on the public footpath across the estate. Which was ridiculous, really, because 95% of it was shared with concrete or gravel farm roads, and logging tracks in the woodland. He got even more uppity with me when he asked if I thought he was stupid and I answered honestly...
Basically I don't believe that tiling like that is ever going to be a huge problem. There aren't swarms of us out there descending on private property umpteen times a day, and once we've claimed a particular tile we're unlikely to return to it if it's unsuitable for cycling.
Case in point on my recent 'Fox' ride. I needed a tile within the Melchet Court estate. The main house is, I believe, a school, and the wider estate a working farm. A public footpath runs through the gatehouse archway and down the driveway, but it was clear from a few minutes of observation that it was busy with tractors coming and going on harvest business. I knew I didn't want to get in their way, so cycled about four miles around to the back of the estate and came up that same footpath from the much quieter opposite end, then left by a farm track that, while not explicitly marked as a PROW, had signage which suggested it was at least a permissive path.
I've noticed a lot of misleading signs in rural areas too. Signs that say "Private Road - Access To 'x' Cottage Only". And while this is true for motor vehicles, I often get to 'x' Cottage and there's a restricted byway, bridleway, or footpath on which to continue my route. Either that or there are businesses operating down these "private" roads which means Implied Licence rules come into force. Things such as selling honey, veg, or eggs from a driveway honesty box, right up to commercial units providing joinery or garage services, etc. One such road on my last ride ended at a bungalow, where the road ended and a footpath began. A posh sounding old duffer came to his gate with a "can I help you?" and I simply replied that I was consulting my map and required no assistance. I'm not out to cause trouble for myself or for anyone else, and like I say, I'm only going to ride those unsuitable routes the once and I'll never darken their doors again.
yellowjack said:
Looks about right. I wish I'd thought of doing that. It would have saved me from fighting my way across the field on the other side of the railway line!
It did involve jumping across a stream, and then climbing over a barbed wire fence, but the field wasn't soggy or anything!
No new tiling since I started my enforced period of rest, but here's my current focus...
...which is to try to fill in the area centred roughly on Whitchurch. i think I will start west of the A34, and try to eliminate smaller single blanks and groups first, then work down to the refinery at Fawley on both sides of Southampton Water. That's the eastern limit for my current Max Square After that, I'll look at combining the two large clusters into one single entity, probably with the block of 15 tiles just south of Newbury.
Four other "impossibles" (the two-on-two group on the 'G' in Grately) limit northern expansion of my current Max Square so I might look at filling in a few of those gaps east of the A34 with a view to expanding the old Max Square I had up there. It's all wishful thinking right now, but I had to fill my time with something while I'm off the bike for a while. I can almost guarantee I'll get distracted from the plan first time out again, but it's good to have an idea about what you want to do, and set a goal, no?
ETA:
My issue, really, is that my focus changes so often. One minute I'm all out to expand west around Weymouth, Blandford, Shaftesbury, etc, then my focus went north to Salisbury Plain and around Andover. Now I'm planning on filling in gaps toward my old stomping ground north and east. I wish there were a clear and obvious logical choice for the focus of Max Square expansion, but those five 'Impossible' tiles have thrown a bit of a spanner in the works really. And I get bored quickly and change my plans almost as often as my underpants!
...which is to try to fill in the area centred roughly on Whitchurch. i think I will start west of the A34, and try to eliminate smaller single blanks and groups first, then work down to the refinery at Fawley on both sides of Southampton Water. That's the eastern limit for my current Max Square After that, I'll look at combining the two large clusters into one single entity, probably with the block of 15 tiles just south of Newbury.
Four other "impossibles" (the two-on-two group on the 'G' in Grately) limit northern expansion of my current Max Square so I might look at filling in a few of those gaps east of the A34 with a view to expanding the old Max Square I had up there. It's all wishful thinking right now, but I had to fill my time with something while I'm off the bike for a while. I can almost guarantee I'll get distracted from the plan first time out again, but it's good to have an idea about what you want to do, and set a goal, no?
ETA:
My issue, really, is that my focus changes so often. One minute I'm all out to expand west around Weymouth, Blandford, Shaftesbury, etc, then my focus went north to Salisbury Plain and around Andover. Now I'm planning on filling in gaps toward my old stomping ground north and east. I wish there were a clear and obvious logical choice for the focus of Max Square expansion, but those five 'Impossible' tiles have thrown a bit of a spanner in the works really. And I get bored quickly and change my plans almost as often as my underpants!
Edited by yellowjack on Sunday 20th September 18:46
yellowjack said:
No new tiling since I started my enforced period of rest, but here's my current focus...
That's an incredible number of tiles on display there, good going!Edited by yellowjack on Sunday 20th September 18:46
I extended westwards towards the sea on Saturday, just a wee 30 miler but it took in a category 3 climb which is probably the hardest climb I've done out with Zwift to date, really relentless for about 0.75 miles, rising about 800 feet.
Took a wee break at the top to admire the view then headed on to grab some more tiles & get home and get the bike washed.
Plan for the week ahead is to head out to Stewarton at some point then drop down 3 tiles and work my way back across to Saltcoats to set the boundary for raising my max square to 15x15 then fill in the gaps when I get a chance. Some of this will be hiking as it's simply not possible to cycle the terrain.
Need to spend a bit of time running this week though as I'm doing a half marathon on 3rd October in aid of a local hospice who cared for my fiancee's mother when she was terminally ill with cancer and is now also caring for her father who we've been told is likely to pass in the coming days. Really want to go out there and make a good effort of it for him (Aiming for under 2 hours, ideally 1 hr 45) so will cycle less in the next 2 weeks. Have almost raised £1000 for the hospice so pretty proud of that.
VV score: 84.562 (Up from 84.444)
256 tiles (Up from 237 tiles), average of 2.983 (down from 3.094) mi per tile
Max square: 9x9 (No change)
Max cluster: 120 (Up from 15)
Edited by Comacchio on Sunday 20th September 21:22
Comacchio said:
yellowjack said:
No new tiling since I started my enforced period of rest, but here's my current focus...
That's an incredible number of tiles on display there, good going!Edited by yellowjack on Sunday 20th September 18:46
The more "solid" squarer area bottom left was curated in the last 18 months following a house move. I've targeted tiles more efficiently since I signed up to VV in April this year. It becomes addictive pretty quickly, but I do really enjoy riding/running/walking in places I've never been before anyway so it really suits me. And since I don't work, I have time to ride all day quite often which means I've got the freedom to fit in some decent length rides (when I'm not falling over wildlife in the dead of night, that is...
)I love that bike, by the way. I sadly failed to buy a Dolan Prefissio "winter bike" before the frame colours changed, and I'd really like a gravel bike now. Having a decent gravel bike would ease the burden on my road bike which has been putting in far too many off-road byway and bridleway miles to link up roads and grab tiles here and there. Sadly, though, having the funds to buy a new bike doesn't look likely in the near future. I also notice you're facing your share of problems with proximity to the coast and difficult tiles to claim. Kudos for the commitment, and good luck with expanding your Square and Cluster!
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