Veloviewer. Who is using it, and what do you get from it?
Discussion
yellowjack said:
Well, after that slight disappointment, and the guessing games that caused it, I went out to my local WH Smiths yesterday. Plan was to buy OS Landranger (1:50k) sheets 174 and 185. Sadly they didn't have sheet 174 in stock, but with a BOGOHP offer on, it seemed rude not to buy two, so I came home with sheets 183 (Yeovil and Frome) and 185 (Winchester and Basingstoke). So no gaps now in my map coverage from Glastonbury to Woking, one sheet "deep" north to south. I couldn't get the 'Active Map' weatherproof versions though, so today was spent covering sheet 185 with Fablon on one side and marking up the tiles with a bunch of old OHP pens.
That all seemed to take forever, but with today's weather there was no real opportunity to cycle, and my wife was on an 'On Call' shift at the hospital so we couldn't go anywhere nice anyway. So sheets 184, 185, and 186 are all marked with my target tiles, and I'm ready to rumble just as soon as the weather settles. Far better than printing screenshots of my VV Activities page onto A4 paper and guessing anything beyond the limit of the print. This should make it all a lot less frustrating and amateurish, and hopefully will mean that I can ensure no new silly single-tile gaps appear as I try to close up the larger gaps. "Colouring in" sheet 185 completely looks favourite to be my next focus. Doing that should massively expand my Max Cluster, and possibly my Max Square. Or at least it'll give me a good base to build an alternative Max Square from when I run out of expansion room with my current Max Square (can't get beyond a 29x29 square with that due to impossible tiles at Fawley and Porton Down). It'll take a while before I get that far, but nice to have a longer term goal to go with my short term focus.
Out of interest I had a quick count up of the tiles on my maps, and sheet 185 is roughly a 27x27 Square. I say roughly, because the tiles don't match the OS British National 1km Grid lines exactly, so partial tiles would extend it to 28x28 at a quick count.
More worryingly, last time out my Garmin ForeRunner 910XT decided to go doolally again. It dropped about 16 miles of data completely. One minute it was there, the next it was reading barely 2 miles and no sign of a data file in the memory. After restarting it recorded 36 miles OK, but for the upload I used my Edge 500 (which I run as a back-up). But that lost the last half mile or so as it's battery only lasted 6 hrs 20 mins. The watch also thinks it's at between 17,500 metres and 30,000 metres elevation again. And the LCD display has gone a bit "grey" instead of it's usual crisp black text. I could well be in the market for a new GPS at this rate...
Last time I did a seat-of-the-pants tiling ride, it was around the Yeovil area. I knew vaguely where tiles were, but without a GPS (I got locked out of the house), I really didn't want to get lost! So I stuck to main roads the whole way, and just happened to pick up a few.That all seemed to take forever, but with today's weather there was no real opportunity to cycle, and my wife was on an 'On Call' shift at the hospital so we couldn't go anywhere nice anyway. So sheets 184, 185, and 186 are all marked with my target tiles, and I'm ready to rumble just as soon as the weather settles. Far better than printing screenshots of my VV Activities page onto A4 paper and guessing anything beyond the limit of the print. This should make it all a lot less frustrating and amateurish, and hopefully will mean that I can ensure no new silly single-tile gaps appear as I try to close up the larger gaps. "Colouring in" sheet 185 completely looks favourite to be my next focus. Doing that should massively expand my Max Cluster, and possibly my Max Square. Or at least it'll give me a good base to build an alternative Max Square from when I run out of expansion room with my current Max Square (can't get beyond a 29x29 square with that due to impossible tiles at Fawley and Porton Down). It'll take a while before I get that far, but nice to have a longer term goal to go with my short term focus.
Out of interest I had a quick count up of the tiles on my maps, and sheet 185 is roughly a 27x27 Square. I say roughly, because the tiles don't match the OS British National 1km Grid lines exactly, so partial tiles would extend it to 28x28 at a quick count.
More worryingly, last time out my Garmin ForeRunner 910XT decided to go doolally again. It dropped about 16 miles of data completely. One minute it was there, the next it was reading barely 2 miles and no sign of a data file in the memory. After restarting it recorded 36 miles OK, but for the upload I used my Edge 500 (which I run as a back-up). But that lost the last half mile or so as it's battery only lasted 6 hrs 20 mins. The watch also thinks it's at between 17,500 metres and 30,000 metres elevation again. And the LCD display has gone a bit "grey" instead of it's usual crisp black text. I could well be in the market for a new GPS at this rate...
Tbh my initial plan was to ride along the A303, then follow the A37, and really hoover up the A37 tiles south of Yeovil. However, it was getting late by the point I reached Yeovil, so I went home on the A30 instead.
Yeah, that ride wasn't... particularly mature.
Solocle said:
Last time I did a seat-of-the-pants tiling ride, it was around the Yeovil area. I knew vaguely where tiles were, but without a GPS (I got locked out of the house), I really didn't want to get lost! So I stuck to main roads the whole way, and just happened to pick up a few.
[snip]
Tbh my initial plan was to ride along the A303, then follow the A37, and really hoover up the A37 tiles south of Yeovil. However, it was getting late by the point I reached Yeovil, so I went home on the A30 instead.
Yeah, that ride wasn't... particularly mature.
I'm just starting to study Sheet 183, Yeovil And Frome. Those 'A' roads you mention are prominent, and dominate the sheet. But when you look a little harder at the unnumbered yellow roads, lots of them have those tell-tale green dots and NCN route numbers on them. Between the big roads, and these cycle friendly routes, I should be able to cover a decent chunk of the tiles on that map sheet. It looks like there are a few areas where potentially there won't be any sealed roads through a tile, although it's hard to say without drawing on the tiles. So I might well take a MTB or 'gravel' bike on some rides out that way. I need to dip into Strava's route planner now, to check distances and elevation, but I have a vague plan involving a few of the NCN routes, and a trip to Bath and back via Cheddar and/or Glastonbury. Maybe I'll do that as part of this year's Festive 500?[snip]
Tbh my initial plan was to ride along the A303, then follow the A37, and really hoover up the A37 tiles south of Yeovil. However, it was getting late by the point I reached Yeovil, so I went home on the A30 instead.
Yeah, that ride wasn't... particularly mature.
Just gotta sit here now, drinking coffee and hoping the rain stops at some point...
yellowjack said:
I'm just starting to study Sheet 183, Yeovil And Frome. Those 'A' roads you mention are prominent, and dominate the sheet. But when you look a little harder at the unnumbered yellow roads, lots of them have those tell-tale green dots and NCN route numbers on them. Between the big roads, and these cycle friendly routes, I should be able to cover a decent chunk of the tiles on that map sheet. It looks like there are a few areas where potentially there won't be any sealed roads through a tile, although it's hard to say without drawing on the tiles. So I might well take a MTB or 'gravel' bike on some rides out that way. I need to dip into Strava's route planner now, to check distances and elevation, but I have a vague plan involving a few of the NCN routes, and a trip to Bath and back via Cheddar and/or Glastonbury. Maybe I'll do that as part of this year's Festive 500?
Just gotta sit here now, drinking coffee and hoping the rain stops at some point...
Yeah, the A303 isn't necessary, at least between The A350 and Ilchester. The tile north of Tintinhull, however... not too bad, there's a staggered crossroads on the 303, with the turn lanes extending to the junction on each side. But it looks so much more efficient to just go onto the A37 then A303, turning off at that junction! Likewise, the A37 tiles south of Yeovil aren't impossible to do without using the A37... it was just so much more convenient. Also, I split it into two different rides, but wangled it so that I was primarily going downhill each way.Just gotta sit here now, drinking coffee and hoping the rain stops at some point...
Yay! Today I went out from home, for the first time in ages. Covered 77 miles (124km) and rode 62 tiles. But only 13 of them were 'new' tiles.
A very grey, soggy afternoon out, but I enjoyed it all the same. There was a gaggle of seven tiles around the Gussage All Saints/Wimborne St Giles/Sixpenny Handley areas which I planned to grab. Managed them, and a few more too, up around Broad Chalke, Bowerchalke, and Bishopstone. Once again I'd left it too late leaving the house, so ran out of time to go across to Wilton. Which I feared might have meant no Max Square expansion today. No matter - I've got to take a MTB or "gravel" bike up to ride the Droves and byways anyway. But, upon uploading my ride, I discovered that I'd manage to increase my Max Square from 19x19 (where it's sat since 1st September) to 22x22. So all good in the end.
Today's ride.
And my newly enlarged Max Square.
dirtbiker said:
Nice one YellowJack! That square over Brownsea Island must be really annoying you!
Not as much as you might think, really. It's low enough in relation to Bournemouth sea front that it doesn't massively impact on Max Square expansion at the moment. I've still got room to go north, 7 tiles before I hit Porton Down Range tiles.My trouble is that my focus keeps jumping about the map. I was concentrating on filling in gaps between Winchester and Basingstoke a few days ago. So naturally yesterday's ride took me through Dorset into Wiltshire west of Salisbury, and nowhere near Winchester. Now I'm thinking I'd like to expand into Cranbourne Chase, west of Wilton, into the area bounded by the A303 and A350. Or I could concentrate on the byways and tank roads of Salisbury Plain to join some groups of tiles together. Or then there's the stuff you can't see on that photo - the many gaps in my "old" cluster from Basingstoke down to Alton and Petersfield. There's no single obvious best direction to go at the moment really. And I do get easily bored riding in the same area day after day, hence jumping around in all directions lately.
Also, Brownsea Island is open again now. But pre-booked tickets (combined ferry/admission tickets) only. So if it bothers me I can go get those four tiles, up until 15th November at least, as that looks like the end of their season.
Got out yesterday with a target of 30 tiles. Riding from Wilton, as the Salisbury City Park & Ride scheme doesn't charge for car parking - you just pay for the bus if you're commuting/shopping. So effectively there's a good quality free car park on whatever side of the city you approach from. Better than the Winchester scheme where you Pay & Display, with a combined (tear down the middle) car park and bus ticket.
Should have gone out earlier, as per usual, as I ran out of time to get five of those planned tiles. Although that did have a bit to do with some "wasted" efforts climbing up farm track/public footpaths that I didn't need. Counting off turns, I went left too early and only realised when I checked the map at the top of the climb. Lesson learned - check the map before the ascent next time!
One risky decision did pay off though, as I took a right at Stapleford, up the restricted byway on Chain Hill. Instead of rolling back down to the road to head north, I turned left (north) onto a byway that ended at the A303 just above Winterbourne Stoke. Initially it was grass, full width muddy puddles, and sections repaired with large grade aggregate. I had to pick a careful line on/around that stuff. But after the first mile it gave way to a perfectly surfaced farm road. A nice easy roll down for a mile and a half, perfect for a road bike. For anyone that needs those tiles, it's the byway that runs roughly parallel and just west of the A360, from Chain Hill through Asserton Farm, Horse Down, and Hill Farm. Amazing views north west to The Plain too.
In the end it wasn't enough to improve my Max Square, but it was nice and dry, if a little bit windy on the way back.
Hoping to head back up there today to grab some more tiles, but it's such a mixture of byways and bridleways through a significant number of tiles that I'm not sure which bike to take, or whether to concentrate my efforts on tiles with roads running through them, or those without sealed surfaces. Whichever way I go, I think it's going to take at least two rides up there now to make any significant improvement to my Max Square.
Strava here... https://www.strava.com/activities/4164166813
Should have gone out earlier, as per usual, as I ran out of time to get five of those planned tiles. Although that did have a bit to do with some "wasted" efforts climbing up farm track/public footpaths that I didn't need. Counting off turns, I went left too early and only realised when I checked the map at the top of the climb. Lesson learned - check the map before the ascent next time!
One risky decision did pay off though, as I took a right at Stapleford, up the restricted byway on Chain Hill. Instead of rolling back down to the road to head north, I turned left (north) onto a byway that ended at the A303 just above Winterbourne Stoke. Initially it was grass, full width muddy puddles, and sections repaired with large grade aggregate. I had to pick a careful line on/around that stuff. But after the first mile it gave way to a perfectly surfaced farm road. A nice easy roll down for a mile and a half, perfect for a road bike. For anyone that needs those tiles, it's the byway that runs roughly parallel and just west of the A360, from Chain Hill through Asserton Farm, Horse Down, and Hill Farm. Amazing views north west to The Plain too.
In the end it wasn't enough to improve my Max Square, but it was nice and dry, if a little bit windy on the way back.
Hoping to head back up there today to grab some more tiles, but it's such a mixture of byways and bridleways through a significant number of tiles that I'm not sure which bike to take, or whether to concentrate my efforts on tiles with roads running through them, or those without sealed surfaces. Whichever way I go, I think it's going to take at least two rides up there now to make any significant improvement to my Max Square.
Strava here... https://www.strava.com/activities/4164166813
Nice. I've got Portland to do as well. But I switched my focus to other places that would do more for my Max Cluster and Max Square. Nothing for me so far this week, as my wife has a week off work so we're spending time at castles, gardens, and cathedrals together, getting some culture in before it all gets closed down again...
Solocle said:
Fancy putting up a link to the tile you got in Poole Harbour? The one that overlaps Brownsea Island.I went there today, with my wife, to do some Tufty spotting (succesfully). Sadly I missed out on that one of the four island tiles by a matter of yards because we were pressed for time. So I'm gonna need to sneak into the docks now to avoid a £12.50 ferry ride to Brownsea again...
Our walk, and the three tiles I managed to get.
And that annoying single tile that a few extra yards down a woodland path would have delivered. I swear it's laughing at me behind my back...
I've been looking at the docks on Googlemaps. Streetview stops short of where I need to go, and I can see the shadows cast by fence posts so I'm concerned that I won't be able to make it down to the slipway beyond the ferry terminal. It also looks like there is a security barrier where the yellow box and two stop lines are painted on the road leading to the slipway. Did you have any dramas getting down there? I know you discussed this before, too, so I'm going to read back through this thread to see if you've already put up a link to that ride. I realise it is annoying with idiots asking questions which you've already answered...
The annoying thing is how close I have come now on two occasions. You can see how close those red lines are to entering the tile at the northern and southern edges. Worst of all, I know I'd have got it if I'd remembered to take my tile-marked OS map with me. Still, at least it's the one that physically can be done with dry feet from the Poole side. The other three don't overlap land at all. I just don't fancy getting arrested by UK Border Force or port security is all...
yellowjack said:
Fancy putting up a link to the tile you got in Poole Harbour? The one that overlaps Brownsea Island.
I went there today, with my wife, to do some Tufty spotting (succesfully). Sadly I missed out on that one of the four island tiles by a matter of yards because we were pressed for time. So I'm gonna need to sneak into the docks now to avoid a £12.50 ferry ride to Brownsea again...
Our walk, and the three tiles I managed to get.
And that annoying single tile that a few extra yards down a woodland path would have delivered. I swear it's laughing at me behind my back...
I've been looking at the docks on Googlemaps. Streetview stops short of where I need to go, and I can see the shadows cast by fence posts so I'm concerned that I won't be able to make it down to the slipway beyond the ferry terminal. It also looks like there is a security barrier where the yellow box and two stop lines are painted on the road leading to the slipway. Did you have any dramas getting down there? I know you discussed this before, too, so I'm going to read back through this thread to see if you've already put up a link to that ride. I realise it is annoying with idiots asking questions which you've already answered...
The annoying thing is how close I have come now on two occasions. You can see how close those red lines are to entering the tile at the northern and southern edges. Worst of all, I know I'd have got it if I'd remembered to take my tile-marked OS map with me. Still, at least it's the one that physically can be done with dry feet from the Poole side. The other three don't overlap land at all. I just don't fancy getting arrested by UK Border Force or port security is all...
Here you go...I went there today, with my wife, to do some Tufty spotting (succesfully). Sadly I missed out on that one of the four island tiles by a matter of yards because we were pressed for time. So I'm gonna need to sneak into the docks now to avoid a £12.50 ferry ride to Brownsea again...
Our walk, and the three tiles I managed to get.
And that annoying single tile that a few extra yards down a woodland path would have delivered. I swear it's laughing at me behind my back...
I've been looking at the docks on Googlemaps. Streetview stops short of where I need to go, and I can see the shadows cast by fence posts so I'm concerned that I won't be able to make it down to the slipway beyond the ferry terminal. It also looks like there is a security barrier where the yellow box and two stop lines are painted on the road leading to the slipway. Did you have any dramas getting down there? I know you discussed this before, too, so I'm going to read back through this thread to see if you've already put up a link to that ride. I realise it is annoying with idiots asking questions which you've already answered...
The annoying thing is how close I have come now on two occasions. You can see how close those red lines are to entering the tile at the northern and southern edges. Worst of all, I know I'd have got it if I'd remembered to take my tile-marked OS map with me. Still, at least it's the one that physically can be done with dry feet from the Poole side. The other three don't overlap land at all. I just don't fancy getting arrested by UK Border Force or port security is all...
https://www.strava.com/activities/4043554072
It's definitely not border force, I was outside the port's perimeter fence. It's not obviously private, either.
Edited by Solocle on Saturday 17th October 11:53
Solocle said:
Here you go...
https://www.strava.com/activities/4043554072
It's definitely not border force, I was outside the port's perimeter fence. It's not obviously private, either.
Thanks for that. I can see where you got access now. Perenco - the oil company extracting over on the old BP Wytch Farm field on Purbeck. It's where they keep the boat/raft that takes lorries across to their operations on Furzey Island. Sadly for me, it was all locked up out of hours, and a warning on the gate suggested that the automatic gate is kept shut, closing after every vehicle entry ('No Tailgating' sign). I had another look there tonight, but couldn't find any way through. But I'll go back during working hours now, and try both Perenco and Jenkins Marine - both firms' yards are within the tile, and I only need to wander in far enough to get turned away. Hopefully one of them will have an open gate at some point. If not I'll just have to book another visit to Brownsea Island and pay the £12.50 ferry ticket.https://www.strava.com/activities/4043554072
It's definitely not border force, I was outside the port's perimeter fence. It's not obviously private, either.
Today's attempt...
...failed at the fences and locked gates. I was tempted to sneak through the closing automatic gate at the Yacht Club and ride down to the sea wall, but the yard was full of members coming and going, so I backed out of that option. I'll get this one in the end, it's clearly possible, as you've ably demonstrated. I think it's just a matter of timing the attempt right to coincide with an open gate.
https://www.strava.com/activities/4208098500
First time out tiling in exactly 1 month due to a half marathon for charity then our wedding - wife is back to work today so I decided I'd go a short run in the rain to increase my max square - it was pretty miserable and my speed sensor must be broken as it was jumping up to the high 60 MPH mark and I'm fairly certain I was only doing about 15/16.... Better get onto Wahoo as it's messed up the activity data on Strava. Anyways, stats and map coming up:
VV score: 84.996 (Up from 84.562)
261 tiles (Up from 256 tiles), average of 3.114 (up from 2.983) mi per tile
Max square: 10x10 (Up from 9x9)
Max cluster: 124 (Up from 120)
Eddington Ride: 22
We've also been advised that our new house should be ready early December, so it looks like I'm into my last 6 weeks tiling in this area, not really sure where my focus should be as we're moving to the area highlighted here:
VV score: 84.996 (Up from 84.562)
261 tiles (Up from 256 tiles), average of 3.114 (up from 2.983) mi per tile
Max square: 10x10 (Up from 9x9)
Max cluster: 124 (Up from 120)
Eddington Ride: 22
We've also been advised that our new house should be ready early December, so it looks like I'm into my last 6 weeks tiling in this area, not really sure where my focus should be as we're moving to the area highlighted here:
I got some top quality dead-end action in on Sunday morning. Max square is still 8x8 but max cluster went from 258 to 359.
I have a square close to home with no roads in that I need to nab. I have walked the footpath going through it during lockdown, so I need to find the ViewRanger tracks to export as GPX and then pull it into Strava for VV to find.
I have a square close to home with no roads in that I need to nab. I have walked the footpath going through it during lockdown, so I need to find the ViewRanger tracks to export as GPX and then pull it into Strava for VV to find.
Solocle said:
Here you go...
https://www.strava.com/activities/4043554072
It's definitely not border force, I was outside the port's perimeter fence. It's not obviously private, either.
I only went and got that damned tile today! https://www.strava.com/activities/4217067952https://www.strava.com/activities/4043554072
It's definitely not border force, I was outside the port's perimeter fence. It's not obviously private, either.
Perenco's gate was left open and I got in far enough to claim the tile. Can't agree on the "not obviously private" bit. It's clear that you're not meant to be in Perenco's depot. But after sniffing around at Jenkins Marine and seeing that they had too much going on in the yard, I doubled back to Perenco. No one in the yard, and the office didn't look busy either so I risked it, sneaked behind a tanker trailer, and rode the gravel down past the boats to the sea wall. Didn't stop, just spun round and came back out again. As I did so, an older chap with a large belly was striding across the yard pulling on a hi-vis waistcoat and shouting at me. I ignored him, on the grounds that I was already leaving, and carried on back out of the gate. Done now though, so no need to ever go back into the port area.
48 tiles ridden, but only three new ones.
Happy to have closed up three annoying gaps in my Max cluster though.
Edited by yellowjack on Monday 19th October 22:19
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