Veloviewer. Who is using it, and what do you get from it?

[Solocle]

Some Gump said:

I'd be tempted to drive west and make that 29x29 bigger, surely 2 rides and you'd have it at 34x34 or even 35x35?

mind you, one major reason is that other than on the closed roads of Ride100, I can't think that riding near London is any fun at all =)

I think a 40x40 is defintiely possible between the training areas and the Bristol Channel.

[yellowjack]

Solocle said:

Some Gump said:

I'd be tempted to drive west and make that 29x29 bigger, surely 2 rides and you'd have it at 34x34 or even 35x35?

mind you, one major reason is that other than on the closed roads of Ride100, I can't think that riding near London is any fun at all =)

I think a 40x40 is defintiely possible between the training areas and the Bristol Channel.

I'm on it!

And yes, one more ride could easily knock that up again to 35x35. A little nibble at that five-tile "bump" around Bruton will do it, Beyond that and I'm looking at a MTB/gravel ride into the ranges at Imber and Larkhill. The imber range is a definite no-no but others have done it, and I probably will too.

As for 40x40? Possibly. I'd had it worked out as 39x39, but it could easily be 40x40 depending on how the coastal tile boundaries fall in relation to the coastline itself.

I'm not sure about another expedition today now. It's a bit late for a long ride, or an hour or more each way drive to get to productive tiling grounds. Weirdly my wife wants me home for dinner together tonight.

[ukbabz]

Well I managed to add a few more tiles to my cluster (32!) at the weekend on the Dragon ride.. Having done a previous (similar route) before it wasn't as many as you'd hope in 213km! Now at 7.768km / tile

[dirtbiker]

Finally filled in an annoying 3 tile gap yesterday:



1356 tiles > 1359 tiles
Max square 11x11
Max Cluster: 182 >191

There's not much left now within an hour or so on the bike (all I can really justify with a four-month-old and a two-year-old at home) but will keep trying!

[yellowjack]

Returned to Hungerford today, and finally bagged a second helping of 33x33 goodness...



...including 42 new tiles. And just for a change, no annoying single tiles left as gaps in the area covered.

[ukbabz]

I have finally managed to expand my max tile slightly and plugged a hole in Reading. Although I did it through running rather than cycling.

Before

Explorer score:
3134 tiles, average of 7.833 km per tile
Max square 23x23 View map
Max Cluster: 810 KML

After

3140 tiles, average of 7.825 km per tile
Max square 23x23 View map
Max Cluster: 815 KML

[yellowjack]

ukbabz said:

I have finally managed to expand my max tile slightly and plugged a hole in Reading. Although I did it through running rather than cycling...

Which reminds me. I have some unfinished business in the Reading area which would contribute nicely to Max Square expansion. And I also need to push out toward <shudder>Slough</shudder>

Looks like I'm heading toward Midsomer Norton this weekend though, which won't really help expand my Square, but will be a whole new area to explore. Details are sketchy but I'm taking my son to stay with one of his friends for a night or two, so I'm going to take a bike and try to maximise the opportunity after I failed to make the best of my trip up to Derbyshire a while back. Just spent half a day drawing the VeloViewer tiles onto three (new) OS maps of that area (where he's staying is literally right on the edge of a map) so that I will have plenty of options. Maybe Cheddar Gorge? Strike out for the coast? Work back toward my existing Cluster? Maybe the Bath/Bristol cycle path? Who knows, really? I'll make it all up "on the hoof" as usual, I suppose...

[dirtbiker]

Had a day off for my birthday on Friday so used it to nab some slightly further away tiles on a 60km ride:

1365 tiles > 1377 tiles
Max square 11x11 (no change)
Max Cluster: 191 > 216



Still finding some nice new routes - glad I got into this!

[Harpoon]

I rode a loop of just over 70km on Sunday morning to tick off... one tile!

That took me from several overlapping 22x22 to two 23x23. One ride in December should bag the 5 or 6 tiles needed to finish the year on a 25x25.

[Harpoon]

100km this morning to finish the year with two overlapping 25x25s - decent increase from a 16x16 at the start of the year.

[yellowjack]

Harpoon said:

100km this morning to finish the year with two overlapping 25x25s - decent increase from a 16x16 at the start of the year.

That's decent progress in a year. I've stagnated a bit toward the end of the year if I'm honest. My Max Square effort is still split, and unless the MOD close Porton Down, or at least the training area/range there, then it always will be split.

Currently I'm on two entirely separate and not overlapping in any way Squares, each of 33x33 tiles...

...which is irritating because if it weren't for the four 'Impossible Tiles' in the middle then I'd have focused my effort on a single Max Square which would be much larger.

This is how those two Squares fit into the full picture...


The western, left hand Square is also compromised by some Impossible Tiles to the north of it, in the Larkhill Artillery Range impact area, and some off-limits tiles that should be "possible", if not strictly permitted, around the Imber live fire training area. It looks like fairly easy pickings to push the left hand square out to 35x35, and the right hand one out to 45x45 in a few big rides. Beyond that? Not sure the left hand Square can be expanded much beyond 39x39 with the coast and the MOD Impossible Tiles constraining me in the west. In the east, expansion much beyond 50x50 will mean a lot of riding inside the M25, which isn't really my idea of a good time.

Tiling is tougher now, and very difficult if I were to be wanting to ride only from home. To get any ride of a decent distance in I have to drive at least an hour to start on/near the edge of the current Cluster of visited tiles. Also annoying that, on current data (inclusion threshold of >4007 for cluster), I'm only 4 tiles away from getting on Pete Bartlett's 'Ride Every Tile' UK leaderboard on the strength of my Max Cluster. I probably ought to drag myself out and expand that beastie before he next updates his site...
https://rideeverytile.com/tiles/leaderboard_nation...

Having said all that, I'd be a bit further ahead already if a bout of depression hadn't kept me off the bike for five straight weeks over November/December.

This is my year, by the numbers...

[Solocle]

Some new tiles, I believe the first since November.

Coastal ones are always hard, so trying to get them out of the way.

[yellowjack]

Solocle said:

Some new tiles, I believe the first since November.

Coastal ones are always hard, so trying to get them out of the way.

I'm struggling with Portland and Chesil Beach too. I probably ought to have included Portland itself in a bigger ride early on, because now it's a long way to go for just an isolated small batch of tiles.




Probably 24 tiles in all in that area that I "need". Some will involve walking on the seaward side of Chesil Beach if I'm to claim them, and I'm not even sure if that is permitted... (Edit: I found this link... https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/chesil-beach/ ...which says it can be walked legitimately, subject to closure of the range danger area at Chickerell... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chicker... ). The coastal path and all other PROWs definitely run on the landward side of The Fleet. A couple on Portland may need a walk too, on the eastern side of the "island". Then I suppose it will need a kayak to nab the tiles containing the breakwaters of the old naval base.

I've got a couple of tiles still to get on Purbeck too. A couple in the Lulworth Range boundary, and some on (or just beyond) the coastal path, all of which will be more efficiently claimed on foot. As you say, nabbing every last coastal tile with "dry land" in it can be tough. Access isn't either easy, or permitted, in many cases.

[Solocle]

yellowjack said:

I'm struggling with Portland and Chesil Beach too. I probably ought to have included Portland itself in a bigger ride early on, because now it's a long way to go for just an isolated small batch of tiles.




Probably 24 tiles in all in that area that I "need". Some will involve walking on the seaward side of Chesil Beach if I'm to claim them, and I'm not even sure if that is permitted... (Edit: I found this link... https://www.walkingclub.org.uk/walk/chesil-beach/ ...which says it can be walked legitimately, subject to closure of the range danger area at Chickerell... https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/chicker... ). The coastal path and all other PROWs definitely run on the landward side of The Fleet. A couple on Portland may need a walk too, on the eastern side of the "island". Then I suppose it will need a kayak to nab the tiles containing the breakwaters of the old naval base.

I've got a couple of tiles still to get on Purbeck too. A couple in the Lulworth Range boundary, and some on (or just beyond) the coastal path, all of which will be more efficiently claimed on foot. As you say, nabbing every last coastal tile with "dry land" in it can be tough. Access isn't either easy, or permitted, in many cases.

Yeah, I've been considering taking a train down to Weymouth to close the gaps around there. Can get 3 hours after work for a ride if I catch the 18:07 and then return on the 22:30.

This ought to be possible in that time:

I might well be doing the seaward side of Chesil this coming weekend.

[yellowjack]

Solocle said:

...I might well be doing the seaward side of Chesil this coming weekend.

Did anything come of that for you? I've not managed much at all in the way of new tiles this month. Had plenty of time to ride, but anxiety struggles and "overthinking it" have sunk many of those riding opportunities. I managed to go for a walk last weekend from Tyneham to Worbarrow on the Lulworth Ranges, but no new tiles from that.

I also managed a MTB excursion onto the Larkhill Artillery Ranges on Salisbury Plain, but failed in my quest to ride all but the Impossible Tiles in the area. So a trip back is in order at some point.

Entering the last weekend in January I see I've clocked up only 45 new tiles in the month. How is "tiling" going for everyone else over the winter?

[Gareth1974]

Gareth1974 said:

I signed up for Veloviewer in July (the right hand image shows where I’d been to that point) and did my first ride targeting some new tiles in August. Since then I’ve increased my max square from 6x6 to 17x17.

My new year ‘resolution’ for Veloviewer is to reach 25x25 for my max square and build a 1000 tile max cluster.

Edited by Gareth1974 on Saturday 2nd January 12:07

I wrote this just over a year ago, unfortunately 2021 didn’t go as I’d hoped, with Covid lockdowns and relationship problems meaning I cycled less than half the distance I achieved in 2020.

I’ve started this year quite well though (although I’m currently poorly with Covid!) and I should be able to make some decent improvements to both my max square and max cluster in 2022.

As things stand I’m at:

Max square 22x22
Max cluster 769
Veloviewer score 94.449

[ukbabz]

I've been back on the road bike but predominantly turbo through winter and rehab. I'm using the rare weather / family breaks to go on club rides which rarely net any new tiles.

I did manage to find an old GPX that closed an irritating gap and increased my max cluster to 823. I do have 3 23x23 squares overlapping at the moment so should be able to expand that when I get back onto tiling rides.

[cml24]

I've used VeloViewer to have a quick look at 3D maps before, but never looked at the tiles map.

Just had a quick look at the 25 activities the free one allows you to enter.

It is very tempting to sign up to pro and link my strava properly now...

Will I become addicted? Is it a wise idea? AS I'm never going to be very quick on my mtb or road bike, strava occasionally is off putting as I can't get close to KOMs on anything popular (I know thats not the be all and end all!), but maybe this will keep me hooked...

[Gareth1974]

cml24 said:

Will I become addicted? Is it a wise idea? AS I'm never going to be very quick on my mtb or road bike, strava occasionally is off putting as I can't get close to KOMs on anything popular (I know thats not the be all and end all!), but maybe this will keep me hooked...

I think it’s well worth doing. Chasing tiles has provided motivation for me to got out on rides, I’ve discovered some new areas for riding which I wouldn’t previously have thought of trying, and I like planning the routes too, trying to work out on Google earth whether I access a certain spot etc.

[Some Gump]

Pre kids I was motivated by speed, always improving. I was motivated by distance, and climbing - ditto.

Now, I’m 8 years older, can’t do the long weekend rides as have 3 kids so that’s gone. Can’t possibly set new pb’s riding <1/4 the miles that I used to whilst weighing more.

Tiling last year gave me a lot of mojo back, there’s a new thing to aim for. It’s also cool exploring new places, going down ridiculous routes you’d have never done in the past. It’s only a tenner a year personally I think it’s the bast value thing in the sport!