Author Topic: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square  (Read 338976 times)

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #200 on: 21 September, 2018, 09:32:56 pm »
...and a miserable 6x6...

Me too.

Yes, well looking at our maps, they cover much of the same roads.

The simple fact is that in rural areas with a sparse road network which go around mountains, it's never going to be as easy to get a big grid as it is in a more urban environment where roads criss-cross every square.

And I CBA walking around dull mounds of Aberdeenshire just for this.

Hmph.

Go offroading. Finding offroad tracks is part of the fun. There are loads of estate tracks and stuff that hardly anyone will have ridden.

Mind you, i'm sure that, like the North Pennines (which is the western edge of my max squares*), there are loads of tiles with nothing in them. And dragging your bike through shoulder-high bracken or across peat bogs can get you down.

*I'm on 35x35 with 4 overlapping squares. The squares I need are actually quite doable, but I haven't had the gumption to deal with the endless s/werly gales this week. And i've ridden them before, but pre-Strabane,  which just makes it.more annoying.

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #201 on: 22 September, 2018, 01:02:00 pm »
@feanor - many thanks for the explanation.  Need to get a few more tiles and I'll post my update

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #202 on: 22 September, 2018, 01:48:31 pm »


Max square: 9x9
Max Cluster: 284

not many squares to go to get it up to 11 or 12 but it looks like I might need to pull out the mountain bike or some walking boots to get them.

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #203 on: 23 September, 2018, 11:09:04 am »
Is there any mechanism to highlight newly acquired squares?

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #204 on: 23 September, 2018, 05:12:31 pm »
...and a miserable 6x6...

Me too.

Yes, well looking at our maps, they cover much of the same roads.

The simple fact is that in rural areas with a sparse road network which go around mountains, it's never going to be as easy to get a big grid as it is in a more urban environment where roads criss-cross every square.

And I CBA walking around dull mounds of Aberdeenshire just for this.

Hmph.

Go offroading. Finding offroad tracks is part of the fun. There are loads of estate tracks and stuff that hardly anyone will have ridden...


IMG_1918_01 by The Pingus, on Flickr

 :)


Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #206 on: 24 September, 2018, 08:51:22 pm »
Is there any mechanism to highlight newly acquired squares?

Not that I know of, but clicking on the track of a specific ride will highlight that individual route in a bluey/grey colour, if this line goes through any squares with no other red lines in them then it was a newly acquired square.
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #207 on: 25 September, 2018, 03:55:05 pm »
Someone upthread suggested exporting the KML of unvisited tiles from Veloviewer then converting it to GPX and importing into GPX Editor, which I have done.  :thumbsup:

From that, I put together this 150km route that bags 23 unvisited tiles and should increase my max cluster by >50 - was planning to ride it at the weekend, but didn't fancy going out in the biblical rain...


Hopefully will get the opportunity to ride it this weekend instead. It involves taking a few detours down dead ends but I'm looking forward to that - it's a good excuse to explore some interesting looking lanes that I would never ride down otherwise. Excellent coffee stop at halfway as well.

There's one annoying tile that's just a few metres off route - to get it, I would need to go at low tide and climb over some rocks...


These two clusters are all offroad so will need a separate visit on a different bike, or on foot...

"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #208 on: 25 September, 2018, 04:11:01 pm »
There's one annoying tile that's just a few metres off route - to get it, I would need to go at low tide and climb over some rocks...


Take your swim stuff and take a short dip? This is where the veloviewer explorer app on your phone can be really useful, allows you to verify you are definitely in the square.

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These two clusters are all offroad so will need a separate visit on a different bike, or on foot...


You may find that for the 6 squares, 5 of them can be got by hiring a canoe. (Or swimming if you're brave). In theory there is a path down along the Stour here, but it's not perfect, it tends to get full of angry cows at some point, and it can be a muddy mess. I'd do it from the water...

Welcome to the addiction that is The Tile Game.

I haven't just changed the route of a 200k diy to move everything one road parallel to the original intention just so I got a load of different tiles... no... not me...

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #209 on: 25 September, 2018, 04:34:47 pm »
You may find that for the 6 squares, 5 of them can be got by hiring a canoe. (Or swimming if you're brave). In theory there is a path down along the Stour here, but it's not perfect, it tends to get full of angry cows at some point, and it can be a muddy mess. I'd do it from the water...

I've done Plucks Gutter to Richborough on foot before but not with GPS, and not for some years so I can't remember what the terrain is like. I was thinking it might be MTB-able but maybe that's optimistic. Hadn't thought of boating it. Interesting idea.

One tile in that cluster is only accessible by private farm tracks, so might need a bit of creative trespassing.

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Welcome to the addiction that is The Tile Game.

I'm hoping this will motivate me to get out on the bike more. I'm tired of doing the same old routes and find it demotivating...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #210 on: 25 September, 2018, 04:53:34 pm »
I've done Plucks Gutter to Richborough on foot before but not with GPS, and not for some years so I can't remember what the terrain is like. I was thinking it might be MTB-able but maybe that's optimistic. Hadn't thought of boating it. Interesting idea.

One tile in that cluster is only accessible by private farm tracks, so might need a bit of creative trespassing.

This is where it can be helpful to be a foreigner. "Oh that says no entry, I'm so sorry, I was following google maps!" You'd be amazed what you can blame on google maps :p

Quote

Quote
Welcome to the addiction that is The Tile Game.

I'm hoping this will motivate me to get out on the bike more. I'm tired of doing the same old routes and find it demotivating...

Yeah, it's done that for me. Tho you may find it a bit infuriating once your square is bigger "I rode 80km and got just 2 extra tiles, and no change in my square?!"

It can be a bit sole destroying to go out on a grey day and basically be riding round light industrial units seeing how far you need to trespass to get that extra tile.

And then you get routes like this one:

https://www.strava.com/routes/15115059

I have no idea what I'm going to set as the controls of this one when I try it as a DIY...

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #211 on: 25 September, 2018, 05:10:25 pm »
Note that if you do stuff on foot, you need to record it as a Run (a slow one!) rather than a Walk or Hike for it to show up in VV.
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #212 on: 25 September, 2018, 05:11:06 pm »

And then you get routes like this one:

https://www.strava.com/routes/15115059

I have no idea what I'm going to set as the controls of this one when I try it as a DIY...

J

That sounds like a job for a mandatory route DIY  :thumbsup:
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #213 on: 25 September, 2018, 05:15:17 pm »
Note that if you do stuff on foot, you need to record it as a Run (a slow one!) rather than a Walk or Hike for it to show up in VV.

Not true. I have a walk recorded and it shows up in VV. Ditto Kayaking.

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #214 on: 25 September, 2018, 05:32:55 pm »
Note that if you do stuff on foot, you need to record it as a Run (a slow one!) rather than a Walk or Hike for it to show up in VV.

On the activities page, select 'show filters', make sure the 'walk' box is checked under 'activity type' and voila...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

telstarbox

  • Loving the lanes
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #215 on: 25 September, 2018, 07:12:38 pm »
Ah thanks!
2019 🏅 R1000 and B1000

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #216 on: 26 September, 2018, 07:44:07 am »

Go offroading. Finding offroad tracks is part of the fun. There are loads of estate tracks and stuff that hardly anyone will have ridden.


I was scolded by Lady Carnarvon of Highclere Estate for trespassing last month. She didn't accept my excuse. "B..b..but, my Explorer Score depends on it!"

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #217 on: 26 September, 2018, 11:21:43 am »
I'm continuing to chip away,  most weekend rides include a square or two. 

Often including some off road excursions


Or the occasional hike-a-bike down a footpath to bag a square

Eddington: 114 Miles

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #218 on: 26 September, 2018, 11:24:38 am »
Or the occasional hike-a-bike down a footpath to bag a square

I was out on the MTB last week to bag a few hard-to-reach tiles, but much of the route to get to them was on the road, so it was a bit of a slog at times.

I can see that I'm going to have to get myself one of these newfangled so-called "gravel" bikes...
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #219 on: 26 September, 2018, 11:25:03 am »
Current stats are
9207 squares
Max square 32x32
Max cluster 1580

Eddington: 114 Miles

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #220 on: 26 September, 2018, 11:28:23 am »


I can see that I'm going to have to get myself one of these newfangled so-called "gravel" bikes...

Have to say that the gr*vel bike is my chosen weapon for square bagging
Eddington: 114 Miles

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #221 on: 26 September, 2018, 11:32:12 am »
Max square 32x32

Impressive.

Someone upthread (fboab?) mentioned that "Kent is easier than Yorkshire" because it has a more extensive road network, which is true enough, but while there's scope for increasing my current square to 18x18, chances of increasing it beyond that are largely hampered by the fact that it would have sea on three sides. I imagine the West Midlands would be the best area of the UK for big squares. Judging by your square, Derbyshire also seems to be fertile hunting ground.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #222 on: 26 September, 2018, 12:05:01 pm »
Max square 32x32

Impressive.

Someone upthread (fboab?) mentioned that "Kent is easier than Yorkshire" because it has a more extensive road network, which is true enough, but while there's scope for increasing my current square to 18x18, chances of increasing it beyond that are largely hampered by the fact that it would have sea on three sides. I imagine the West Midlands would be the best area of the UK for big squares. Judging by your square, Derbyshire also seems to be fertile hunting ground.
Yeah, Derbyshire's probably pretty good in that respect - a good network of lanes and no large bodies of water. There's a large area of open moorland at the north of the county which becomes more tricky for cycling.  Many squares with no cyclable routes or even footpaths, though much of it is open access land so not insurmountable. 
Eddington: 114 Miles

Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #223 on: 26 September, 2018, 01:29:42 pm »
40x40 is pretty simple covering Greater London (enclosing the M25 in a square). From that point you're blocked from adding much Eastwards due to access to Tilbury docks (I think).

(I say 'pretty simple' I still have to get out there and ride most of it. Only at 11x11 at the moment but 5 or 6 60-80km rides and it'll be up to 20x20).
"Yes please" said Squirrel "biscuits are our favourite things."

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square
« Reply #224 on: 26 September, 2018, 02:32:04 pm »
Max square 32x32

Impressive.

Someone upthread (fboab?) mentioned that "Kent is easier than Yorkshire" because it has a more extensive road network, which is true enough, but while there's scope for increasing my current square to 18x18, chances of increasing it beyond that are largely hampered by the fact that it would have sea on three sides. I imagine the West Midlands would be the best area of the UK for big squares. Judging by your square, Derbyshire also seems to be fertile hunting ground.

Yes. Due the North Sea, the Moray Firth and the Cairngorms, I think increasing the maximum cluster may be a better challenge than Max Square.