VeloViewer Explorer Score and Max Square

[Global Nomad]

Hi All,

just signed up so I could follow and post. Have been looking at the explorer tiles for a long time but more as a side note to riding...since lockdown have reconsidered and am now aiming to ride all the tiles within the M25 from home in east London. Sticking with my all time map for the moment but have routes planned and constantly edited using strava and following course on the garmin 520.  Each ride is aiming at about 100km but will be trying a longer one this week

cannot manage to post a screen grab....

[LittleWheelsandBig]

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=103045.0 might help with posting photos. Basically link from a photo hosted elsewhere.

[Solocle]

+17 max cluster (290-307) on yesterday's ride

[carlosferreiro]

I've just signed up too, after slipping into the tile grabbing world and looking in here now and again for the last 20 pages or so.
I've got slightly different issues growing the cluster than most of you, as you'll see from my cluster screenshot below, but I'm still working away ;-)
No easy ones left now. Hopefully some mainland trips again soon!

[Bolt]

I've just signed up too, after slipping into the tile grabbing world and looking in here now and again for the last 20 pages or so.
I've got slightly different issues growing the cluster than most of you, as you'll see from my cluster screenshot below, but I'm still working away ;-)
No easy ones left now. Hopefully some mainland trips again soon!

Nice work   I think practically bagging an entire island deserves special recognition way beyond max square and cluster achievements!

[Deano]

God, imagine what paddyirish could do with that canvas

[carlosferreiro]

Unfortunately I don't kayak, or there would maybe be more fun in what's left ;-)

[FifeingEejit]

I've just signed up too, after slipping into the tile grabbing world and looking in here now and again for the last 20 pages or so.
I've got slightly different issues growing the cluster than most of you, as you'll see from my cluster screenshot below, but I'm still working away ;-)
No easy ones left now. Hopefully some mainland trips again soon!

Nice work   I think practically bagging an entire island deserves special recognition way beyond max square and cluster achievements!

I'm wondering what's wrong with Ȝell...

[Deano]

And on a side note, I rode out with a mate yesterday around a route including tracks I'd have never ridden if I hadn't wanted to bag some squares. I don't think she'll start squarebagging, but this thing does prompt you to look at the maps and consider routes you might have never considered otherwise.

[carlosferreiro]

I've just signed up too, after slipping into the tile grabbing world and looking in here now and again for the last 20 pages or so.
I've got slightly different issues growing the cluster than most of you, as you'll see from my cluster screenshot below, but I'm still working away ;-)
No easy ones left now. Hopefully some mainland trips again soon!

Nice work   I think practically bagging an entire island deserves special recognition way beyond max square and cluster achievements!

I'm wondering what's wrong with Ȝell...

Yell? It's just not great tile territory - I can't get the cluster to jump the water to it, and most of what I've not done is probably not practical to ride even grinding it out on plus tyred MTB
I will be back for more tiles anyhow, but it's a sideline

[FifeingEejit]

I just didn't see any bagged tiles on yell that's all.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[Global Nomad]

Hi Carlos, bagging islands is certainly a more demanding goal. in ( i hope) 12 months or so i'll start in the canary islands...in the meantime have to stick to the island that is London

[Davef]

I have started with the outline and plan to go back and do the colouring in.


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[carlosferreiro]

I just didn't see any bagged tiles on yell that's all.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

Ah, Yell has those easier road tiles done (just hard gaps between), it's Unst to the north and Fetlar to the east that have nothing.
There were plans to do a good 2 or 3 day trip this year, see if that still happens, it gets to be a long trip with multiple ferries both ways.

[Global Nomad]

the 'colouring in' is always fun

[fimm]

So back in the mists of time I wrote

... the gaps south of there can be filled in by some creative Pentlands running...

Well on Saturday I finally bagged those two squares.

Lockdown has been good for square and cluster bagging - I now have several overlapping 13x13 squares:
Veloviewer2b by f_m_m, on Flickr

The bigger picture looks like this:
Veloviewer3 by f_m_m, on Flickr

It has been fun - I've done a bit of comedy off-roading, and went walking on Fisherrow sands in the rain because I'd come to bag that square so I jolly well was going to bag it...

[Jack_P]

Used the long daylight hours to start to extend my cluster to pick up all those Welsh routes. Staycation plans for this year now ready for campsites to open 👍

[L CC]

I'm waiting for hotels to open. I don't want to do hike-a-bike laden for camping.

I will connect East Angular to the North.

[Deano]

Ride to campsite, pitch tent, go and bag squares, return to tent, beer, rinse and repeat!

[Solocle]

Yesterday's tiling started my big push for Oxford.
Before:

After:


Max cluster 331/354/+23

I was skirting the edge of the Imber ranges, which will be one of the big limitations on any max square.

A big 200 km ride would get the job done:


After that, pushing up to Leeds would probably be my next big goal, although filling out the local area is perfectly hard enough!
I call the route I've plotted (600 km) as far as Sheffield, "The Impossible Challenge".

[Graeme]

I'm waiting for hotels to open. I don't want to do hike-a-bike laden for camping.

I will connect East Angular to the North.

Will that knock me down the VC167 leaderboard?

[L CC]

Probably

[salar55]

Today's low tide was a good one, 2 tiles off Cardross. One was a bonus as the east wind pushed the tide further out. Up to a 21 square, done lots of mtb rides in the local hills. Always good to have nearby tiles to tick off.  Roll on the easing of lockdown.

[Greenbank]

Reminds me, I really need to finish off my code that allow me to give an idea of the minimal rides I'd have to do to grow my cluster or square.

e.g. with a ride that goes through x squares I could add y to my cluster

Especially if I can seed it with the locations of suitable train stations.

For example, just 5 more tiles between Maidenhead and Bisham (the enhe of 'Maidenhead' in the map below) would add a significant chunk to my cluster:-



(I'd do more than that if I went out that way, probably a big swirl to fill in lots of bits through Henley, ending at Windsor.

I've also got quite a dense area that isn't connected centered around Henham/Ugley due to those Audaxes. It'd only take a single well planned 100km ride up there to extend the cluster that way.

It's quite easy to make a single way trip cover two squares wide, and very easy to make a return trip covers a strip 3 squares wide in order to extend a cluster. (That is, of course, if there are easy enough roads to do this. It starts to be more of a problem in the sticks as it may require some trips down dead ends, but the roads aren't sparse to cause much concern in the SE of England).

Biggest call are the 11 squares that cover Guildford that would move my max square up from the 3 overlapping 18x18s to a single 21x21.

I've also got the benefit of having completely unvisited squares only 5 squares away from home having never bothered to cycle in East or North London that much.

[Lightning Phil]

Currently at 20x20 max square.  A handful on eastern and northern edges are holding it back. Plan to hit some of those next week.