Velo Viewer

[PapaZita]

Not sure how you plan your routes, but you may wish to give cycle.travel a go.

Thank you. So far I've been planning using Veloviewer's OS and Open Cycle Map overlays, and a bit of local knowledge, but I'll soon be getting into less familiar territory. I didn't know about cycle.travel and it looks like it could be really useful, not just for collecting squares, but for some of the route guides too - we've been thinking about a C2C trip this year...

 

[Supersuperleeds]

If you use Google Chrome then you can add a veloviewer plug in that shows the squares on Strava, combined with google maps ( for street view) and Bing maps (for OS mapping) you were need anything from else.

Cycle travel is brilliant for quiet routes though

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Another 12 squares today increasing my max cluster by 29 to 1658. Max square is still 36x36 but the east to west bit is up to 38.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

68 more squares today, only added 6 to my max cluster though.

 

[graham bowers]

25 new squares yesterday. Max square 16, cluster 585, total squares 3978. It was a lovely ride that took in a few miles of the Coventry Canal towpath and varous bridleways West of Lichfield. Thank heavens for Sputnik rims and 32mm tyres!

 

[graham bowers]

If you use Google Chrome then you can add a veloviewer plug in that shows the squares on Strava, combined with google maps ( for street view) and Bing maps (for OS mapping) you were need anything from else.

Cycle travel is brilliant for quiet routes though

Thanks for that. Chrome installed and VV plug in added. That will make things a lot easier. I have asked the owner of cycle.travel if squares can be made visible.

 

[steverob]

I’ve just discovered Veloviewer and its squares, thanks to this thread. I’m currently at 13x13 in SW Hertfordshire. It’s grown quickly over the last couple of weeks, but I think all the easy pickings have been had. Now I’m pushing up against Luton to the north, Watford to the south, Hatfield to the east, places my normal rural routes would tend to avoid. I think this weekend’s project might be to explore the joys of the Luton-Dunstable guided busway, but it’ll take a few more rides in different directions to get to 14x14.

I'm currently at 20x20 in Buckinghamshire and also have Luton next on my list to do (it's currently to the ENE of my max square) and like you find doing urban/suburban tiles far more awkward to cross off than my usual country lanes approach. The good news is that I confirmed that the cycleway alongside the guided busway is now fully tarmac-ed, meaning it should be a lot easier to cross those few tiles off.

 

[PapaZita]

I'm currently at 20x20 in Buckinghamshire and also have Luton next on my list to do (it's currently to the ENE of my max square) and like you find doing urban/suburban tiles far more awkward to cross off than my usual country lanes approach. The good news is that I confirmed that the cycleway alongside the guided busway is now fully tarmac-ed, meaning it should be a lot easier to cross those few tiles off.

I rode the busway on Saturday. It’s wide, smooth, and was almost deserted (I think there was something on telly). It must now be a great facility for those who need to travel between Luton and Dunstable.

That still leaves a lot of Luton to be explored though. I don’t know what NCN6 is like through the town, but I think it could be the basis of a route that (with a few zig-zags) can cross off two rows of tiles in a single ride.

Sunday’s ride was west, towards Tring. I’ve extended my cluster a little but am still at 13x13. However, a few key squares have been visited, a few nice new roads discovered, and I have set up the possibility of skipping 14x14 altogether and getting to 15x15 next weekend!

 

[steverob]

Sunday’s ride was west, towards Tring. I’ve extended my cluster a little but am still at 13x13. However, a few key squares have been visited, a few nice new roads discovered, and I have set up the possibility of skipping 14x14 altogether and getting to 15x15 next weekend!

Well if you're cycling west towards Aylesbury at any point and come across any tiles you can't seem to find a way to get, let me know which ones they are and I'll see if I can remember how I bagged them. At present the four corners of my max square are roughly Stokenchurch (SW), Chorleywood (SE), Thornborough (NW) and Flitwick (NE) and my cluster obviously goes further (including all of MK, Bicester and Hemel), so chances are that anything within those boundaries I've already ticked off.

 

[tallliman]

Have you ridden the rail trail from Luton south toward Wheathampstead?

 

[PapaZita]

View attachment 410329

Have you ridden the rail trail from Luton south toward Wheathampstead?

Parts of it, yes. I used it on Saturday to get from East Hyde into Luton, but I’m not so familiar with the section through Harpenden. It’s a pleasant route with a tarmac surface and nice views. I met this chap:

View media item 10528
East of Wheathampstead there’s also the Ayot Greenway, on the route of the same old railway, which will take you on to Welwyn, although that section isn’t tarmac and can get a bit muddy.

 

[tallliman]

Thanks! The tarmac section should be good enough....might have luggage when I use it.

 

[tallliman]

Max square is up to 25x25 thanks to ticking off quite a few squares today. Max cluster up to 1546 as a result.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Strategic 32 mile ride this morning saw me bag 16 more squares. Those 16 included the ultra tricky military range square in Beckingham which saw my max cluster jump by 185 to 1,849 and now stretches to Lincoln and Woodhall Spa.

I now need to target the area between Nottingham and Derby

 

[tallliman]

When you do, let me know!! It's rather lumpy up that way