BigMeatball
Senior Member
if you live in a city, as soon as you get out of the chaos everything will look like heaven and scenic
Interesting that you ask about the highlighting of scenic routes. That immediately makes me think of the Michelin map series. The French ones are the most well known, but there was an excellent sets of five inexpensive maps covering the UK and Ireland, published during the 1980s and 1990s which can easily be found secondhand. For example:
Michelin sheet 404
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Earlier copies were yellow rather than orange. Provided secondhand bookshops are open I'd be surprised if you couldn't put together the set in decent condition for under an tenner. It looks as though you'd pay a bit more on eBay.
Other maps and sites are needed for greater detail, but what the old MIchelin maps do brilliantly is to give an overall picture of an area or region, helping to visualise how a ride or tour can be put together. One of the features was the highlighting of scenic roads in an eyecatching green. A subjective editorial judgment of course.
More modern versions are available, but I have a fondness for the 1980s style.
That's how I ended up in Accy's outside toilet.Follow your nose.
I do exactly the same. Have a bit of a go at plotting a route on ridewithgps (set to "driving" mode). Then use the yellow man to see if I've plotted anywhere that Google maps hasn't been. Generally these are not great for road bikes so l will rerouteI find the most powerful avoidance tool for 'non-asphalt' is to use the little yellow man (GSV). Don't need to plonk him down but the blue lines revealed offer assurance.
Don't get me wrong: I'll always be on the look out for a bridleway or BOAT that might 'go'.
This BOAT gave me my (slightly) 'rough stuff' fix on Day 1 of LEL (rather than the ugly (shaped) road excursion through Haslingfield) at about 60k in, on the way to St Ives, and kept the overall distance closer to 1400km.
Must admit after years of cycling the area where I live the same roads had become a bit stale. Of late I have taken to looking out places I have never been (some just off roads I have traveled countless times) and going to see what is there, sometimes nowt!!
Ended up down a few dead ends (today included) but every once in a while you encounter a hidden gem.
Obviously this exploration type cycling is no good if you are "chasing times" but very enjoyable.
I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the Calderdale off-road route information given above by @Globalti is the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth!All my best mountain biking routes and many of my road routes have been the result of long, leisurely sessions studying the OS map either in the bath or on the bog. There's no greater joy than scoping out a route then going and testing it. Many of those off-road routes were in Calderdale, a valley system with an absolutely mind-boggling choice of old industrial routes to ride, as @ColinJ will testify.
I also solemnly... (etc.) that the Ribble Valley is great, but because I live further away from it I don't ride there frequently enough to feel stale about the area. (Probably about 8-10 RV rides per year?)Agreed, the Ribble Valley is a fantastic area for cycling but after riding every road for years I'm feeling a bit stale.
Cycle-route.com worth a look
Looks like the site is no longer maintained or is broken. Looks like you may be able to get the odd gpx but not much useI have looked at a few of the routes listed on that site, but the map doesn't load and there are no route descriptions.
This ^^^^The problem I find with the non OS maps is that if you're not careful (eg selecting the right navigation mode when plotting) you can find yourself on some pretty bad tracks. These may be "good, scenic" routes to some cyclists (with Mountain Bikes and the skills to go with them!) but not for me.
For instance, last year I failed to check my route against OS maps and found myself walking down this 12% gradient, which is heavily eroded where the roadway has become a stream in the rain. I didn't enjoy it. I was pretty annoyed with myself as it was late in my ride and I was tired. It may have been a grand day out for some other cyclists. The alternative was descending on a very unpleasant A road (A249 Detling Hill). Some A roads are OK. This one isn't.
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Not far away from here is another track that is supposedly a cycle route. A few years ago my lack of off-road skills on that track landed me in a barbed wire fence (on my way home from a Friday night ride to Whitstable)
Yes, I find the same. I also live in Lancashire where we are blessed with some of the best and most varied cycling in the UK. Even this though can become stale, especially riding solo.Agreed, the Ribble Valley is a fantastic area for cycling but after riding every road for years I'm feeling a bit stale.