Regarding cul-de-sacs on Wandrer, you skipped over the interesting part that is a lot more general for cyclists:
Cyclists, as a general rule, avoid cul-de-sacs almost entirely. Why? Because by definition they don't go anywhere. Maybe without even realizing it a "normal cyclist" couldn't draw a picture of the triangular "No Outlet" sign, but when riding they recognize it in their spinal cord and stay away from the dead end therein. Wandrer totally flips that. When a wandrer sees that triangle on their "regular route" it's like an Easter Egg. That's a section you've passed dozens, even hundreds of times and never bothered to explore. I've found it super rewarding to go down those unexplored dead ends. I'm an amateur architecture buff, and some of the most interesting houses have been down those dead ends. Also, I've found a number of interesting urban trails at the ends of cul-de-sacs which I imagine only the locals know about. That binary switch from "cyclist" to "wandrer" is interesting on its own, IMO. In the East SF Bay, some of those tiny side streets and cul-de-sacs are also among the most strenuous cycling one can find. I've learned that all the "main drags" through the East Bay Hills are practically flat in the gradual ways they go up and down the hills. The residential streets which shoot off those main drags are far steeper. For a short, very strenuous workout that is still not repetitive, there is not much better than a Wandr in the Oakland Hills. Those rides kick my butt. Regarding apartment complexes and other maze-like structures, those can be super challenging to get all the bits. I usually make a cue sheet when I wandr, and that task can get tedious when it's a million little turns. One way I've approached those structures has been in the simple ways mathematicians traverse mazes. One way to cover a loopless maze is "right hand on the wall". If a maze has no loops, then RHOW will cover the maze. It's pretty easy to recognize such a structure on the map and then a whole housing development can be knocked out on the cue sheet with a single "RHOW" entry. These are some of the ways that Wandrer has opened up using my brain on my cycling in ways that I hadn't bothered before. For some people that may "take the fun out of it", but for me it gave me new ways to derive more fun in my cycling. Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Thursday, September 15, 2022 at 4:19:24 AM UTC-7 Eric Daume wrote: > With wandrer, even worse than cul-de-sacs for me are apartment complexes. > Tedious architecture and lots of dead ends. > > I had one ride where I spent about 1.5 hours riding (in the rain!) through > several apartment complexes, trying to finally close out a section, only to > find my phone had stopped recording a mile into the ride. Doh! > > Eric > > On Wed, Sep 14, 2022 at 8:59 PM Robert Tilley <rlti...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I recently signed up with Wandrer to force me to take some different >> routes. I've worked from home for the last 4 years or so and have no free >> time so all of my rides tend to be errands and also tend to be along the >> same routes. >> >> It's been fun so far but I have come to really hate the inventor of the >> cul-de-sac. My area is full of them and it's a real pain to "bag" them all. >> One short road section here has eight cul-de-sacs sprouting off of it. I've >> gotten a lot of odd looks in the week that I've been trying to clear them >> all. I keep thinking I'm gonna get beat up since I likely look like some >> kind of weirdo riding into and out of all of these small neighborhoods. >> I've started using my Brompton so I look more like a harmless creep than a >> creepy creep. I'm waiting for someone to post about "some weird old guy >> riding through our neighborhoods" on the Nextdoor app. >> >> I make double sure that my watch is recording my ride before I take off. >> I can't even imagine going through some of those routes only to find I >> didn't hit "record". My wailing would be heard for miles and would be the >> source of much consternation I am certain. >> >> I have my area about clear so I'm now heading out into the unknown... >> >> Robert Tilley >> San Diego, CA >> >> On Wed, Sep 7, 2022 at 4:22 AM Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Eric described and showed some of the fun one can derive from >>> wandrer.earth. >>> >>> I concur wholeheartedly that wandrer.earth can add another layer of fun >>> to cycling for some people. I tend towards the compulsive, and so when I >>> can planfully do something, I am generally more likely to follow through >>> with that something, or at least stick with that pursuit for a longer >>> period. In short, wandrer.earth got me through the pandemic, because it >>> added a layer of fun for rides that were all solo, and were mostly not far >>> from my front door. I got pretty hardcore with it, and am very proud of my >>> footprint in the SF Bay Area (Contra Costa, Alameda and Marin Counties >>> mostly). My job has me travel to Michigan almost monthly, and my presence >>> in Wayne County is preserved on wandrer, and that helped shape many of the >>> hours that I would otherwise have spent watching TV in a hotel room. I >>> just returned from a three week vacation in Europe and one of my digital >>> souvenirs is a solid footprint in Stockholm, Sweden, Copenhagen Denmark, >>> and Amsterdam. >>> >>> Bill Lindsay >>> El Cerrito, CA >>> >>> On Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at 3:14:33 AM UTC-7 Eric Daume wrote: >>> >>>> Near Dublin, OH, a suburb of Columbus. According to wandrer.earth, >>>> Dublin has just over 400 miles of bike paths and accessible roads (it >>>> doesn't count interstates, etc). It took me from November through July to >>>> hit my target for riding these roads (blue is ridden, red is unridden): >>>> >>>> [image: image.png] >>>> >>>> It's a fun app. I found I was riding longer distances to get out to new >>>> roads, so I ended up in better than usual shape for mid summer. >>>> >>>> Eric >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Tue, Sep 6, 2022 at 4:56 PM Jon Dukeman <row.n.2...@gmail.com> >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Where in Ohio? >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, Sep 6, 2022, 2:44 PM Eric Daume <eric...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Come ride in the Midwest or South, and then you’ll appreciate your >>>>>> “hot and sticky” Bellingham summers :) >>>>>> >>>>>> I like to have made up goals for my riding. For a while, it was >>>>>> reading and returning books to my local system of little free libraries. >>>>>> This year, I used wanderer.earth to target riding all of my local town >>>>>> roads and paths. That was a good experience. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Eric >>>>>> Now in Ohio, formerly of Seattle >>>>>> >>>>>> On Tuesday, September 6, 2022, Jay Lonner <jay.l...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Over the years my cycling has increasingly tended toward >>>>>>> commuting/utility. Bike-centered vacations/tours remain on the menu, >>>>>>> and >>>>>>> are still very enjoyable to me, but the day-in, day-out feels like a >>>>>>> chore. >>>>>>> Part of this is seasonal — I have an easier time dealing with cool, wet >>>>>>> conditions than hot, sticky weather. So maybe this problem will solve >>>>>>> itself with the autumn rains imminent. But I’m wondering whether others >>>>>>> ever get a case of cycling burnout, and maybe have some tips to work >>>>>>> through it. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Jay Lonner >>>>>>> Bellingham, WA >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>> send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/77d0469b-5dc1-4647-97b0-624f3018916dn%40googlegroups.com >>>>>>> >>>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/77d0469b-5dc1-4647-97b0-624f3018916dn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>>> . >>>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>> send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAHFNW5ACHLQc-Z1RpBeM2N5ad6u6_65vSfuE-_QaQ2XJhbTpTw%40mail.gmail.com >>>>>> >>>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAHFNW5ACHLQc-Z1RpBeM2N5ad6u6_65vSfuE-_QaQ2XJhbTpTw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>>> . >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> >>>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAMO8PLgnVXs9Z2r0%3D7AM-RgRQe%2Bo9r%3D5xR%3DYKrzm%2B%3Dumvd0-tw%40mail.gmail.com >>>>> >>>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAMO8PLgnVXs9Z2r0%3D7AM-RgRQe%2Bo9r%3D5xR%3DYKrzm%2B%3Dumvd0-tw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>>>> . >>>>> >>>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/cc6870d4-f3ba-4852-bd86-de11d23f8cc8n%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/cc6870d4-f3ba-4852-bd86-de11d23f8cc8n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >> > To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAAK1ZwYzdc4-5XnM5%2BRhZueOhDa26YdYop%2BKg%3Db03RpOqPEB5w%40mail.gmail.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CAAK1ZwYzdc4-5XnM5%2BRhZueOhDa26YdYop%2BKg%3Db03RpOqPEB5w%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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