On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 12:29 PM, Barker, Nicholas <[email protected]> wrote: > As many of you will know we have a few well known long distance (100km+) > cycle routes, some of which cross state boundaries. These routes are also > rugged and designed to be ridden on mountain bikes or hybrids only. A few > examples of these are: > > The Bicentennial (VIC/NSW/QLD) > The goldfields track (VIC) > The Mawson Trail (SA) > The Munda Biddi (WA)
Hi Nick, Like John, I can only know one of these well - the Great Dividing Trail (aka "goldfields track"). It's extremely rough, and very little of it could be sensibly ridden by anything less than a mountain bike. So, definitely MTB route only. I'm actually intending to ride (and hence map) the entire thing in a bit less than a month. > As these are extended bicycle routes (albeit for MTBs or tough hybrids) are > of national significance do they constitute a national cycling network and > should they be mapped as such? They would constitute a national mountain biking network, if such a thing existed. But LCN/RCN/NCN are clearly for cycling in the sense of "a practical way of getting from A to B". > Indeed if they do not cross state borders are the only of state significance > and to be mapped as a RCN? That's a harder problem. I don't think crossing state borders is relevant. In the case of walking routes, I think the most nationally significant routes (eg, the Overland, the Lara Pinta...) should be NWN in order to show up prominently on route maps. > If a cycle route is rough enough to be MTB only (an unsurfaced rail trail > for example) does that relegate it from the LCN, RCN or NCN to just being a > MTB route only? Yes. > Should these routes carry two relations, NCN and MTB routes? I think you'd only see that situation where a section of track is part of two distinct routes, like where a mountain bike route temporarily uses a rail trail or something. If a significant section of an MTB route is suitable for normal cycling, it might be worth creating an extra relation - discuss maybe? Could happen on the BNT. The easiest way to think of it is that MTB and cycling are two completely distinct activities. If you can't ride a hybrid with panniers along it, it's not a cycle route. I haven't done it, but I understood the Mawson Trail to be dirt roads rather than mountain biking, so would be a better candidate for an RCN tag. Similarly, I'm pretty sure the Munda Biddi trail is intended for all kinds of cycling. Steve _______________________________________________ Talk-au mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
