Route Finding

The road unknown. Photo via Szymonbike

I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on my mind their edges become less pronounced, like water wearing away at a sharp stone. My memories of Cycling, which start at the age of eight, remain somehow vivid.

As Pedalwan learner to my father, one of the many arts I was taught was that of route finding. My first exposure to this was in the Alps near Vizille, France – just outside Grenoble and near the base of the legendary l’Alpe d’Huez. Here I learned firstly that the well-known routes are filled both with bicycles and automobiles. Secondly, I learned that if one is to discover the less-travelled jewels hidden within the countryside, that one is to procure a map of sufficient detail to provide the information one seeks. At first, we had only the major auto maps at our disposal, but even on these crude things he showed me how to judge a road’s approximate interest (a word he has always used to describe the gradient), based on how squiggly it looked on the map.

I was quickly introduced into the realm of detailed maps; maps which showed topographical lines to indicate elevation, roads of varying degrees of maintenance, and where roads had squiggles on them that looked like beats on a cardiogram: one beat for manageable “interest”, two beats was “interesting”, and three beats had you breathing out of your ears to get up it. Other roads were dashed which meant they were smaller and possibly gravel, and red dashes meant you had to be prepared to go back in case the road wasn’t passable.

Most importantly, I learned to use the map as a guidebook, but never to rely on it entirely. Maps can be wrong, and when you are looking for the roads that aren’t well travelled, they often are. The most rewarding aspect of route finding is to explore by sight; to follow your instincts once you are on the bike and explore opportunities that might not even have shown up on the map.

To this day, I love route finding; I can’t turn it off. Give me a map, and I’m immediately in search of cardiograms and squiggly roads. On a plane, I peer out the window and imagine what it might be like to find my way across the landscape on two wheels; whether the roads below are even passable on a bike. When I’m in a car, my mind instinctively inspects every side road for signs of “interest”. On the bike, it does the same. When I’m in form – or something approaching it – I stick to my routes but when I’m in search of form, I like to go exploring; I like to use the opportunity of ambiguity in my fitness to find new routes.

Those are the days I live for; riding down fresh lanes, with the road unknown to me. On such days, I thank Merckx I’m out of form.

Vive la Vie Velominatus.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Ccos says:

Jul 13 2017 at 8:01 pm

@Pali65

Reading this as an avid MTBiker it has a completely different taste. Though Velominati is rather road cycling realm cycling opens another universes once you are willing to leave paved roads and to go for uncharted paths in the woods. And yes, finding the way on the map and then making the hypothesis reality is certainly one of the great pleasures in cycling.

I once crashed while on a wanderlust of sorts on my mountain bike and for a brief moment thought I might have to call my wife for help. I had more panic from the idea that I would have to describe where I was as "I'm right here" than from any injuries.

I found the spot on the Maprika app and since it wasn't called "nearly broke my hip rock" I could point out the trails to her "just in case."
Ron says:

Jul 17 2017 at 12:36 pm

Ha, I have this weird issue where if I try to think about a route I haven't ridden in awhile, I find myself getting confused. But once I jump on the bike, I find myself just going, not thinking, and getting it right. Relatedly, when someone asks me for driving directions I either a) can't tell them how to go because I don't know road names, as I'm watching drivers and trying not to get run over, not looking at signs b) can tell them how to go, but halfway through I realize my route isn't all passable via car c) can't tell them how to go since I live my life in a little bubble, going the same places daily/weekly. I'm a big time creature of habit.
Ron says:

Jul 17 2017 at 12:38 pm

@Ccos

@Pali65

Reading this as an avid MTBiker it has a completely different taste. Though Velominati is rather road cycling realm cycling opens another universes once you are willing to leave paved roads and to go for uncharted paths in the woods. And yes, finding the way on the map and then making the hypothesis reality is certainly one of the great pleasures in cycling.

I once crashed while on a wanderlust of sorts on my mountain bike and for a brief moment thought I might have to call my wife for help. I had more panic from the idea that I would have to describe where I was as “I’m right here” than from any injuries.

I found the spot on the Maprika app and since it wasn’t called “nearly broke my hip rock” I could point out the trails to her “just in case.”

0

Only time I had to call the VMH for a ride was when I made my all-time worst shift and ripped off my RD. That sucked. And, I still live with the memory, as I had to have the rear wheel rebuilt and the dopey mechanic just used black nipples, as he didn't have silver on hand. Thanks a lot!

I've been riding off-road more and more these days. If I can carve out some riding time, I often don't want to spend ANY of it dealing with reckless drivers.
Cary says:

Jul 17 2017 at 1:46 pm

@universo

mapped 58mi allroad route December 2015 because I had sent my frame to Toronto – no riding, may as well map a route – perfected this *essential route* thru 2016 – motivated to collaborate, sponsor and support it as The Saluda Roubaix race April 2017 – overheard race director David Hall with his team, “have no idea how he found some of these roads.” P.S. can someone figure out how to define *essential route* for the Lexicon here

this looks gorgeous and fun. i did my first gravel ride in May, and it was awesome. hitting trails like this on a road bike at 40kph was pretty outrageous.
VbyV says:

Jul 18 2017 at 10:20 am

This one was a few years ago. I love it when the pavement runs out.
wiscot says:

Jul 18 2017 at 12:06 pm

@Cary

@universo

mapped 58mi allroad route December 2015 because I had sent my frame to Toronto – no riding, may as well map a route – perfected this *essential route* thru 2016 – motivated to collaborate, sponsor and support it as The Saluda Roubaix race April 2017 – overheard race director David Hall with his team, “have no idea how he found some of these roads.” P.S. can someone figure out how to define *essential route* for the Lexicon here

this looks gorgeous and fun. i did my first gravel ride in May, and it was awesome. hitting trails like this on a road bike at 40kph was pretty outrageous.

0

Yup. Gravel is fun. I did the Bear 100 in northern WI this spring. 180 kms - 90%+ on gravel. For the last 30 kms the man with the hammer was sitting on my stem laughing at me and slapping me in the face while laughing hysterically. I'll miss the Hibernator 100 in October, but I'll be back for the Bear next year. It puts all other century rides into some serious perspective . . .
Cary says:

Jul 18 2017 at 1:54 pm

@wiscot

@Cary

@universo

mapped 58mi allroad route December 2015 because I had sent my frame to Toronto – no riding, may as well map a route – perfected this *essential route* thru 2016 – motivated to collaborate, sponsor and support it as The Saluda Roubaix race April 2017 – overheard race director David Hall with his team, “have no idea how he found some of these roads.” P.S. can someone figure out how to define *essential route* for the Lexicon here

this looks gorgeous and fun. i did my first gravel ride in May, and it was awesome. hitting trails like this on a road bike at 40kph was pretty outrageous.

0

Yup. Gravel is fun. I did the Bear 100 in northern WI this spring. 180 kms – 90%+ on gravel. For the last 30 kms the man with the hammer was sitting on my stem laughing at me and slapping me in the face while laughing hysterically. I’ll miss the Hibernator 100 in October, but I’ll be back for the Bear next year. It puts all other century rides into some serious perspective . . .

0

i don't think i could do 180k on gravel. my ride in may was a hilly 105k and i was completely bonked for the last 12k.
wiscot says:

Jul 18 2017 at 3:53 pm

@Cary

I hear ya! The Bear is pretty undulating with some pretty soft gravel most of the way. Many climbs have to be done seated otherwise your rear wheel spins out. The ride is unsupported. Four water stops (including one gas station) and that's it. The forecast this year was between 80-100% chance of rain. Half the registrants (70 of 140) didn't show,which is a big deal as it's a pay-on-the-day gig. It started out chilly (mid 30s) and stayed dry until about a minute after we finished! Had it rained during the last two hours I'd have crawled into the woods to die and be eaten by whatever fancied my carcass. Good times!
Joe Bloggs says:

Jul 24 2017 at 3:27 am

I love finding a route by "instinct" and then looking it up on the map afterwards. Of course being on a small island (relatively speaking) which lacks any dangerous wildlife helps with this. Probably not a good idea in other countries! I also use this island mentality to navigate - pre-define boundaries such as major roads, towns and rivers and then ride within the "island" created by them. A couple of us were out doing one of these rides a few weeks back when we crashed going through a ford, neither bike was rideable, so we had to make that fateful call not really knowing where we were, so resorted to describing the route as we remembered it. Scars have nearly healed and the #1 bike looks better than ever due to the new bits I "needed" to get it working again.
VbyV says:

Jul 24 2017 at 12:52 pm

I like this topic. When the sign says Closed, I go there. Five by Five.