Checking off cul de sacs (AKA: Continue with an arbitrary goal?) Update: I finished

[MattTuck]

Update: I Finished.

A few months ago, I set a goal for myself to ride every single mile of road in town this year. I'm pretty far in to the challenge, and think that another 5 or 6 (possibly more if I am not efficient with them) rides will be all that I need to do to complete it.

However, these rides have absolutely no flow. Consist of riding to certain places in town, going down little segments of road that I haven't hit so far, turning around, hitting little dead end streets and cul de sacs.

I'm ambivalent about finishing this goal; on the one hand, I know it would mean a lot to me, and I've already seen lots of little parts of the town that I never would have seen before; but at this point, there are better rides out there that I know I want to do and would rather spend my time on some nice routes rather than checking off cul de sacs.

[false_Aest]

'merica has too many quitters.a

[MattTuck]

'merica has too many quitters.a

'nuff said. Ibey Rd, here I come. Thanks for the perspective.

Note to self: H.T.F.U.

[christian]

Sac up.

[saab2000]

Finish the project. It's a worthy goal.

[Louis]

I think you need to do every road in each direction - the personality of a given route can be vastly different, depending on how you happen to be traveling. ;)

[jghall]

Agree, you are 98% finished with the original goal, complete it and check the box. Then on to the next goal.

[Mr. Squirrel]

dear matt,
i really do understand. you just require a bigger nut sack to see you through (nuk nuk nuk!).

mr. squirrel


http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/DMix69/nutsack.jpg

[MattTuck]

I think you need to do every road in each direction - the personality of a given route can be vastly different, depending on how you happen to be traveling. ;)

Fortunately, for the dead end/cu de sac roads that are my bain, you are forced to ride them in both directions. The rest of the roads for the most part, I've already ridden in both directions....


Still, this is not as funny as you think it is :no:

[fiamme red]

I would expand the goal to include riding through every backyard too. :)

[zennmotion]

Fortunately, for the dead end/cu de sac roads that are my bain, you are forced to ride them in both directions. The rest of the roads for the most part, I've already ridden in both directions....


Still, this is not as funny as you think it is :no:

No, there's clockwise (Italian style) and counterclockwise (BSA) and the two cannot be substituted for each other. Doing this after it's no longer fun sounds a little like not so much fun. Cyclists are so prone to OCD...

[MattTuck]

The other big question is whether the roads that are closed to the public should be ridden also (they are service roads for the town reservoirs) or if it is ok, since they are obstructed by 8 foot chain link fences, to exclude them from the town roads... They are named roads, but no public access.

I'm afraid riding them could put me on the terrorist watchlist. Only semi-joking.

[G-Reg]

Keep the goal but push the completion to the right.

Mix it up. Work on your goals on Thursday's, every other ride, once a month etc.

I have been forcing myself to go down roads that I would normally skip because I know they are dead ends. I have been surprised by what I have found and given the proper bike, some of them are not as dead ended as I thought.

[sc53]

So what town's roads are you riding all of? I see you live in two places.

[MattTuck]

So what town's roads are you riding all of? I see you live in two places.

Hanover, NH


I'm doing just the public maintained roads. If I ever buy a cross bike, I'll use that to do all the class VI unmaintained highways, (the ones that have a gate and say 'use at your own risk')

[William]

Hanover, NH


... If I ever buy a cross bike, I'll use that to do all the class VI unmaintained highways, (the ones that have a gate and say 'use at your own risk')

I like those roads. I explore those whenever I can.




William

[Louis]

Hanover, NH

I think Matt's just been riding up and down Webster Ave. (aka "Frat Row") rewarding himself with a beer each time he completes a loop.

[slidey]

Whatever's the most fun to you, really. If discovering new roads ain't fun any more...why bother...those roads will, in most likelihood, still be there. You can do something else for a bit, and visit those roads some other day when you feel like exploring. Bottom line, quitting a hobby when it isn't fun is called switching hobbies. :)

[csm]

I've been working towards this in my town also. one of these days I've got to figure out how to overlay all the rides/maps that I've done and see what roads I've missed.
I am including alleys also.

[cnighbor1]

at times I ride out of the way to see garage sales. just to sell the homes between were I am on my bicycle and on the way to sale. An an architect i enjoy seeing new areas but usually in too big of a hurry on my bicycle to find these hidden areas. It is amazing to me what I see. A lot of places here in rich walnut Creek, Area there is a lot of tear down or remodel to a much bigger size home which is fun to see. I do have have a problem in why when your living in a $1,000,000 (minimum price for a home in many areas in walnut creekl) why you need to have a garge sale.
I would love to lead a many dead end roads ride. Many great rides lead to dead ends but still fun to ride.
Charles
Here is a way out ride
http://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/perfect-the-colorado-trail/

[MattTuck]

I've been working towards this in my town also. one of these days I've got to figure out how to overlay all the rides/maps that I've done and see what roads I've missed.
I am including alleys also.

If you use strava, it's easy. Go to this site: http://www.jonathanokeeffe.com/strava/map.php and enter your strava ID number. and it does all the work for you.

[jlwdm]

... I do have have a problem in why when your living in a $1,000,000 (minimum price for a home in many areas in walnut creekl) why you need to have a garge sale.
...
http://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/perfect-the-colorado-trail/

So you don't have to haul stuff away.

Jeff

[MattTuck]

Well, thanks to all those who said HTFU. It is just what I needed. I went out tonight recommitted to my goals, and crossed a big number of roads off my list. here's the strava ride for anyone that's interested: http://app.strava.com/activities/21667667

Ended up doing a lot of dirt, solid amount of climbing as many of the 'dead ends' happen to be up the side of a damn mountain, it has to be one of the funniest looking maps for a ride I've ever done, except for the one that looked like a cat.

Here are some pictures I took. The class VI highway one is for William, to tease him. Not sure why the pics are so small, I think my picasa web upload app puts a cap on the size unless you buy the premium version.

Thanks alot everyone, just what I needed to get the passion back to finish my goal.

cul de sac
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-FvUNMWVNvjo/UE_FzXIciYI/AAAAAAAACI4/e6cQO8TnfFE/s638/IMAG0798.jpg

cul de sac
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-_HwfwYebD3Q/UE_Fue77kOI/AAAAAAAACIg/nBkllK3KRwE/s638/IMAG0799.jpg

Looking down a hill I just climbed
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/--rfiV7NxtTs/UE_FtX9lZFI/AAAAAAAACIY/9Suh50lFAUk/s638/IMAG0802.jpg

class VI highway
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aTvda5k-tsM/UE_FwTkl4hI/AAAAAAAACIo/ahTzbOb36Sk/s638/IMAG0800.jpg

the scenery
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-YRwfQNqQ4Ig/UE_Fkz3dtiI/AAAAAAAACII/TlfqutGb0ew/s638/IMAG0804.jpg

[Peter P.]

You need new motivation to help you finish your goal.

I say people who live on cul-de-sacs and dead ends have no right to so little traffic and so much peace.

Ride down 'em just to piss the buggers off.

[William]

[QUOTE=MattTuck;1202704]Well, thanks to all those who said HTFU. It is just what I needed. I went out tonight recommitted to my goals, and crossed a big number of roads off my list. here's the strava ride for anyone that's interested: http://app.strava.com/activities/21667667

Ended up doing a lot of dirt, solid amount of climbing as many of the 'dead ends' happen to be up the side of a damn mountain, it has to be one of the funniest looking maps for a ride I've ever done, except for the one that looked like a cat.

Here are some pictures I took. The class VI highway one is for William, to tease him. Not sure why the pics are so small, I think my picasa web upload app puts a cap on the size unless you buy the premium version.

Thanks alot everyone, just what I needed to get the passion back to finish my goal.



class VI highway
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-aTvda5k-tsM/UE_FwTkl4hI/AAAAAAAACIo/ahTzbOb36Sk/s638/IMAG0800.jpg

Get ready, I'm on my way over right now.:cool:




William

[MattTuck]

Slightly better version.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2WpuF5TR2sY/UFCGCN8tujI/AAAAAAAACJ4/uVJUHB5DMFU/s912/IMAG0801.jpg

William, it is funny. This thread and some of your comments got me thinking about these class VI highways, and I actually did a bit of research. There's a road in town called Wolfeboro road, that is basically a bunch of dead ends oriented east to west, off of the more main roads. See this link (https://maps.google.com/maps?q=hanover,+nh&ll=43.723444,-72.182107&spn=0.024997,0.038581&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hnear=Hanover,+Grafton,+New+Hampshire&gl=us&t=m&z=15). I thought this was such a weirdly organized road, that it must have been an old road, with parts of it falling into disrepair over the years.

A little research yielded the following.

This historic road was first laid out in 1772 for the convenience of Governor John
Wentworth in traveling across the Province of New Hampshire from his summer home in
Wolfeboro to Hanover; but the first compass survey of the part in Hanover was not
recorded until 1797. Because of its significance in the history of Hanover it should be
preserved and designated the Wolfeboro Historic Trail. It would include both maintained
and unmaintained sections throughout its length. The several unmaintained sections, now
recognized as Class VI highways, were labeled 2a – 2h in the Saul Plane report. Sections
2b, 2d, 2g and 2h are subject to gates and bars. All eight sections have trails on them for
hiking and cross-country skiing, although 2b and 2c have been closed to the public by the
health officer because they lie within the watershed of the Hanover reservoirs. Except for
section 2f they are 3 rods wide.
2. Wolfeboro road. Proposed in 1770, and traveled by Gov. John Wentworth and
party, from his country seat in Wolfeboro to the College commencement in 1772. Portion
from Girl br. in Hanover to the Center officially surv. Apr. 26, 1797 (R.H.). That portion
from Three Mile rd. over Moose Mt. to Canaan line surv. (with re-location between the
Three Mile line and the mountain) in T.R. under date June 15, 1815. No detailed surv.
known for intervening portion. Prob. not continuously maintained, even at first, different
parts falling into disuse or being reopened from time to time. See article by N. L.
Goodrich in “The Dartmouth Alumni Magazine” for April, 1922, Vol XIV, No. 6, pp.
418-426.

[MattTuck]

As an example of the strange routes I have to take to accomplish this goal...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-6x9jPExBoe4/UFe-EYfEBcI/AAAAAAAACKI/kMFKPn2YRUw/s800/Picture1.png

[merlinmurph]

I'm liking that class VI highway

You need a 'cross bike, Matt :)

Murph

[MattTuck]

Well, after 18 Rides (some more exciting than others), 450 miles, 35,000 feet of climbing, and what seemed an endless string of cul de sacs and dead ends, I finished riding every road in Hanover, NH.

I'm looking forward to getting out on some rides now when I can just ride a route that I like. Maybe even get into Vermont!

[MattTuck]

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pVMuzdcUQ_Y/UH7RLgxecoI/AAAAAAAACPc/EEkSdR5-G7A/s912/IMAG0841.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-EXy96VJx5Ow/UH3vG2SM58I/AAAAAAAACNY/5S6JIOy0QGc/s912/IMAG0853.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QsfS93eBxfY/UH3vEsqTcJI/AAAAAAAACNA/D9-clnQvzTk/s912/IMAG0863.jpg