Suggestions: Great Roads
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Having read this interesting thread on the Route Library it occurs to me that many users like building their own routes, and not necessarily to be given them as a complete package.
For example, I tend to take multiple published routes (from all over the net, inc Route Library), overlay them, and then chop them up and reconnect them to make own version.However, we can't easily build routes for areas we don't know without a lot of in-depth research. That is fun but motorcycle-specific information can sometimes be hard to find.
A sweet option, and easier for everyone to take part in, would be a Great Roads Library.
Features:- short sections of road (think Michelin green roads, but for motorbikes)
- a short comment to say why the road is worthy of inclusion (scenery, curves, views, tarmac)
- points of interest along the road (cafe, viewpoint)
- open to all MRA members to submit, minimal barriers to submission
- can be voted on (1-5 stars) with reviews, so the cream rises to the top
- option to overlay them whilst route planning
I know my area of the UK well enough to give tens and tens of great sections of road - some only 5 miles long, some 30 miles. If there were say 50 other UK members did the same for their area/county we would have a lovely spiders web of great roads to try.
And the downsides:
- someone has to code it (sorry, Corjan!)
- someone has to moderate it (I would happily volunteer)
There are similar offerings around but I've not yet found one good enough to use, let alone one incorporated into a route planner.
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Having read this interesting thread on the Route Library it occurs to me that many users like building their own routes, and not necessarily to be given them as a complete package.
For example, I tend to take multiple published routes (from all over the net, inc Route Library), overlay them, and then chop them up and reconnect them to make own version.However, we can't easily build routes for areas we don't know without a lot of in-depth research. That is fun but motorcycle-specific information can sometimes be hard to find.
A sweet option, and easier for everyone to take part in, would be a Great Roads Library.
Features:- short sections of road (think Michelin green roads, but for motorbikes)
- a short comment to say why the road is worthy of inclusion (scenery, curves, views, tarmac)
- points of interest along the road (cafe, viewpoint)
- open to all MRA members to submit, minimal barriers to submission
- can be voted on (1-5 stars) with reviews, so the cream rises to the top
- option to overlay them whilst route planning
I know my area of the UK well enough to give tens and tens of great sections of road - some only 5 miles long, some 30 miles. If there were say 50 other UK members did the same for their area/county we would have a lovely spiders web of great roads to try.
And the downsides:
- someone has to code it (sorry, Corjan!)
- someone has to moderate it (I would happily volunteer)
There are similar offerings around but I've not yet found one good enough to use, let alone one incorporated into a route planner.
@richtea999 Just thinking out loud: On paper, it seems like a good idea. But we need to think about it... would it be worth the effort/use? I have a couple of MRa user groups (one with over 500 members and another with over 1000) where we've carried out projects with tremendous effort, and over time, you realize that only one or two people use it, and even then, only sporadically. In fact, I canceled a couple of projects without warning months ago, and no one has mentioned missing them.
Regarding interesting roads in the Michelin-type MRA database, we already have this tool, which I'm sure very few people use:
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Do I need to explain the recently added MRA RouteXperts and MRA Scenic layers? The first indicates roads used by existing RX routes, the second indicates roads with a certain twistyness. I also use streetview intensively.
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I honestly think @richtea999 has shared a fun idea.
I can however also comment that we won't be working on something like this in the nearby future.Will be fun to think of integrating user content more directly once the foundations of the new website are built. Moderation and preserving quality is however critical and that's where the RouteXpert library excels in.
