DirtData.org

What if there was not only a route mapping site that allowed users to tag roads according to surface, but also made notes of where there were potable springs, country stores with ice cream sandwiches, and included tagged pictures of overlooks, vistas, sites of note, ect. Wouldnt that be great? Users could search by town, state or county and get a list of user generated tags, ride info, and visual information.

The Dirt Road Database is a collaborative effort started at Ridelugged, masterminded by ride565, to make this pipe dream (its a bubble pipe, lets face it) come true. Using the personalized part of google maps, users can create and collaborate on maps that help locate, name, and classify non-paved surfaces in thier area.

This could easily get out of hand, random symbols meaning random things. lets start off with a level of standardization: ie the soft drink and burger symbol always means a place to grab a bite. The following is an initial key to help users navigate and create thier own tags, roads, and commentary.

for now, brown lines= dirtish road surface. i would like to get into tagging roads more accurately in the future: ie if you know a surface is gravel, chances are in the spring it gets regraded, making it hard to ride on. actual dirt roads dont have this issue, but get muddy fast.

Grey lines= roads you know are gravel

Green lines= fireroads, aka really rough roads, or roads that are hardly more than wagon tracks. please note if these pass thru private land, or are excessively rocky. where do i make these notes? well when you are finished drawing your colored line, this dialog box comes up:

but, yours wont be filled in yet. name the road, and then in the comments, if you know: list if the road isnt marked (no street sign) how to recognize it (if it isnt marked) and other important info.

let us know if there is food. we like to eat. even if its off course. of particular interest: places with wooden floors, places that make really good whatever, places that have cheap beer, places with places to sit down.

warn us that we are about to die. tell us why. is the big dog on a chain? is the bridge out? is the giant pit of snakes bunnyhopable?

is there something you dont know? is there a bridge? let us know that you dont know. the water icon means river ford. like yer feet get wet, kinda thing.

i like pictures. add them, or at least let us know where the good photo ops are. camera icon does that.

the turquoise thumb tack means potable water, or semi potable. let us know which it is, in the note. i drink from a lot of springs and streams, but i’ll let you know if its a spring or just some stream.

invent more things, but make them obvious/simple. this is a map, not a treasure hunt. over informative is better than under, so go crazy. remember, we dont care about real pavement. this isnt a traditional route planner. dont use it directly to plot rides. use it as a tool to plot rides using lovely sites like routeslip and bikely, and even gmap-pedometer. in short have fun, meet new people, ect.

lets use this blog space to post links to maps, (and when you do, categorize it under the appropriate headings: state and county. make a category if yers isnt there yet. lets make this viral. i’ll advertise it around. you do the same.

also, post dirt roady rides here.  we’ll try to get the word out.