Under Appreciated Bikepacking Resource :: Adding to Open Street Map

As a 20 year OSM contributor and editor - top work exposing the fact that this little known resource underpins the route planning software all of us use (whether it is Komoot, Cycle Streets, Ride with GPS or whatever) - there is only really Open Street Map content interpreted by these apps in slightly different ways . Great to get in there the recognition that OSM exists because of the obstructive way OS licenced (and continues to) data that was captured through the generosity of the taxpayer over 200+ years (formerly one of their surveyors here).

Excellent thanks. Lovely ride. I’ll look up OSM.

I heard about OSM once in passing but didn't pay it any attention. "What company could possible compare to google maps?", I thought. Good old world wide community of people. You'd think as a developer I'd keep in mind the power of open source after I turn off my work. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. It's so good!

Forrest gravel trails; my favorite too; less wind, less rain and it’s green 😜

Yey maps!

A really interesting and inspiring video. I didn't know about OSM nor realise that it underpinned so many of the tools we use. Always good to learn something, thank you - I've subscribed! Cheers Paul

Great stuff…going to have a look at OSM now! Maps are ace, spent half my life looking at maps 😊

Lovely ❤

Inspiring and useful, thx... have fun!

Jethro, this is such a helpful video. I used OSM about 6 years ago simply to check where I was. Off the back of this video I aim to put it to much more wide use. Thanks, Al

OSM is actually the basis of numerous planning facilities including RideWithGPS (which I use for my bikepacking here in western australia & in nz), so the more of us that contribute to its accuracy the better!

And that's not any kind of forest, that's the Swedish forest. The best!

I love the idea of Scandinavia and have family in Sweden, but the thought of all the mossies puts me off completely!

As always quite interesting keep up the good work🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Completely agree, when I set my Satmap to OSM I can see trails and little tracks that hikers have uploaded. Just brilliant in the summer when it’s super easy to miss you’re route because of all the vegetation.

Enjoyable mate just found osm so now downloaded it

The more videos of yours that I watch, the more I think we may be kindred spirits! 😅

There you go again, trying to entice me to visit Sweden. You just might succeed. 😀 I've been adding to OSM periodically for years. One has to be careful because it can get addictive.

Beautiful!! Summer at its best!😊 I spent a lot of time exploring new trails and footpaths in the forest when I grew up. On foot or on bicycle. Really loved the excitement of it. Mapping it all out in my head. Knowing how other trails moved through the landscape, and  knowing landmarks such as fields hills, brooks, and swamps, I often had a slight hunch of where the new path was leading. And sometimes not the slightest idea. Blekinge is not like Norrland, though. You can't be lost for too long, 'cause sooner or later there's a road leading somewhere.  My mother used to say that I found my way better in the forest than in town. I think that was mostly a matter of attentiveness, though. Since you know that if you get lost in the woods, there will be no signs to follow, and no one to ask for directions, you will pay attention to your surroundings. And since you know that if you don't lift your feet over roots and stones, you will inevitably fall, then you will pay attention to the ground as well. And you must pay attention to your body, to know how many more kilometers it can do before nightfall. That's sort of perfect mindfulness.  Nowadays I'd bring my phone though. Open Cycle Map looks interesting, thanks for the tip! Most of all right now I'd like to wish you good luck with your upcoming meeting in London! I hope they'll give you your Visa and let you come and go to Sweden as you please! Fingers crossed!😊🤞

I feel the same about maps. On a different scale (1:1,000,000 to be precise), I once bought a load of ONCs (Operational Navigational Charts) and planned an insane flight I knew I'd never do, just in case I might one day be insane enough to do it. (I worked with people who had done it, albeit the other way, importing our school's aircraft.) Scotland to New York via the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. Seeing "hut" and "shack" marked on a million-scale chart because there is nothing *else*, and "Elevations are believed not to exceed" (which is as close as the US military gets to "here be dragons"), gave me a whole new appreciation for the vastness of the place. So easy to imagine myself out there, slate-grey sky above, slate-grey ocean below, survival suit, single engine... I lost them in a house move at some point. It's probably a good thing; they made me restless. But they gave me a new bucket-list item, a fascinating little speck in the vast expanse of blue ink: Jan Mayen. I flew back from LAX just before Covid hit, and the friendly Finnair crew gave me an estimate for time and distance of closest approach, but solid cloud cover prevented me from seeing the place. One day.