How to Submit Cue Sheets and Maps for Website Publication
kycyclist@preble.netKY Bike Rides is a curated repository for cue sheets, maps and GPS files. Curated means there is considerable work and care that goes into posting a new ride for submission--you can help by adhering to the format below and only submitting well-tested rides that are free of errors. All submissions must include a cue sheet as described below--a GPS file is not enough. That said, new submissions are welcome for publication, and here is how to do it:
1. DESCRIPTION
Give the name of the ride, where to meet, description of the ride, your name and your cell phone number. For example:
Chocolate Turtle Sundae Ride
Easy Pickens Parking Lot
123 Anystreet
Louisville, KY 40202
RC: Sally Ride
Cell: 502-555-1212
2. CUE SHEETS
Submit all cue sheets as a table, either as an Excel File or a Microsoft Word file. The format is important in order for the cue sheet to display properly on the website. Mileages should always include a decimal point and only one digit after the decimal point. The table should have only three (or four) columns, for Example:
Miles |
Turn |
Road |
0.0 |
R |
Exit Parking Lot |
5.2 |
L |
Anywhere Lane |
7.2 |
X |
Highway Busytown |
10.3 |
S |
Back into Parking Lot |
Or:
Miles |
Turn |
Road |
Leg |
0.0 |
R |
Exit Parking Lot |
5.2 |
5.2 |
L |
Anywhere Lane |
2.0 |
7.2 |
X |
Highway Busytown |
3.1 |
10.3 |
S |
Back into Parking Lot |
SYMBOLS
R |
Right Turn |
L |
Left Turn |
S |
Straight |
X |
Cross |
BR |
Bear Right |
BL |
Bear Left |
Stop |
Store Stop |
3. MAPS AND GPS FILES
If you want a map to be included with your published ride, you may either create your map at www.ridewithgps.com or you may email me your recorded GPS track data (GPX or TCX File.) For more examples of proper format, browse through some of the files already published on the website.
4. ACCURACY
When recording cue sheet mileages, it is preferable to drive or ride the route and read the mileage off a GPS or other very accurate odometer. Very often, automobile odometers are wrong by several percent. When mileages are recorded by car odometers, it is common for errors of two or more miles to accumulate over the course of a Century Ride.
Please do not submit cue sheets created by automated sources--do not submit a route you made up from a map or a computer program without actually riding or driving the course. Maps can be be wrong. Road signs may show something different than you expect or may be missing altogether. If you don't want your riders to get lost, strive for accuracy. Adventure rides where you make it up as you go along are great. I enjoy doing them myself; however, this website is not the place for them.
5. SIMPLICITY
How you design your cue sheets is your own business; however, here are some suggestions to minimize confusion for riders:
Keep your cue sheets concise and easy to read. Don't confuse riders with long-winded descriptions on the cue sheet, only what is necessary to keep them on course. Also, when you print your cue sheets for the day of the ride, consider using a simple typeface, but large enough that older riders can read without resorting to a magnifying lens.
Please keep your cue sheet width to no more than four and 1/4 inches across. Eight and a half inch letter sized cue sheets are hard to mount on a bicycle and even harder to follow. (Invest in a paper cutter!) An acceptable alternative is to make two columns on a full-sized page so the sheet can be easily folded down the middle.
If possible, arrange it so that pages only need to be turned at store stops, because turning pages while riding is dangerous! Also, consider printing long cue sheets on both sides of the paper to minimize fussing with multiple sheets.
If you would like an example of a well-designed cue sheet, look at ride #3022 on this website. Here is a direct link: http://www.kybikerides.org/ridemaps/3022.htm. Don't worry about the map on that page. If you send a GPS file, a map can be created from that. Also, the cue sheet does not need to be fancy or in color--any useful highlights can be added later. But, the basic design of this example sheet is good.
6. MOST COMMON MISTAKES
Submissions that have not been well-checked for typos: If mileages or turns are wrong, there is considerable work in reposting the corrections. Please check and double-check all work for accuracy. If despite best efforts errors are discovered, please be very specific as to where those errors are so that corrections are easily made. One way to do this is by sending a cue sheet with the corrections highlighted.
Overly wordy computer-generated cue sheets: Some mapping websites will automatically create cue-sheets based on GPS files; however, they are mostly terrible, hard to read, and sometimes inaccurate. Sometimes, they even insert extra turns where none are needed. Please be concise. Trim out all unnecessary information and follow the formatting rules above. On a bike, a rider doesn’t want to read an essay. A rider needs to tell at a glance where to make the next turn.
Scanned paper cue sheets: No! We need all cue sheets as either Excel files or Word Documents. Plain text can be acceptable if you do not have the capability for generating the preferred formats. Please, no paper cue sheets or scanned paper cue sheets! If you do that, someone will have to retype them and possibly introduce errors in the process.
Too many digits past the decimal point: Make sure mileages are rounded to the nearest 10th, just one digit past the decimal point. Let’s get real; over the course of dozens of miles, there is no way a rider’s bike computer or even GPS readout is going to agree with a cue sheet that pretends to be accurate to 1/100th of a mile. When dozens of miles have accumulated, it is hard enough to get accuracy to even 1/10th of a mile.
Timing: Please send your cue-sheets and GPS files for publication well in advance of any planned ride activity. Because these pages are curated, hours of work go into the creation of each one. If you procrastinate on your submission, someone else will have to rush to do the necessary work. Don't wait until the last week (or sometimes even the last day) to submit your ride.
CONTACT
Send all information to kycyclist@preble.net