Back in the day when Tom Robertson was a staff cartographer here at Adventure Cycling, every spring he would organize a Map Reading Clinic for staff, especially helpful for those fielding phone calls and greeting cyclists. These were informative gatherings that allowed him to review what symbols meant, how to read the narratives, how to use point to point mileages, and highlight anything new since the prior year.
When Tom decided it was time to leave us and start a new phase in his career, we convinced him to record the clinic on video before making his departure. We had him do this in the hope we could post it on the website for cyclists benefit. Unfortunately, that video ran long -- really long in today's terms -- right around the 25 minute mark. The video went on the shelf due to a lack of time to edit it down to a manageable length.
Cue Media Department, Spring 2012 ...
Winona Bateman, Adventure Cycling Media Director, added a line in her 2012 budget to bring this project back to the forefront. Yippee! Though there was some good material in Tom's video, the last few years have included a number of changes in features and symbolization on the maps leaving the content a little stale. Winona asked me to review Tom's original clinic script and point out the most pertinent details and add changes where necessary.
Meanwhile she made contact with Michelle and Ryan at America ByCycle -- bicycle traveling friends and journalists turned videographer duo -- whom she'd already had experience working with on some other video projects. They are avid users of our maps and were psyched to give them the royal treatment.
The four of us chatted multiple times about the material and how to get everything in there in a coherent, fun way in under 10 minutes. Winona and I reviewed first cuts, offered feedback and watched in awe as Ryan and Michelle took it all in stride, producing a terrific, 8:41 video packed with information in an articulate yet entertaining fashion.
Feedback from staff so far has been "two thumbs up." Julie Huck, Adventure Cycling Membership Director says, "What a fun and quick way to find out all the details about our maps! "
So sit back, turn up the volume and check out our How to Read Adventure Cycling Maps video. And don't worry if you missed something or need to hear it again, that's one of the joys of video, right? You can pause, rewind and replay as many times as you wish! (For future reference, you can always find the video at www.adventurecycling.org/readingourmaps.)
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GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures, and persons from Adventure Cycling's Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/06/how-to-read-adventure-cycling-maps.html
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