New Travels and Stats Discussion

[oscar]

I got back Sunday evening from my last road trip of the year, a three-week cross-country drive to California (where I attended a college reunion) and back.

The outbound trip included most of the route clinching. By state:

IA: clinched IA 2, IA 163, IA 44

NE: clinched NE 2, NE 250; re-clinched US 30 after its relocation to the new North Bend bypass (for whatever reason, still not in TM)

WY: clinched WY 193 (US 87 rerouting approved to absorb WY 193, but not yet signed), WY 194, WY 340, WY 251, WY 252, WY 254, WY 257, WY 258, WY 220, WY 73

CA: clinched CA 123; re-clinched CA 1 (relocation north of Bodega Bay), CA 132 (relocation west of Modesto), I-40BL (Needles) (poorly signed, but may include some mileage not yet in TM), I-10BL (Blythe) (east end rerouted, will edit TM routing later)

The return trip from California was a much more direct and tiresome mostly-Interstate routing, to keep a stack of medical appointments back home.

[Jim]

A conference trip to Myrtle Beach gave me a an opportunity to claim some new TM travels in the last few days.  Being on a tight schedule, most of our route down and back was very familiar, but I did end up on more new roads than I expected.

On the way down, we chose to leave I-95 for the Myrtle Beach area at I-74/US 74, marking my first travels on that segment of I-74.  We cut down NC 410 (new) to a small piece of US 701 (previously traveled) to SC 9 (new).  While in the Myrtle Beach area, I ended up traveling on all of my missing segments of US 17 Business, and parts of various other routes.  On yesterday's ride home, I wanted to avoid the long construction zones on I-95 in southern NC, so we went mostly up US 17 to the Wilmington area (previously traveled) with a little bit of NC 179 and NC 904 for something different.  I finished off I-140 to get up to I-40 (unclear if all previously traveled, but I hadn't marked it all in TM).  Instead of going right to I-95, we went up the US 117 connector to US 117 (all new) and I-795 (previously traveled).  Then instead of cutting to I-95 from Wilson, I filled in a gap in US 301 between there and our lunch stop in Rocky Mount, followed by a little new mileage on NC 43 to get to I-95.  Further north, we avoided DC by using US 301 from Richmond right up to its northern end (all previously traveled) but along the way I picked up half of the tiny MD 978 to get onto MD 214 to avoid the mess that is US 301 in Bowie.  Other small new segments were a small bit of MD 290 and MD 299 to find a safe spot to swap drivers, and some of NJ 70 and NJ 73 in search of dinner.  Sadly, the Raising Cane's Google was certain was open and open until midnight even was still under construction, so we ended up at a poorly managed Chipotle.

For the stats, I picked up about 130 new miles in total.  12 new usai miles, 1 new clinch.  About 40 new usaus miles. usasc was next in new miles with 37, and included first travels on 4 routes, 1 new clinch. Only 23 new miles in usausb, but 1 went from never traveled to clinched and another clinched.  16 new miles on usanc routes netted me first travels on 6 routes.  In 6 miles, I picked up first travels on a usanj route.  In only 2 new miles, I picked up first travels on 2 usamd routes.

[Markkos1992]

I clinched MD 978 this morning to put me back at 100% for MD.

[cl94]

Just wrapped up what is likely to be my last clinching trip of the year yesterday. This trip netted me a ton of new miles in eastern and southern California, central and southern Nevada, and extreme western Arizona. While the main travel-related purpose of this trip was to finish California counties, I put over 2,000 miles on the rental car and well over 1,000 of those were new, likely closer to 1,500. Major items are as follows:

• All Interstate mileage is now complete in Nevada, as is all freeway mileage period and all NPS mileage. The I-clinch will not be lost when I-11 and I-215 are extended.
• US 95 is now clinched in entirety. Prior to August 2022, I had been on exactly none of it, so 0 to 100% in 15 months is something, with most of that coming in the past 4.5 months. US 95 is my longest clinched US route and third-longest clinched route period behind I-90 and I-70. Not a ton of people can claim a US 95 clinch and this might be the route clinch I have so far that I am proudest of.
• I netted at least 600 miles in Nevada and the state is now over 64% complete, even with much of day 1 and the last 3 hours of day 4 being "deadhead miles", plus out and backs every day. A disproportionate amount of my remaining Nevada mileage at this point is in Elko, Lincoln, and White Pine Counties. About 25% of my missing NV mileage is on US 93, which I have little reason to use.
• I got full clinches of 10 NV state routes, 4 CA state routes, 1 AZ state route, 1 US business route, 1 US Route, and 3 Interstates.
• US 395 is now clinched in California, but this will be lost when the Olancha bypass opens in southern Inyo County.
• While California didn't get nearly the percentage boost I got in Nevada, I recorded about 600 new miles in the state even with a long "deadhead" along US 395 between CA 168 and CA 14.

[kjslaughter]

Took my son on a weekend field trip to Savannah over Veteran's day weekend and picked up a lot of mileage for my Georgia totals.  I FINALLY clinched I-516 after living 40 years in Georgia to complete my interstate clinch in the state!  On the way down from Atlanta, got significant miles on GA 16 & GA 15, became the first traveler and clincher of GA 242 near Sandersville, cut across GA 78 & GA 17, and then clinched GA 21.  While in Savannah, I got several state highways around town and clinched the Truman Parkway.  Planned to get Veterans Pkwy too, but day out at Tybee ran long and rush hour traffic with child in car drove me north to GA Alt 21 instead.  On the way home I took the scenic route getting filling in gaps on US 80 between Savannah and Macon.  This will all add to my mileage in Georgia as I inch towards 10,000 miles, but I'm still just 3rd overall in my home state.  However, this will maintain my lead in total traveled routes in Georgia.  You road warriors and truckers may keep from ever claiming 1st place in my home state!

An added plus of this trip: I learned my 10 year old son prefers the backroads to the interstate as well because "there is more to see and look at".  I just set up his profile on county counting as well, so setting up the next generation!

[drebbin37]

Now that the daylight hours are so short, I'm not doing much significant clinching until spring.  But, I did get to add some new mileage this past weekend on a drive down to Maryland's eastern shore.

• 36 new miles in NJ, including the NJ12, NJ179, I-95, NJ73, and I-76 bridges over the Delaware (up to 97.45% of NJ clinched)
• 39 new miles in PA, including some annoying stretches of US13 and PA291 in/around Philly (now at 29.41% of PA)
• 156 new miles in DE, including most of DE9, all of DE37, and bits of many other DE state highways (up to 42.39% of DE)
• 107 new miles in MD, including my first travels on routes numbered 368, 388, 575, 815, and 818 (now at 20.92% of MD)

[Markkos1992]

While my dad was out around Colonial Heights, VA, trying to get as many Veterans Day freebies as possible  (we still thank him for his service),  my mom and I did another NC trip on a misty and drizzly day in northeast NC. From Prince George, we took US 460 EB to I-64 Outer (actually shown as WB on one of the construction Portable Changeable Message Signs) to VA 168 SB.  While I purposely did not shunpike the toll, we did stop at the Wawa on Hillcrest Pkwy at VA 168 BUS where my mom got a free coffee since someone asked her about a family member (my dad in this case) being a Veteran.  I forgot to transfer my EZPASS to my parents' car so I actually paid cash for the VA 168 toll.  Anyway we continued onto NC via NC 168 SB, and drove to the Outer Banks via US 158 EB. 

We continued on US 158 EB (driving by my mom's favorite Wendy's, we got lunch one day there in 2005, and she had a fit with the manager) to US 64 WB at Whalebone Junction generally following US 64 WB all the way to Tarboro with loops along the way and being stopped at the Alligator River Bridge due to a bridge opening.  Once in Tarboro, I looped to clinch NC 122 (having issues with it due to the turn off of McNair Rd north of US 64 not really being posted) eventually taking it to Hopgood at NC 125, and then turning around, and heading west to Rocky Mount to finally finish clinching NC 97.  I had planned to clinch NC 97 in December 2021, but the long-term bridge closure at Swift Creek held that off for a while.  Once NC 97 turned south onto Atlantic Ave, I continued west on Airport Rd to US 301 SB and then went south to Smithfield's Chicken-N-BBQ for a late lunch/early dinner.

After eating we generally went north along US 301, I-95, and VA 156 back towards my parents' house.  However, we did take NC 4 NB to NC 33 EB to clinch NC 33 west of US 301, and then took NC 481 EB from Enfield to NC 561 to finish clinching NC 481.  Then it was NC 561 WB back to Halifax picking up NC 125 NB to Roanoke Rapids to its northern terminus at NC 48 taking that to I-95 NB and VA 156 NB back to my parent's house.

On Sunday, I took US 460 WB from Petersburg to US 29 NB in Lynchburg to pick up VA 151 in Amherst.  I completed my clinch of VA 151 taking it all the way to US 250.  Then it was US 250 WB to I-64 WB to I-81 NB back to PA with two exceptions.

1.  I took VA 257 WB to Bridgewater and Dayton, and was successful at finding a 514 for the multiplication game.
2.  I did a VA 292/US 11/VA 263/SR 614/SR 703 loop in Mt Jackson with a Sheetz stop.  The gas pump messed with me so I actually spilled a little gas for the first time since I was 8 I think, but I kept it off of my clothes, and my car did not catch on fire, so all was good at the end of the day.

Clinched: US 64 BUS (Columbia, NC), US 64 BUS (Jamesville, NC), NC 903 TRUCK (Robersonville), US 13 BUS (Bethel, NC), NC 11 BUS (Bethel), NC 122, NC 97, NC 481, VA 151
New Mileage:  US 64 (NC)*, NC 171, NC 125, US 64 ALT (Tarboro, NC), NC 903, US 13 (NC), NC 11, NC 111, NC 33

*Now fully clinched east of Lexington, NC.

[Markkos1992]

On Saturday, I and a few others went to Long Island to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the East Coast Roads website (known as The Roads of Long Island back in 2003 when it started).

I started the day by taking PA 283 EB to State Rd (at PA 722) to Centerville Rd to US 30 EB to US 222 SB (through Downtown Lancaster) to PA 741 EB to Gap to briefly look at stop locations for the Lancaster Meet I am hosting this upcoming Saturday.  I then took PA 41 SB from Gap into DE taking DE 48 EB to DE 141 SB.  I would stop at the Wawa by the US 202/DE 141/DE 27 intersection and see Cowboys hate graffiti in the restroom. I turned around a couple of times along DE 141 before taking I-295 NB across the Delaware Memorial Bridge (no photos of it this time due to fog, which was actually an issue until I entered Brooklyn in NYC).  I stayed on I-295 NB all the way up to NJ 42 SB (accessed via the new Exit 26 for the project dubbed as Missing Moves that now provides direct access from I-295 NB to NJ 42 SB and NJ 42 NB to I-295 SB, along with making NJ 55 NB 2 lanes up to the NJ 42 merge).  After touring Missing Moves, and turning around unconventionally at NJ 47 by taking the I-295 SB ramp to NJ 47 NB, I continued up I-295 NB to NJ 73 SB to NJTP NB continuing my NJTP Documentation from 2 weeks ago.

I got off of the NJTP at I-278, and took I-278 EB across Staten Island across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the Belt Pkwy.  Including a brief restroom stop at Plumb Beach, I continued east along the Belt Pkwy until it turns into the Cross Island Pkwy the Southern State Pkwy.  I would follow the Cross Island Pkwy up to the Grand Central Pkwy to enter NY 25 via the south end of I-295.  I then clinched NY 25B before meeting up with the others.

In the afternoon, we toured Long Island for a bit getting lunch at Ben’s Kosher Deli and mainly clinching county routes (the only signed one was CR 3 in Suffolk County since they are unsigned in Nassau County).  We briefly visited Argyle Park in Babylon late in the afternoon before taking NY 109 WB to NY 24 WB to NY 135 NB (seeing the stub at the north end of NY 25, my camera battery gave me fits here briefly, but a charger was nearby) to NY 25 WB back to Mineola.  After a brief in-person webinar and dinner at Gino’s (mention it to Alps if you want an excuse to visit Long Island), we went our separate ways.  I took NY 25 WB back to NY 25B EB (to not have a gap in my list file) to the Cross Island Pkwy to finish the rest of that parkway.  Then I took I-678 NB to I-95 SB (yes, via the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was moving fine enough by this point) to I-80 WB.  I ultimately stayed on I-80 all the way west to Hazelton, PA, but I did stop in Bartonsville at the north end of PA 33 to see if the erroneous US 33 and US 611 shields from the shopping center there were still around (they were) and a Wawa stop for gas and to pick up Sunday’s lunch at the I-476/PA 940 Breezewood.  I took I-81 SB to Harrisburg around 2 AM from Hazelton, but I did do a PA 924 NB to PA 93 SB to PA 309 SB to PA 424 WB to see if any new signage for PA 424 at PA 309 and I-81 has been posted, but there has been nothing new from what I had seen previously (unless the PA 424 WB is new, and I am not aware of it, I clinched PA 309 through this area heading north).

Clinched:  Belt Pkwy, Cross Island Pkwy, NY 25B, NY 109
New Mileage: NY 25, NY 27A, NY 135

[mapmikey]

Took a 14 hour U-turn yesterday…

New clinches in order: PA 491, PA 261, US 13 (reclinch, Chester bypass), PA 291, PA 23, PA 241, PA 897, PA 568, PA 345, PA 82, PA 472

New. Mileage: PA 72, PA 741

Driving PA 23 end to end was lovely, but it takes forever…

[osu-lsu]

Driving PA 23 end to end was lovely, but it takes forever…

PA 23 from Bridgeport to City Line is a pain in the tush. I can't imagine going from US 1 to the Susquehanna.
(Well I can, we're roadgeeks. But I digress)

[Markkos1992]

On December 15th, my mom and I did another Smithfield's Chicken-N-BBQ (SCNB) trip that focused on the Triad this time.

We started just after 5 AM by taking I-85 SB to US 158 WB.  Minus a large loop to clinch the current NC 74, we continued west on US 158 all the way to its western end in Mocksville completing the clinch of US 158 for me.

After looping via US 64, I-40, and US 601, we took US 64 EB back to Lexington going east of I-85 to NC 109 NB.  From NC 109, we took NC 62 to Burlington to go to the SCNB near I-40/I-85 in that area. After lunch, we took NC 62 into VA quickly clinching VA 62 as well.  Then it was SR 726 to US 29 NB to clinch the US 29 BUS routes in Chatham, VA, and Gretna, VA.  Then it was just VA 40 EB to US 360 EB to US 460 EB back to Petersburg and towards my parents'' house.

Clinched: US 158, NC/VA 62, NC 74, NC 610, US 29 BUS (Chatham, VA), US 29 BUS (Gretna, VA)
New Mileage: NC 86, NC 87, US 29 BUS (Reidsville, NC), US 64 (NC), I-40 (NC), US 601 (NC), NC 109, VA 57, VA 40

[mapcat]

On December 15th, my mom and I did another Smithfield's Chicken-N-BBQ (SCNB) trip that focused on the Triad this time.

I love how your trips with your mom always include a stop at Smithfield's. Is that your kind gesture towards her, something that provides her with an incentive to spend hours in the car? Or is it a destination both of you appreciate equally? I've been to a few of those, and never had a bad meal to be sure.

Although it was a solo trip (Mapkitten, aka Mapprincess, chose to fly home and sent me west to collect her car), my 5-day cross-country endeavor last week certainly would have been less fulfilling without stops at old favorites The Hat, Alberto's/Filiberto's, Blake's Lotaburger, Whataburger, and Braum's. Who else aims to fit a beloved restaurant or 5 into their clinching trips?

As for the roads, it was mainly state routes this time. 1600+ miles of short routes, focused mostly on suburban/exurban Phoenix, Albuquerque and the valley north and south of it, and eastern Oklahoma. I picked up a few sections of Historic 66, mostly in New Mexico, but had to save the easternmost for another trip due to a bridge being out. I wasn't expecting it to be gravel, either. 75 new clinches.

[Markkos1992]

On December 15th, my mom and I did another Smithfield's Chicken-N-BBQ (SCNB) trip that focused on the Triad this time.

I love how your trips with your mom always include a stop at Smithfield's. Is that your kind gesture towards her, something that provides her with an incentive to spend hours in the car? Or is it a destination both of you appreciate equally? I've been to a few of those, and never had a bad meal to be sure.

Ultimately both though she does gets annoyed when I am on back roads at night.  It gives me a reason to continue slowly but surely work on NC as well.

[michih]

2023 was a very good travelmapping year for me I got 13,530 new miles.

My year end stats, total mileage active+preview systems:

Code: [Select]

End of 2013:   9,615 mi
End of 2014:  16,818 mi = + 7,203 mi
End of 2015:  19,169 mi = + 2,351 mi
End of 2016:  36,983 mi = +17,814 mi (~5,500mi deub system added)
End of 2017:  58,190 mi = +21,207 mi (~2,500mi deubyst, deubwl, deuhel, deunwl, deurpl, deusll systems added)
End of 2018:  70,811 mi = +12,621 mi (~400mi remaining deuxxl systems added)
End of 2019:  84,520 mi = +13,709 mi
End of 2020:  92,967 mi = + 8,447 mi
End of 2021: 101,111 mi = + 8,144 mi
End of 2022: 112,505 mi = +11,394 mi
End of 2023: 126,035 mi = +13,530 mi
I traveled four missing routes < 999.

Still missing numbers:

Code: [Select]

767 780 781 900
I did not travel any from the 1000-1185 range (end of the game for Europe, since there is no European 1186 route in TM right now):

Code: [Select]

1000 1018 1065 1067 1069 1094 1109 1139 1146 1166 1167 1169 1174 1176 1178
My stats by country (Top 10):

Code: [Select]

1. DEU 50803.07 mi
2. FRA 12893.93 mi
3. ESP  5732.75 mi
4. ITA  5167.77 mi
5. GBR  4771.25 mi
6. SWE  4245.90 mi
7. POL  3414.73 mi
8. ROU  3046.20 mi
9. FIN  2732.99 mi
10. AUT  2679.87 mi
Almost half of the new 2023 TM mileage was in Germany.

[mapcat]

Happy New Year! My 2023 went pretty well, hobby-wise. Around 11 am on New Years Eve, I passed through lovely Crozet, Virginia, on VA 240, the last of my clinched routes for the year. About an hour later, as I approached Sperryville on VA 231, I added the final miles of new highway to put my annual increase just over 23,000. 

Most of the gains happened in the US (almost 16,300 miles in 28 states, up 5.%), but again the time I spent in Canada resulted in a much larger percentage increase for that country (over 6,700 miles spread across 7 provinces, up 58%). My venture north took me to Newfoundland for the first time, and quadrupled my mileage in both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. I clinched the Autoroutes in Quebec (for now) and the Winnipeg city route system, and would have clinched the 100-series highways in Nova Scotia if I hadn't zoned out leaving Sydney via 105 and completely forgotten about 162. Fortunately there are plenty of other reasons to go back, too. I clinched the most routes in Manitoba (34) and Ontario (33). In the States, over 20% of my new mileage came in Kentucky, but since I only have 4 roads there left to clinch, I can't count on that state to affect my stats much anymore. Other states where I gained over 1000 new miles include Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin (plus past travels in Mississippi, due to the addition of usams). Besides the 483 routes I clinched in Kentucky, I added over 50 clinches in Texas, Virginia, and Maryland. I added one new interstate (I-780) and 12 new US routes (13 if we're counting US 121), and am now within 50 of completing the auxiliary US route set and within 6 of finishing the business interstates.

Unlike last year, no songs that celebrate the joys of aimless driving made any top-10 lists I'm aware of, but I'll still post a top-10 roads for 2023:

• US 101, especially the Oregon coast. Nothing but beautiful scenery. Fortunately I drove early in the morning, a couple of weeks before tourist season began.
• QC 332 around the Gaspe Peninsula. More incredible scenery and charming towns.
• NL 1 heading north from Channel-Port aux Basques. A breathtaking introduction to this province.
• AZ 87 and 260. Great early morning drive through a part of Arizona I'd never visited. Even more fun when the snow started falling just east of Payson, something that had not been mentioned in the forecast.
• AZ 89A through Jerome. How often do you get multiple switchbacks within a crowded town? (in North America, at least)
• The TCH in Ontario between Kirkland Lake and Nipigon. Desolate and a little frightening, especially with fires everywhere. Smoke (and mosquitos) inescapable.
• US 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco. Except for a few blocks, not a new route, but a favorite. Trying to beat the traffic, I passed through before sunrise, but the city vibes were the same.
• PE 2 and 6 across the northern part of the island. Honestly, any road on PEI would fit on this list.
• US 20, especially between Cody, Wyoming, and the east entrance to Yellowstone. Car troubles had set me back about 3 hours that morning, so when I reached Cody, I only had time to make a quick trip to the park entrance and back. Still, it was a gorgeous drive even in the twilight, enhanced more by that stretch being my final miles on the eastern segment. I completed the western segment a few days later, making the combination the longest route I clinched this year.
• VA 369 (Tazewell Hall), the shortest (0.12 miles) route I clinched this year and, as far as I know, the only one on TM named after a building on a college campus.

Totals for 2023: 23,009.81 new miles (for a new total of 348,051.10), and 1309 new clinches (9868). With 12,757 routes travelled, my overall efficiency topped 77% for the first time.

Stats for previous years:

2022: +20,751.24 mi / +775 clinched routes
2021: +31,159.46 mi / +1,458
2020: +14,604.58 mi / +1,681
2019: +15,887.33 mi / +778
2018: +21,284.12 mi / +653
2017: +19,547.92 mi / +582
2016: +17,101.26 mi / +514
2015: +28,363.75 mi / +553 (mostly due to new systems being added when CHM transitioned to TM)
2014: +13,046.83 mi / +380
2013: +14,214.20 mi / +412 (I joined CHM in 2012)

Wishing you all the best for your 2024 travels!