Walker Tracker Blog

I’m very thrilled to introduce map-based competitions.

We’re a big fan of Walker Tracker competitions here. They help you visualize your progress over a period of time. You can compete as a team or as an individual while poking friendly jibes at each other. Alternately, you can have your own private party, where you (or just you and your friends) are the star of the competition.

But when you walk — you cover real distance, and so it’s especially fun to put that analogy on a real map.

How long does it take to walk along the Grand Canyon? To stride along the Columbia river to the ocean? Now you can find out for sure.

As you walk along, milestones are revealed to you, adding a sense of discovery to your journey.

Map competitions are in beta — but please feel free to hop in and try them out.

We received help from the very talented Adam DuVander, who is writing a book on map development on the web. Thanks Adam!

Yesterday I posted about walking some really fun stairs.

It seems appropriate to follow that up with an incredibly scary walk.

Warning: This video is vertigo-inducing.

More information on this walkway, built in 1905 in Spain, is here: Caminito del Rey

Prevention magazine voted Ann Arbor, MI the third best walking city in the US.

Read about it on Ann Arbor’s getDowntown Blog

Not surprising at all, considering the number of walkers we have who hail from Ann Arbor.

Congratulations Ann Arbor!

The magazine rates a city based on “more residents walking to work and more parks per square mile“

The top ten cities:

1. Cambridge, MA
2. New York City
3. Ann Arbor, MI
4. Chicago, IL
5. Washington, D.C.
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Trenton, NJ
9. Boston, MA
10. Cincinnati, OH

In defense of Portland, OR – my city – we’re bike crazy

From my friend Noah Magram on a subject that I think is very relevant to walkers in Oregon:

Today is the last day to vote on Measure 49! Please vote yes and save Oregon from massive sprawl. A defeat of Measure 49 is not something that can be undone! Once the pavement goes in, the farmland never comes back. Hood river valley is set to be one of the hardest hit. Want more condos and strip malls in covering some of the most beautiful farmland in the country? Then don’t vote.

If you didn’t get a ballot, or have moved, you can still get one. All it takes is a quick trip to the Multnomah Country Elections office on 11th and Morrison – they’re open until 8pm tonight. I went with a friend yesterday and we were in and out in under 10 minutes!

This is critical to Oregon’s future. Please vote and bring a friend!

Agreed!