Scout — Cycling Commons Ride Tagger

Scout is Cycling Commons' Garmin Edge companion — a one-tap field recorder for the Cycling Commons Atlas (cyclingcommons.org), a free, open touring and bikepacking atlas built by riders, from riders' own data, and checked before anything goes live — every known data point is there, plus a hand-picked best-of selection to help you plan. It covers everything from road surfaces and climbs to water, shelter, bike services and scenic routes. Scout stands alone, though: the app and its FIT format work with or without that project. Tap the screen while you ride to mark resupply stops, closures, surface changes, and things worth a notice. With a Varia-compatible radar paired, Scout also logs passing traffic in the background — nothing on your Edge; upload the ride to Cycling Commons to see it there. Every tag is written straight into your activity's FIT file, in an open, documented format. Scout is a full-screen data field: swipe to its page and tap a coloured tile to stamp what you see onto the current GPS point. No fiddling, no menus, eyes on the road — each tap flashes, beeps, and shows a running tally so you know it landed. What you can tag Main grid — tap a tile, then pick a sub-item where shown (Back returns without tagging): - Resupply — water, food, or a bike-repair/pump stop (What kind?: water, food, repair) - Closure — road shut or detour (Closed for?: today, days, weeks, months, unknown) - Surface — mark a stretch's surface with a start type and an end, so it's recorded as a segment, not just a point (asphalt, concrete, paving, sett, cobbles, gravel, dirt, sand, end — aligned to OpenStreetMap surface values) - Notice — a bad corner, junction, potholes - Scenery — a view worth remembering (Scenery?: nature, history, culture, view, architect, unknown) - Other — everything else; single tap, no submenu Picked the wrong option? Just tap the right one — a pick stays open for three seconds so you can correct it before it commits, by tapping it again or selecting another item. Only your final choice is ever written. Automatic vehicle counting (optional) Pair a Garmin Varia or compatible ANT+ radar and Scout logs passing traffic in the background — vehicle count, nearest range, and closing speed, every second. Nothing shows on your Edge while you ride. Upload the ride to Cycling Commons to see the results there. No radar? Everything else works the same. Where your data goes Everything is recorded into your ride's FIT file as standard developer fields — no separate app, no account on the device, no upload. Your tags travel with your activity, and they're yours: open the file in any tool that reads FIT developer fields. Radar readings sit in the same file — invisible on the bike, visible on Cycling Commons once you upload. From there you can contribute the ride, or let it sync from wherever you already record your activities. It's entirely opt-in. Setup For the biggest tap target, give Scout a data page to itself (it uses whatever area it's given for tapping, so sharing a page shrinks the hit zone). Swipe to that page whenever you want to tag something. Privacy Scout writes only to your own FIT file and reads a paired radar. The app itself has no network access — no account, no telemetry, no sign-in. Nothing leaves your device unless you choose to share the ride (for example by uploading to Garmin Connect or Cycling Commons).