Trailguide content quality guidelines
Bjørn Jarle Kvande, 23. April 20251. Select the right type of track
a) Trail
A trail is typically a narrow path or trail less than 1.5m wide. It can be a purpose built mountain bike track or a trail in nature. It can be uphill, downhill or both.
If the track contains short parts of gravel road - for example to connect two singletracks - it is up to you if you want to split the track into two or not. However, the ride should be as continuous as possible without connecting too many individual trails.
Try to limit loops to a natural ride in the particular area. A good example is this trail where there are not too many other trails in the area and it creates a natural ride on the mountain.
If the area is very crowded with trails and loops will overlap, try to split them up in natural trails instead.
A good example of this can be found here where the trails are split up and you can mix and match to create a natural loop to ride based on your skill level.
If the name or description is something like "loop of all the best trails in ..." then you are most likely doing it wrong.
b) Tour
A tour is a longer route that might connect many trails. It can be a loop or a point-to-point route, and it can consist of both trails and roads. If you are planning to name this something like "loop of all the best trails in ..." - then it is a tour.
2. Have a good quality GPX file and redundancy
Make sure you have good .gpx data file. Enough data points to show a round and smooth line (not angled straights). No parts with signal drift or skipping. No parts where you took the wrong way recording it. Elevation data must be included to automatically generate the height profile.
3. Avoid overlapping trails
Before you upload a trail, check if it’s already on the map. If it overlaps an existing trail for a short section it’s ok.
4. Description and details
Character: Describe the character or the experience of the trail or route in one comprehensive sentence. "Intense descend in rocky and technical terrain." or "Easy natural trail with a stunning view into the XY valley."
Details: Roots, rock, stones, gravel, sand, gras, dirt, needles, leafs, loose, compact, berms, drops, flow, speed, smooth, rough, climbs, push biking, steep, flat, up and down, view, scenery, forest, meadow, rock, alpine, river, valley, ridge, traverse, exposition, water sources, season, suitable weather conditions.
Avoid: Avoid describing how to navigate the route. That's where the gps track and the location function is for. If needed, mention tips when it easy to make mistakes e.g. when the trail is close and parallel to a fireroad, and it's hard to distinguish it on the map.
5. Select level of difficulty
The difficulty scale for trail biking is based on the technical difficulty of the trail. To better select the correct difficulty, try to imagine riding it with a bike trailer with your kid sleeping in it.
Try to be objective and not set the difficulty based on your own bike handling skills.
Easy - the kid wakes up, but is not crying.
Intermediate - the kid wakes up and starts to cry.
Difficult - the kid is gone.
Expert - the trailer is gone.
6. Pictures and videos
Cover photo: Pictures and videos are a very strong medium and have a high influence on decisions. The first picture you upload will be the cover picture for the trail.
Picture quality: As far as you can, please upload only images of good quality that shows the character of the trail, riding, or surroundings. Using pictures of people riding their bike is preferrable.
Landscape mode: Please try to upload only landscape mode images. Vertical pictures do not work well in the user interface. If you do not know what landscape mode is, you should ask an adult.
Thank you for helping keep the quality of the content high. This will help a long way for users to find great experiences.