1. At LongBoardMaps.com, we’ve adopted the philosophy “for riders by riders”. We’re scouting for each other, so please take the time to get the necessary detail to make the runs and maps useful for everybody.

2. Buy a standard angle-finder from your local hardware store.

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• The angle finder can be found at most local hardware stores and shouldn’t run ya more than $10. If you want, you can order one online. Amazon.com sells the Dasco Products AF100 Angle Finder and Level for about $9 and usually ships within 24 hours.

• Just set the angle-finder down at the steepest part of the hill and note the angle. Despite the hazards of oncoming traffic, PLEASE take the time to get the angle measurement as specific as possible. The “grade”, or angle of decline, is CRITICAL. If we want to come up with a standard measurement system, we must develop the standard. Everyone’s perception is unique, so the grade serves as an equalizer. Please round up to the next highest degree, eg. 1.5 degrees gets rounded to 2 degrees.

• Most people see great runs every day, but they simply don’t know what to look for. STEEP and WIDE, Baby. Let your friends, family, and co-workers know what a good run looks like, so they can provide tips. For example, your girlfriend sees a big hill by her office and submits the run location through the site. Ideally, we’ll have a pool of hills to choose from when we go out riding. The good ones will eventually be scouted and classified on the map by difficulty level.

• We recommend the 1:25,000 view…it’s the easiest to read for street detail. Each line represents a 10-foot increase/decrease in elevation. Basically, the closer the lines, the steeper the grade.

• The scouting is pretty straightforward. Note the location information, measure the grade with the angle-finder, note the length, width, road conditions, traffic, and time of day, etc. For your convenience, you can print a copy of the Submit Run fields by clicking here.