User:MagicIan

About Me

This geohasher lives in Norfolk.

40 / m / 52,1

Hi, I'm Ian, and contrary to my username I have yet to discover anything magical about myself! I live near Norwich, England and I started Geohashing in late 2009 as a way of exploring the region to which I had recently moved. I completed lots of hashes in 2010 before having a bit of a lull. The next few years I used Geohashing as a suggestion of where to go for cycle rides etc when I have a spare weekend. These days my GeoHashing exploits are few and far between due to other commitments.

I have access to car, motorbike, bicycle(s) and kayak(s) and have used them all at some point in to achieve a variety of ribbons, although I am yet to use public transport to get to a hashpoint - something to fix in the future. About 1/3 of my home graticule is the North Sea so if I can find someone with a seaworthy boat then that will increase my range of possible hashes in the area!

When I started Geohashing I didn't have a GPS device, so I used to print out the satellite view of the hashpoint from GoogleMaps to identify the it using local topographical features, but now I use the Geohash Droid app on my phone to give an indication of how close I am.

I was quite pleased to achieve a Tron Ribbon, and am now turning my attention to other achievements. I keep trying to do a Hashcard one so I ensure I take fellow Geohashers' addresses with me when I go out, but have yet to find any villages selling postcards. Guess I'll just have to keep trying! Others on my radar are the Juggernaut and, having got a Regional ribbon by getting to bits of Norfolk that are in 52,0 and a Reverse regional ribbon by getting getting to hashpoints in Norfolk and Suffolk in 52,1, I would like to get the Regional ribbon by getting to bits of Suffolk that are in 52,0

Edit 2017 - Life has changed since I started doing this in 2009 - I have many more commitments and responsibilities so finding time to squeeze in GeoHashing is tricky these days. Having missed out doing any in 2016, I got to a couple in 2017 but they were really lazy ones, almost enough to qualify for a Couch Potato Geohash or Cubicle Geohash achievement by being almost equidistant between my home and work, with minimum effort required to deviate from my ~4mile cycle commute.

Achievements

I got within a couple of hours of achieving the Virgin Graticule for 51,1 but Sourcerer just beat me to it!

MagicIan earned the Multihash Achievement by reaching 4 hash points on 2010-06-20. It's an Ultra Hash.

MagicIan earned the Consecutive geohash achievement by reaching 2 consecutive hash points starting on 2010-03-30.

MagicIan achieved level 2 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in 52,1 and 2 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in 52,0 and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan achieved level 1 of the Minesweeper Geohash achievement by visiting coordinates in 52,-0 and 1 of the surrounding graticules.

MagicIan earned the Regional geohashing achievement by reaching a hash point in all 2 graticules belonging to Norfolk.

MagicIan earned the Reverse regional achievement by reaching hash points in all 2 regions of the Norwich, United Kingdom (52, 1) graticule on County level.

MagicIan earned the Tron achievement by reaching and returning from the (52, 1) geohash without crossing his own tracks on 2010-07-24.

MagicIan earned the Speed racer achievement by passing through the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-03-31 at 60 mph.

MagicIan earned the Bicycle geohash achievement by cycling 64.1km to the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-07-25.

MagicIan earned the Walk geohash Achievement by reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-07-24 on foot, travelling a distance of 18.1km.

MagicIan earned the GeoTrash Geohash Achievement by cleaning up the (52, -1) geohash on 2010-06-20.

MagicIan earned the Police Geohash Achievement by returning to find a police dog van parked next to his car while attempting the (52, -0) geohash on 2010-06-20.

MagicIan earned the Land geohash achievement by reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2009-11-27.

MagicIan earned the There might be alligators! consolation prize by being prevented from reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2013-02-15 by an impassable and unforeseen boggy wetland (and probably lurking alligators).

MagicIan earned the No trespassing consolation prize by almost reaching the (52, 1) geohash on 2010-03-24.

My Geohashes

I've completed 28 successful geohashes in 6 graticules, with 2 failures. I have now done a hash on each day of the week, and 11 months of the year (just missing January)

A map of my various Geohashes can be seen here:

30 2017-10-17, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Near 389th bomb group

29 2017-07-05, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Just along the road from Hethel church

28 2015-11-12, 52,0 (Cambridge, United Kingdom) - Just off the A47 near Scarning

27 2013-09-22, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - In Coltishall before going for a kayak

26 2013-08-28, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Cycle to Wangford

25 2013-07-21, 52,0 (Cambridge, United Kingdom) - A Sunday morning cycle to Attleborough

24 2013-07-08, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Cycle to Fundenhall/Tacolneston after work

23 2013-04-16, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Kayak on Hickling Broad to get a Water Geohash but failed due to fence

22 2013-02-21, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Cycle to Intwood Lane after work

21 2013-02-15, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Kayak to Reedham Ferry (done on the 16th)

20 2013-02-10, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - 30 mile cycle to Denton

19 2012-12-27, 53,-2 (Manchester, United Kingdom) - In Hazel Grove over the Christmas holidays

18 2012-05-21, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Short cycle to Newton Flotman

17 2011-10-18, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Motorbiked to Framlingham in the dark to get Reverse Regional

16 2011-08-16, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - On the Tas Valley Way near home

15 2010-09-24, 51,1 (Canterbury, United Kingdom) - Almost achieved a virgin graticule for 51,1 but was beaten by Sourcerer

14 2010-08-25, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Kayak on Horsey Mere (done on the 30th)

13 2010-08-20, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - 13 mile cycle to Buckenham train station with gnomes

12 2010-07-25, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - 40 mile cycle to Somerleyton

11 2010-07-24, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Tron walk via North Burlingham

10 20-06-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Four-in-a-day #4 - Ringland

09 20-06-2010, 52,0 (Cambridge, United Kingdom) - Four-in-a-day #3 - Wisbech

08 20-06-2010, 52,-0 (Northampton, United Kingdom) - Four-in-a-day #2 - Crowland, Peterborough

07 20-06-2010, 52,-1 (Birmingham, United Kingdom) - Four-in-a-day #1 - Leicester

06 31-03-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Consecutive day and Speed Racer achievements earned near Tacolneston

05 30-03-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - The Forum in the centre of Norwich

04 28-03-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Cycle along Marriot's Way

03 24-03-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - Failed due to being on private property

02 08-03-2010, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - At the sewage works

01 27-11-2009, 52,1 (Norwich, United Kingdom) - My first geohash!