Round winners – February 2024 (Round #164)
Congratulations to the winners of round February 2024: gerald_flux.rc from Berlin became the second German to turf home a Gold, AJHB from Greater London added a Silver to his Bronze, and semaj65 from Skåne turfed home his first Bronze.Well done mates!
Upcoming events
If you are organizing an open event, don't forget to write to insider@turfgame.com a couple of months in advance to get the information about your event into the news letter :)
LuleåIce24 Saturday 16th of March
The
event will take place on/near the ice track around Luleå. You
are
allowed
to use ice skates, skis, kick-sled or walk/run. More information
and
registration HERE.
There is still winter up north in Sweden!
Scottish Turf Open – Saturday June 1st
The Scottish Turf Open Championships is BACK in Edinburgh at the start of June for its second year! Come along and we promise you will love it! Everyone is very welcome! More information closer to the date.
24h Event 7th of June in Luleå June
This is the third time a 24 h Event is organized. Read more HERE and apply, either in a team of 2 or 3 or by yourself. In June, it will never get dark in Luleå, so it will for sure be a very special Event.
Bonanza 2024 on the 14th of September in Enköping
More news will follow when we get closer to the date!
Nominations for Turf Awards 2023 is over (last day was February 29th) and Crew is busy going thru the nominations and setting up the vote. Everyone will be able to vote for their favorites later this spring :)
I recently moved a newly made zone in Umeå and it became ”hidden” for some turfers. This is a known bug that can be very, very annoying. The most ”famous” hidden zone is FarEast. No one is able to locate this zone in the Turf app without first searching for it. Even if you know where it is, it will not show itself unless you search for it.
FarEast is a very special zone, but the same affliction can occur when a zone is moved, usually soon after it was made. Not much is known about WHY this happens. It usually corrects itself with the next restart of the Turf servers, but until that happens it can be very frustrating since not all turfers always are affected by this.
Once this happened to a zone here in Uppsala. It was made in a very precarious location and moved within a day or two to a less dangerous spot. I went to take it with a friend and my friend could not for the life of it, see the zone in the Turf app. I could, and I was also able to take it. My friend was not, not even after cleaning the Turf app's cache, uninstalling/reinstalling the app. It became so frustrating my friend almost uninstalled Turf for good (overreacting a bit). A few months later, we both could take the zone without any problems.
So, if you happen to come across a zone that is ”hidden” to you or your friend/s, write an issue about it, preferable reported as a ”Non-critical app or server” issue. Do NOT report it as a "Zone issue". The more information about when and where this happens, the bigger the possibility this might get solved beyond ”wait for the Turf server to restart”, but until then...there is nothing wrong with the actual zone, nothing wrong with your phone, just another irritating Turf bug. Patience is required from you as a turfer and apart from the famous FarEast zone, all other ”hidden” zones I have heard of, have become unhidden in time.
Turf Picture of the Month
This months Turf Picture is of the zone Ruinenberg taken by DasHuhn. Turfers from three different countries had submitted pictures this time, very much appreciated. Keep those Turf pictures coming :)
If you have a Zone picture you want featured as Turf Picture of the Month, send it to insider@turfgame.com Please include your Turf nick for recognition!
Turfa lugnt/Safe turfing!
//Munin
...if you want to contribute to future Turf Insiders, send your story to insider@turfgame.com :) C'mon and share your big and small stories with the Turf world.
Round winners – January 2024 (Round #163)
Congratulations to the winners of round January 2024: Jomii from Värmland braved the January cold and added a fourth gold to his medals, gerald_flux.rc turfed home a bit over one million points and secured a Silver with that, while turbosmith from Scotland came third and was awarded with his first Bronze. Well done mates!
Upcoming events
If you are organizing an open event, don't forget to write to insider@turfgame.com a couple of months in advance to get the information about your event into the news letter :)
VBWinterC24 Saturday 10th of February in Umeå, Sweden
The winter classic is back in Umeå and will be for both bike and foot on the same day. It will be cold, hopefully lots of snow and during the few hours of daylight at this time of the year.
LuleåIce24 Saturday 16th of March
The
event will take place on/near the ice track around Luleå. You
are allowed
to use ice skates, skis, kick-sled or walk/run. More information and
registration HERE. This will be the first ever Turf Event on ice. Back in 2015, a Turf Event on ice was planned in Västerås, but due to a warm winter, it was changed into a land Event. But they sure did produce a killer advertisement for their Event, LINK HERE. If you want some on ice action, head to Luleå in March :)
Scottish Turf Open – Saturday June 1st
The Scottish Turf Open Championships is BACK in Edinburgh at the start of June for its second year! Come along and we promise you will love it! Everyone is very welcome! More information closer to the date.
24h Event in Luleå 7th of June
The 24 h Event is a very special Event that goes on for 24 hours. It has been run twice before. The first ever took place in Umeå, back in July 2017 and you competed in teams of 3 turfers, taking turns being on the map 2 hours at the time. So each player turfed for 8 hours during the 24 hour Event. In June, it will never get dark in Luleå, so it will for sure be a very special Event.
Bonanza 2024 on the 14th of September in Enköping
More news will follow when we get closer to the date!
You can nominate turfers in four different categories until February 29th. Nominate HERE. When the nomination period is over, up to five nominees are selected in each category by Crew. During April, all turfers will have the chance to vote for a winner in each category. The winners will be revealed at the Bonanza banquet on September 14th.
Voting for new Medals
The vote for the New Medal is over: Monumentalist won with a landslide and the work to create the new medal will begin soon. Monumentalist was “a series of medals for number of unique visited monument zones”.
A reminder what a Monument zone is:
"A zone placed in the direct vicinity to or directly on a monument. A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage. The zone name should normally reflect the monument name. Only one zone per monument can have this attribute."
So, any old statue is not by default a Monument, any old building is not by default a Monument. It will take a little more than it being old, to make it a Monument.
Turf Crew has a new member: DXP2K, a new zone maker from Germany. Turf Insider asked him a few questions in order to get to know him better :)
1. What is your turfnick? Is there a story behind it, if so what?
My nickname on Turf is DXP2K and there is actually no real story behind it. DxP is the short form of DxPepper, the name I use for online games on the XBOX. I don't even remember what motivated me to add "2K", it was too long ago.
2. How long have you been turfing and how did you found out about Turf?
I've been turfing since the beginning of 2021. According to warded.se, I recorded my first session on February 26th, 2021. A colleague recommended Turf to me. After all, I am a gamer and a biker, so it just had to be right for me ;) Due to the COVID-19 measures in Germany...lockdown, ban on contact, etc. I had a lot of free time and now finally something to do. Alone, cycling with friends wasn't possible, but there was something to do.
3. What is the best thing about Turf? And the worst (if there is any)?
Good question...Turf motivates me primarily through competition. It motivates me to go out and go for a ride even if I don't really feel like it. Just to score points if another player gets too close or I have another player within striking distance and can move up the top list. The bad thing about Turf, if you want to call it that... Turf is a time waster if you want to be at the top. When you have work and a family it is sometimes really difficult to find time for turfing. Unfortunately, Turf takes a backseat and that can really ruin the current round.
4. What made you want to become a zone maker?
I am absolutely convinced of the concept of the game and the more I was able to look behind the scenes, the more I wanted to take part. Since Turf doesn't seem to have really arrived in Germany yet and is currently focused more on the hotspots around Hamburg, Berlin and Cologne/Bonn, it was clear to me that I had to be one of the ones to change that.
5. Which is your fave zone? Can be divided into a) the one you take most often b) the one you really felt "WOW" when taking
The zone I go to most often is the S-Bahn station Friedrichsberg in Hamburg. I come by there often and it is well frequented. If things go well, you can come here several times a day. But the zone isn't anything special.
The zone with the biggest WOW effect so far was definitely the “AlbormozFort” zone in San Marino / Italy. Currently the only zone in the dwarf state. The view over Emilia-Romagna is breathtaking from up there.
The view in the picture is towards the east.
6. Anything else you'd like to tell the Turf World about yourself
I founded the Discord server “Turfen in Deutschland” (Turf in Germany) about 3 years ago. It offers a German-speaking platform for turfers to be able to communicate comfortably. Ask questions, get answers or just show off your latest medal or the latest, most beautiful zone photo. Unfortunately, it is difficult to reach all the turfers in the country and invite them to join us. Many people are alone in their region and don't even notice it. That's why I'll take advantage of the opportunity, if it's okay. > If you would like to join us, you can find the invitation link in the German Section of the Turfforum. ;-)
Turf Picture of the Month
This months Turf Picture is of the zone YarmViaduct taken by Annie9jobs.
If you have a Zone picture you want featured as Turf Picture of the Month, send it to insider@turfgame.com Please include your Turf nick for recognition!
Turfa lugnt/Safe turfing!
//Munin
...if you want to contribute to future Turf Insiders, send your story to insider@turfgame.com :) C'mon and share your big and small stories with the Turf world.
Monumentalist won with a landslide in the vote for the next medal!
This means the work to create the medal will begin next.
Thanks to all supporters who took part in the voting!
Round winners – December 2023 (Round #162)
Congratulations to the winners of round December 2023: Király from Skåne decided to take one more Gold, gerald_flux.rc from Berlin added another Silver to his medal row and nicos from Berlin turfed home his first Bronze. Well done mates!
Upcoming events
If you are organizing an open event, don't forget to write to insider@turfgame.com a couple of months in advance to get the information about your event into the news letter :)
VBWinterC24 Saturday 10th of February in Umeå, Sweden
The winter classic is back in Umeå and will be for both bike and foot on the same day. It will be cold, hopefully lots of snow and during the few hours of daylight at this time of the year.
Bonanza 2024 in Enköping
I hope you have booked the14th of September 2024 for attending the next Bonanza in Enköping, Sweden. More news will follow when we get closer to the date!
Voting for new Medals
As a Supporter you have the chance to vote for the next new Medal in Turf. Five different medals have been suggested by Crew and you can vote HERE until the end of January 2024.
It's finally time to nominate the Turf achievements in 2023 that you consider the most spectacular, amazing or funny. You can nominate turfers in four different competition categories until February 29th. Nominate HERE. When the nomination period is over, up to five nominees are selected in each category by Crew. During April, all turfers will have the chance to vote for a winner in each category. The winners will be revealed at the Bonanza banquet on September 14th. Many thanks in advance for your contribution. Remember to start jotting down for yourself the spectacular achievements of 2024 so that you will remember them in a year when it is time to nominate for Turf Awards 2024!
Turfing in Extreme Cold –by Kygni
“During the coldest night of my life, the night between 3rd and 4th of January 2024, I took a two hour long Turf trip after ice bathing and sauna. I started the trip at 02:53 from the center in Luleå, the zone 'Greysoul'. You see the view from the zone in the picture below.
I wanted to make a zone picture, but the phone had a few issues...
From there I wanted to bike straight home because I was very tired, but I also wanted to truly experience the extreme cold so I took a little detour on my way home. As most turfers know, having the phone on the bike is the most optimal, that way you can check the map whenever you need, instead of taking out your phone from your pocket, however in minus -35 degrees Celsius, even the most rugged phone will die on you within minutes.
I had to bike from memory and have the phone in my jacket and even then, the phone struggled to keep warm and alive. I passed two thermometers on the way and both said it was minus 35 degrees, however the official SMHI (red. Swedish weather forecast service) observation in Kallax said it went as low as -36.4C this night. A friend's thermometer showed as low as -37C, and I heard that locally it went as low as -38C. When I passed the train station, every train was cancelled because of the extreme cold. The Cold Record for Luleå is -41,0, recorded in 1999, so it was very close this night.
At the end of my Turf trip, I had a pain in my cheeks and had to use a flag around my face to prevent frostbites. I got to keep almost every zone the rest of the round since the warmest I noticed before the December round ended was the superwarm -23C. No one in Luleå will think -20C is cold for the rest of the winter.”
The coldest I myself have been out biking in, was back in the middle of the 90's when I lived in Umeå and wanted to go to the cinema on a cold Boxing Day, so off I went in a crisp -28C. This was way before Turf and way before any cell phone that would die on me. The other day we had a lovely -18C here in Uppsala and the phone survived 30 min outside on my bike's handlebars before it decided to give up in zone number 14, which luckily was only 100 meters from home.
Turf Insider at Turfwiki- by ojarnstr
”Turfwiki is not only the place for all matters of knowledge of Turf, but also its history. I started a project a few years ago to add all Turf insider newsletters to the Turfwiki. This project is now almost complete with over 10 years’ worth of Turf insider newsletters. https://wiki.turfgame.com/en/wiki/Turf_insider
As always, I am hoping more people will join me in writing articles for Turfwiki. If nothing else, please at least write your own user article. Tell the rest of the Turf world, a little bit about yourselves and how you
Turf.
https://wiki.turfgame.com/en/wiki/User:YourTurfname (eng. wiki)
https://wiki.turfgame.com/sv/wiki/Anändare:DittTurfnamn (sv. wiki)
Funny thing if you do this, you can check all pages that are linked to your user article. If you have been an active turfer for many years… your name will probably come up in a few Turf insiders or other articles.
If you have questions about the wiki, please contact me by mail.
ojarnstr / ojarnstr@gmail.com”
There are a few issues of Turf Insider missing from the Turf Wiki, and ojarnstr would be very grateful for anyone finding the very early issues for him (October 2012 and earlier) and also three issues from 2015 (February, June and August). If you have any of these issues saved, please e-mail them to ojarnstr :)
Turf Picture of the Month
This months Turf Picture is of the zone SkellSquare taken by Marilium.
If you have a Zone picture you want featured as Turf Picture of the Month, send it to insider@turfgame.com Please include your Turf nick for recognition!
Turfa lugnt/Safe turfing!
//Munin
...if you want to contribute to future Turf Insiders, send your story to insider@turfgame.com :) C'mon and share your big and small stories with the Turf world.
The voting is now repaired. Please vote again if you have voted these previous days(17-19dec).
All supporters are now welcome to vote for the next medal in Turf.
Feel free to cast your vote HERE
https://turfgame.com/pages/page_vote.php
Only one medal will be picked, and the voting is closed at the end of January.
Round winners – November 2023 (Round #161)
Congratulations to the winners of round November 2023: Veit from Hamburg is the first German turfer to take a Gold Medal, gerald_flux.rc from Berlin took his third Silver and DaHunter from Stockholm turfed home his second Bronze.Well done mates!
Our German Crew member JoasK interviewed Viet and here are the Q&A:
Q: Did you go for gold right from the beginning or did it happen by accident?
Gold was not planned. I first thought about Top 3 on November 10th when Gerald asked if I wanted to go for it. Top 3 still felt surreal, but from then on I was prepared to invest more than usual. I believed in gold after week 2.
Q: Did you have vacation so that you could concentrate on Turf?
No vacation, but I deliberately reduced my overflowing overtime quota on the first Monday because I wanted to create a cushion at the start of the round to keep me in the elite. In the end, 2 spontaneous floating holidays were added.
Q: What do you do for a living?
Airbus / Systems Engineer Climate. Normally, 3 days of attendance are mandatory - I worked almost exclusively from home in November because it was more flexible - I worked before, between and after Turf;)
Q: How does it feel to be the first German Gold Winner?
It actually makes me proud - just being able to wear the leader shirt for 4 weeks was motivating. But the most important thing about Germany’s first gold was the interest, support and motivation of my German teammates - it was touching.
Q: What was the biggest challenge during the four weeks?
The biggest challenge was clearly the dark, cold, wet evening rounds in unknown regions around Hamburg where the zones already have to be experienced/pushed hard under normal circumstancesQ: What was your personal highlight during the last four weeks?
Berlin with the many zone highways and the meeting with the family of Das Huhn.
Q: You said you were a bit ambivalent about Turf. What do you mean by that?
True: I’m not an unreserved Turf fan. I like cycling, love multi-day tours or long day trips to beautiful regions. Turf dictates the tours a bit - regardless of the attractiveness, only depending on the zone density. As a result, you enslave yourself somewhat, forgo social rides, spend more time alone on the bike and, in the most extreme cases, plan your vacation accordingly. On the other hand, I cycled almost 1600 km this month (would have been limited to work routes without Turf), got to know nice people and many regions.
Hopefully we will see more German turfers in 2024! And not only fighting for the top 3 spots in the world.
Upcoming events
If you are organizing an open event, don't forget to write to insider@turfgame.com a couple of months in advance to get the information about your event into the news letter :)
Luleå W2023 Saturday 9th of December in Luleå, Sweden
A 3 hour event in the north of Sweden. This is for turfers who enjoy cold, darkness and a bit of snow.
Lusseturf Sunday 10th of December in Västerås, Sweden
For the eleventh year, Turf Västmanland is organising Lusseturf, an open Foot event famous for their lussebullar :) Please sign up HERE.
Nyårslöftet Monday 1st of January in Eslöv, Sweden
Organised by Turf Skåne for the 8th time as the first Turf Event of the year. Take the train to Eslöv, get off the train and you are in the Event area, it can not be easier to join a Turf Event! Read more about it HERE.
VBWinter24 Saturday 10th of February in Umeå, Sweden
The winter classic is back in Umeå and will be for both bike and foot on the same day. It will be cold, hopefully lots of snow and during the few hours of daylight at this time of the year. Umeå has already "some" snow, as can be seen here in the zone Ratatosk.
Closer to the Event date you can find more information HERE.
Bonanza 2024 in Enköping
I hope you have booked the14th of September 2024 for attending the next Bonanza in Enköping, Sweden. More news will follow when we get closer to the date!
Advent Calendars 2023
Turf Skåne's Advent Calendar is up and running, HERE. The rules are simple:
The assignments do not have to be completed on the same day as they are announced in the calendar, but all assignments must be completed during the month of December.
The assignments can be carried out at the earliest on the same day that they are announced.
If several zones are to be taken during a mission, all zones must be taken during the same day.
You can complete the missions with takes, assists and/or revisits.
When you have completed a mission, you send us the zone name(s) and tour nick (below). Form on the home page!Board members cannot win prizes.
If you win a prize, you must collect it yourself in Skåne, we do not send any winnings. Two winners will get the book Lonely Planet Epic Bike Rides of Europe.
Planet Gary is also running a Turf Calander for all turfers out there, read more about it HERE. Planet Gary has an easy option and a challenging option for each day and there is no need to register or ask to take part. Just get on with it. Tasks should be completed on the same day but no worries if not, so if you have not heard about it until now, you can still join! Details will be posted on Planet Gary each evening for the following days task. The rules are many and quite fun to read, so head over to Planet Gary to read all of them :)
Voting for new Medals
The next medals will be decided by the Turf Community ie YOU! At the moment the different alternatives are being put together by Crew. Hopefully the vote will take place later in December, but as always life can get in the way. The developers are hopeful they can put together meaningful medals to vote for soon. But rest assure, voting for new medals will come sooner or later to a digital space close to you :)
Turf Picture of the Month
This months Turf Picture is of the zone Nappträdet taken by Jonteman.
If you have a Zone picture you want featured as Turf Picture of the Month, send it toinsider@turfgame.com Please include your Turf nick for recognition! Deadline for next Turf insider is Saturday the 6th of January 2024.
Turfa lugnt/Safe turfing!
//Munin
...if you want to contribute to future Turf Insiders, send your story to insider@turfgame.com :) C'mon and share your big and small stories with the Turf world.
