Flâneurs June challenge: Theme I: Buses

[kake]

Hello flaneurs! Here is the first theme for your June challenge: buses.

To recap: I will post sets of instructions grouped into three themes. To complete the challenge, all you need to do is make an attempt during June to follow at least one set of instructions from each theme. A small prize (details still being arranged) will be offered to everyone who does at least one theme!

You may report back on your attempt at the "buses" theme either in a comment to this post, or in a top-level post of your own. Your report can be as brief or as lengthy as you like.

Note:

• Where it says "choose" in these instructions, and doesn't give a method of choosing, you may pick your own method of choosing. Put names in a hat, pick the option that seems most sensible at the time, use a random number generator, ask your housemate to pick one — up to you.
• If you don't work outside your home, feel free to replace "workplace" in the following with the location of any other regular appointment, e.g. choir rehearsal or medical visit. (No longer relevant to this theme given changes below for 2016.)
• If you feel all the sets of instructions in a given theme are impossible for you, feel free to adapt as much as necessary. And please report back on your adaptations!

Your starting point for each of these sets of instructions is the bus stop nearest your home or workplace. If there are multiple stops at roughly equal distances, either pick the one you use the least, or pick one at random. If you have no bus stops near your home/workplace, use a coach stop or tram stop or railway station or anything else you can think of that works as an equivalent.

New instructions for 2016: Your starting point for each of these sets of instructions is a bus stop of your choice. If there are no bus stops convenient to you, use a coach stop or tram stop or railway station or anything else you can think of that works as an equivalent.

Once you have your starting point, follow one of these sets of instructions:

I. (a)

• Get on the first bus that comes along (and that you're able to get onto).
• While travelling on the bus, look out of the window until you see something interesting.
• Get off at the next stop, go back, and thoroughly investigate the interesting thing.

I. (b)

• Get on the first bus that comes along (and that you're able to get onto).
• Stay on the bus until you reach the 10th stop or the end of the route, whichever comes first.
• Get off and navigate your way home by a method of your choice.

I. (c)

• Choose a number (n) between 3 and 20.
• Get on the first bus that comes along (and that you're able to get onto).
• Get off the bus at the nth stop. If the route terminates before you've gone n stops, then just get off at the terminal stop. [Alternative to this step: if you can see in advance that the nth stop doesn't serve any other routes, you can stay on until you get to one that does.]
• Get on the next bus that stops at this stop.
• Repeat the two steps above until you're in an area of your city you're not familiar with, or until you've been on 5 different buses, or until you're bored of waiting at bus stops.
• Navigate your way home by a method of your choice.

I. (d)

• Choose a number (n) between 3 and 20.
• Choose one of the routes that serve this stop.
• Find the location of the nth following stop on that route (you may do this in advance of setting out on your adventure).
• Travel from your starting stop to that stop by any method of your choice except on buses.

Please do let me know if anything in the above is confusing or needs more explanation.

Comments

[cxcvi]

I'm tempted to try to do these twice. Once in Bristol, and again when I'm away in Cambridge for a long weekend.

[kake]

Ooh, please do! It'd be great to see how they play out for the same person in different locations.

[kake]

I did I(c) today! Proper report to come.

[spiralsheep]

I. (a)
Get on the first bus that comes along (and that you're able to get onto).
While travelling on the bus, look out of the window until you see something interesting.
Get off at the next stop, go back, and thoroughly investigate the interesting thing.

Done. A brief write-up and two photos to post (my) tomorrow.

[cxcvi]

Did I(d) earlier today. Choose a bus stop slightly further away from where I live than my usual stop, as it offers a more interesting choice of buses (and because all of them go into the centre of Bristol, where I would be going after I'd reached the bus stop). After checking online to make sure that was I was planning to do wasn't unreasonable (I'm still not feeling 100% after Cambridge), decided on n=12 (crow distances of 1.7km, 2.3km, and 2.8km; considered n=15 but did not feel up to a 4km walk on the latter), and used a "next bus" service to choose which one I would walk to, which directed me to the middle one.

Didn't plan a walking route for any of them (I like making plans and having plans; I appear to like sticking to plans less, though...), and just used my A-Z to work out a reasonable direction, not finalizing my route until about half way. Thought I would be walking through a local hospital, but walking down the road past it seemed to be more interesting. My walking route also took me past the 12th stop for the shortest walk as well, which was also a useful place to sit for about 10 minutes. Wellington Hill West is named accurately...

Reached the 12th bus stop after just over an hour, in total. Didn't feel guilty about catching the bus into the centre after that. Haven't yet thrown "Google Tape Measure" around the route yet, but I think it's about 2.5km (just over a mile and a half), which is a little shorter than my other walks for this challenge, but still a significant amount for me.

[spiralsheep]

You did all three challenges, and in more than one place, yay! \o/

okay I'll try

[alatefeline]

I need to do this. Portland, Oregon, USA is an excellent place to go for random bus trips. This reminds me of geocaching but lower-commitment.

Re: okay I'll try

[nou]

Hurrah! Yes, the low-commitment aspect of it is very useful. I look forward to hearing how you get on.