Simon Warren of 100 Climbs notoriety reveals how he recently cracked his 50×50 Max Square and what is so addictive about VeloViewer tile hunting.
Learn about Simon’s winter tiling adventures: motivation, ticking off tiles, why he’s addicted, and the mighty fuelling power of Christmas cake.
How did it feel achieving the 50×50 Max Sqaure, and how long were you actively chasing it?
There was no champagne opening or anything, it’s more of a big personal satisfaction. I’ve been sitting on 46×46 since March, and tiling is a winter pastime for me. I set myself a target each season, so I have November to the end of March to get to the next boundary.
At the close of last season I was at 46 and I had 12 tiles in the Peak that I just couldn’t cycle, and that’s what I had to fill in before I could start this season’s effort. Essentially it was two long walks which would’ve wrecked my legs, so I wasn’t going to do them in the summer because it would probably take me a week to get my legs feeling supple again to ride. So they just got put off and put off. As part of my friend’s 50th birthday in September, I thought we’d go for a walk in the Peaks, and then he got wind that I had something planned and said, ‘well, I’m not going on a tiling walk for you’! In the end we went up Kinder Scout, a local hill, which was a better idea and I didn’t feel so guilty about dragging him around on his birthday to help my goal of hitting 50 by 50.
I always concentrate on trying to go as fast as I can and as hard as I can, and tiling efforts really don’t play into that because there’s a lot of going backwards and forwards, and changing directions. That led me to think I could prioritise tiling in the winter because you don’t have to go faster, and it gives that perfect motivation during the off-season.
So I synced everything up and initially I only had 8×8 around Sheffield but within one ride, I’d got it up to 12 by just filling in a couple of gaps. So I set myself the task of doing 20 tiles that winter, and then the following winter, 30, then 40, then 50, but 60, they get exponentially bigger now.
Now as the radius is larger I’m doing 100 miles to do four or five tiles, and it’s getting harder and harder. So there’s a lot more rides to be done.
What made the 50×50 Max Square so challenging?
The challenge is starting in Sheffield every time and heading all the way out up to the Humber and back again, and taking some tiles on the way back in. I don’t really want to get into driving, that seems against the point, and again doing the distance builds winter miles into the legs. I find I make my own little rules up! So legitimately I can start at my parents as they’re in Newark, that’s pretty much the bottom right-hand corner of my square. I can start from there because I’ve gone there for a reason, I’ve not just driven and dumped my car.
Walks, on the other hand, are different. If I’m going to walk into the Peak District, then obviously I have to drive there otherwise, it’ll take me three days to get to the starting point! We do some family walks but they’re not that keen on that anymore. Once a week I try and get my 14 year old son out. I’ll take him on his bike or whatever he fancies just get him moving. Instead of doing standard local loops I’ll take him somewhere new and on that premise take another tile, but we’ve got into sticky patches with cows and snow and dead ends – in that respect the novelty has worn off for them and they’ve abandoned tiling!
Does tiling in the winter months make it harder as the conditions are harsher?
Yes, I’m knee deep in mud at times, crossing footpaths and fields. I’m not going to take my best bike out so I have a standard winter bike with rim brakes and 28 mil tyres, which is fat for me. It’s an old Condor. The mud guards are pretty close. So as soon as you’ve been through a field with a bit of mud, they’ll just get rammed up, then you have to pick it out. I don’t have any off-road gear or anything like that. There’s a saying, ‘it’s all rideable’. It doesn’t matter about the bike, you just push on through!
We’re quite lucky where we are in Sheffield, you can go in all directions as we’re bang in the middle of the country so it’ll be a while until you hit the sea. There are also no Royal Marine Bases near us which can be a real challenge as you can not access, and you’re scuppered if you’re trying to increase your cluster.
I’ve predominantly gone East because that’s much easier than going West towards Manchester. When I get towards Hull, I might have to get a kayak to tackle the Humber Estuary because I think anything that’s human powered is fair game. My rule is not using anything motorised.
What’s next now you have the 50×50, what are you setting your sights on by the end of winter?
My goal is 55, I’m going to go two tiles West, three tiles East, three tiles North, and two tiles South. I just love plotting the tile hunting and will spend the week doing just that and then go and do it at the weekend. I’ll take half a day at the weekend, so that the other three halves of days go to the family, or to do chores. I like to tile on Saturday mornings, then you get it done, then the rest of the weekends.
There are lots of other things apart from the Square to focus on including the Max Cluster. I was actually looking at my Squares because we used to live down South and I’ve got everything around Epping and into Sussex and Kent, and I need to do about an 100 mile ride to link my Southern area to my Northern area. That could actually be a day out in the summer, take the train south and then follow the route north, picking up all the little clusters I need to join everything together.
Can you see any barriers to increasing your Max Square?
I’ve only got two or three rides planned where I can foresee problems ahead, but I’ve not found a square I haven’t been able to get into yet. One problem that’s been raised by other users is regarding Scunthorpe Steel Works, which will require some out of the box thinking as to how I can access.
When I secured tiles in the top right hand corner in the depths of Lincolnshire, there’s a place called the Humberside Peatlands, which was so eerie and claustrophobic. There was literally no one there. It’s like a hidden world, it’s peat, it’s all black and all the plants were dead – it was like something from a 1980s fantasy film or like Frodo walking towards Mordor!
What makes you keep going back for more with tiling?
It pushes your own boundaries in a different way to pure speed and endurance. Also I just love the completeness of a square, the perfection of it, the neatness, the obsession, the addiction, and the adventure. It’s once you set yourself that target, you’ve just got to do it, it becomes completely all consuming.
Tiling definitely tests you. I’ve had times where I literally have had no mobile reception, walking for 26 kilometres and for five hours I didn’t see another human. I could have fallen in a ditch and no one would have found me. It’s very rare that you’re this isolated though and it is good to be lost and alone sometimes.
I’m also very competitive, whether I have the talent to be competitive or not, tiling is somewhere you can be competitive without needing any athletic ability or it doesn’t require speed or fancy equipment. So even if you’re just challenging yourself, it’s something that you can achieve success in, whether you’re personal or against other people, without any need for being a fast cyclist.
For those new to tiling what top tips would you give?
Just be slightly blind to anything that may prohibit you claiming a tile and have your excuses ready as people are generally decent and interested in what you’re doing. I’ve not had to bribe anyone or spend any money to achieve a tile. That might have to change when I have to try and get to the Scunthorpe Steel Works. Apparently there is a bus tour you can go on. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it and plot a plan of attack.
Google Earth doesn’t go everywhere and when it runs out, well you are heading ‘off grid’. This unknown always gives me a real sense of anticipation and excitement as you genuinely don’t know what you’re going to get.
Definitely take lots of fuel with you, after Christmas my tiling is fueled by my sister-in-law ‘s Christmas cake so that’s my winter fuel. I don’t bother with energy gels, a big chunk of cake with a little boozy flavour keeps me fuelled for the winter.
Good lights are also essential because it’s always dark and gloomy especially if you’re on these moors. You also don’t want to get caught out in winter daylight hours.
What events have you set your sights on for 2026?
I like to have a challenge once a month, something to focus on. I do track league starting in January at the Velodrome in Derby. I always like to have something to keep me focused. I’m thinking next year I want to try a 12-hour time trial because I’ve never done one of those. I’ve always been time scarce, when you’ve got kids, you’ve got family it’s obviously demanding on your time. So investing the time to do a 12-hour time trial is never something I’ve had. But I might try and sneak that in.
We’re looking for stories of your year of adventures in 2025 so get in touch if you have a tiling tale to tell at veloviewer@gmail.com.