Shade
Running in the shade in Madrid
Loops computed for running, leaving around midday.
In Madrid, a well-chosen loop holds around 50% shade in the middle of the day. The gap between a good and a bad route comes down to whether it takes in the parks and the riverside.
Three loops
| # | Distance | Time | Climb | Shade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11.6 km | 69 min | +264 m | 57 % |
| 2 | 9.7 km | 56 min | +216 m | 48 % |
| 3 | 12.1 km | 72 min | +294 m | 46 % |
How the shade is computed
SHADE doesn't pick a route because it is popular, but because it will be shaded at the hour you set off. For Madrid, shade on the ground is computed from three real sources: tree canopy, shadows cast by the terrain, and shadows cast by buildings. Those three do not cool you equally — under trees the air itself is cooler, while a shaded street keeps radiating heat from the tarmac — and the percentage shown accounts for that.
In practice, in Madrid as anywhere, shifting your start by an hour or two changes comfort more than changing route. The app's time slider redraws the loop accordingly.