= 4.988 km The only jump that can help a little climbing the hill is between 18 and 19 but is not necessary and cost some metres.Did you after start go down the city wall to the waiting dog (brown point)?
Again down the next wall with the dog and only pointing back and using the dog for the flag 1.
Then drive only to the start of the ramp to flag 2 and sending the dog (you have to ring more then once).
Attention! Wait until he came back.
Turn and driving only a position by the fountain with a strait look to the next flag. Not more and let the dog catch flag 3.
That will help you to a nice start. You should simply use the dog as much as possible.

Add: I rechecked this route today and 2.5 miles is, doing it with my usual sloppy driving, no real challenge.

Methusalem,

I tried your hints on the Island View level and it worked! I got it down to 2.9 miles and I got all four stars! Thank you!

Only draw back is, when I stop to use the dog more I don't get as good a warm up, exercise-wise. Still, I'm glad to have "mastered" that level. Now I can get to work on the Expert level.

It is a bit of a trade off isn't it. I use the lower levels to take a break after a workout and practise turns etc. and just for fun as sicking my pet after flags doesn't work up much of a sweat.

Only did half the expert course today. Took me 20 minutes to get that far, so that was all I wanted to do as a warm up. I still have other exercises to get through today. What's the best distance anyone has gotten on this course? It's so spread out, I can't imagine getting through it very fast!

Hi Pam... I have Island Tour at 3.845 km = 2.29 miles approx. Often the solution to reducing the distance taken is not so much a different order of doing the flags as it is finding ways to reduce the distance you go.

So, first my general tips on using the bike:
* Ignore the differences between white sand, pink sand (look at the radar map: some of the sand on the beach is slightly pink), grass, sandy paths, blacktop road, paved areas in town, and seawater. Go by the straightest line possible.
* When you are passing somewhere where the straight line isn't possible, like a curved tunnel or cliff edge, hug the inside of the curve as close as you dare.
* When you need to change direction because, for example, you have marked a flag, make the direction change as tight as possible. This involves the "turning start" or the "braking start". To do the turning start, you must initially be stopped. With the brakes off, but without pedalling, tip the controller over as if you are turning. At some point (around vertical), the controller will start to cheep at you, but just before that point, the bike will start up and turn very tightly and very slowly. The braking start is the alternative for smaller turns. Stop, and leave the brakes on. Start to pedal slowly. Except on steep hills, the bike will swing upright without moving. Now you can slow down the pedalling and release the brakes. You can move off as slowly as you want, without the sudden rush that you normally get.
* You can ride the bike in the surf. Up to a point, any pet following you will stay with you. When the water is nearly up to the hubs, you will find that the bike starts to make a sort of slooshy sound, at which point the pet will separate from you. Don't worry, though, because the pet will track you along the non-slooshy zone and rejoin you when you come back in-shore. However, don't get over-confident. You can go in until the saddle is submerged, no problem, but not much more. If you go deeper, you will fall off the edge of the beach into the sea and "die". There is an opportunity to use this to your advantage on the Expert level, which is the only flag-hunt to take you onto the beach.

And some tips on pets:
* Use them. You can get flags at a distance.
* Use the bell. It is usually possible to send the pet ahead or off to the side to get a flag so that you do not have to spend the distance required to get it.
* On some levels (e.g. the second) some routes do not provide a pet except in the small sandy area in the mountain (variously called the Sand Pit or the Dry Lake Bed). You do not have to go in there. Instead, stop near the entrance and ring the bell. The pet will come over to you.
* Use the re-belling technique. You will find that the pets will only go out so far. You can extend this distance by ringing the bell to recall the pet, then immediately ringing it again to send it out again.
* Watch where you are pointing the front wheel. The pet goes out along the line of the front wheel, not the main part of the bike. You can use this fact with a modified version of re-belling to get the pet to grab a flag on the opposite side of an obstacle like the fountain in the square in town, but be aware that there are limits on their ability to find their way back to you.

And some tips on routing:
* You know that obvious first flag? The one almost right in front of you when you start? It often is not the correct first flag. My routes for Expert and the second level use it as first, but in the others it is almost last.
* Don't be afraid of including jumps off (small) verticals like the walls in town. If a better route involves cycling off the edge of one of those walls, do it. (In fact, the second level is the only one where I don't ride off at least one survivable vertical.) Non-survivable verticals like the cliffs up by the castle don't count and are to be avoided on the flag hunts, because the "Death Plummet Cheats" that apply when hunting the balloons in Free Ride don't work on flag hunts.
* Once you get the hang of using the pets well, you will find that you can do better by not riding straight at flags. There are "sweet spots" where you can ride through a gap between two flags and get them both by judicious use of the pet and without significant deviation from the straight line.

And a final note:
* I am an obsessive monomaniac.

The current posted record is 10.941 km which is 6.8 miles. It's a tie between me and Methusalem. My route involves a fair amount of pet-based trickery (but only so much, as I don't get a pet until beyond half the flags), a risk of taking swimming lessons on the beach, and one supremely non-obvious turn, on the large green area above the cave with the steel ramp.

I don't bother with the balloons actually. I was so pleased when I got to Duckling Lake and the castle, you wouldn't believe how long it took me ! I got lost in the caves on the way back though.

I had no idea about pet cheats ! this is all new to me !

The first four cycling levels really have no possibilities for workout. The still need good dose of patience.
Nintendo named it correct Balance Board and not Workout Board.
Wii Fit is meanly made for training balance, reaction and memorizing fitness of older peoples like me.

The Expert level isn't that "dog intensive" like the other tours. However if you need some, there is one waiting by the castle bridge for you, but don't tell this to cynique.

A quick look in the Wii Fit Forum Wiki will brings you a lot of information about "A dogs live".

I take my good dog between Flag four and five and because he really loves me, he will stay with me until the finish line.