martinfarrent

Hi all,

I'm new here, more generally found on MTB forums.

But I have launched a bikepacking and cycle touring webzine at https://trails-tours.com and thought some of you might like it. There is quite a lot of material there already and I have been working on advanced navigation and search functions so that people can find what they are looking for.

I hope you enjoy it!

Best,

Martin

antokelly

Great site well done i cant find the video on the enlightened down Quilt dead interested in it as i've ordered one over a month ago still waiting on delivery.
anyway well done great bit of work.

nun

Nice aggregation.........I'm just about to write a follow up bit to the link below about swapping the 12/25 cassette and Rival rear derailleur on my Cervelo RS with a 12/36 and an long cage X9 derailleur.

https://wheelsofchance.wordpress.com...touring-gears/

martinfarrent

You can actually post that link yourself with a few explanatory words. See here: https://trails-tours.com/sites/

That's for suggestions. I get quite a few via PMs or mails. But if you suggest your work on the site itself, it's already linked 'while you wait' - so to speak.

@antokelly: I'm useless at waiting for ordered gear to arrive. It drives me nuts!

Pico Triano

Had a look and followed you on Facebook. Working on a site myself. Not exactly the same focus though. Will be checking in regularly.

jhawk

Bloody good stuff mate. I too have set up a website: jackonabike.ca. While I've not tried "bikepacking" so much, I'm just getting into touring and decided to start myself on the freelance journalism sector.

Well done to you, Sir. If you wouldn't mind checking my site out and letting me know what you think.

Cheers,

Jack.

martinfarrent

Neat site, Jack... why not post a link to it here? https://trails-tours.com/sites/

By the way, I have set up a newsletter option now - for those who don't use social networks, but want to keep an eye on the site.

martinfarrent

Another addition: I've updated the site to include a section for adventure races. There are a few entries already - and no doubt it will grow.

Additionally, there is now an explanatory page on navigation options: https://trails-tours.com/using-site/ - shows how to use the site for focussed research.

Pico Triano

Took a quick look at your site jhawk. I like it. You're in New Brunswick too I see. I'd appreciate it if you took a look at my site. Any feedback is appreciated.

Pedal on!

Pico

Pico Triano

Looks like your site is developing quickly. Working on mine as I have time. Will be adding a site page like you did probably later today. I'd be happy to have your link added.

jhawk

Hi Pico,

Thanks for checking my site out! I'll do the same for you. Continue to post and then when you've reached the required number, fire me off a PM!

Are you in NB, too?

Cheers.

martinfarrent

Pico,

If you are looking for authors, I would post that fact widely (in any forums you know of). I would probably even approach people individually - people who write interesting posts in forums. Collective projects can be difficult to get off the ground if you rely on a single appeal addressed to no one in particular. But when they work, they can be really vivid and diverse.

Pico Triano

I don't expect it to be an easy project. I'm capable of carrying it for awhile on my own. Long term though. I can't see myself spitting out five stories or articles each month and at the same time staying interesting and relevant. I have been putting out the word everywhere where I can and is appropriate. I have quite a few writer friends and cycling friends just not many of those friends are both.

Pico

Pico Triano

Yep. I'm in New Brunswick. We live close to the Nova Scotia border in the bush. How long we'll be there I don't know. In spite of having a family I'm a bit of a moving target.

Pico

martinfarrent

... that goes for most pastimes. :-) People either write or develop apps or collect stamps or... But if you peruse the forums, you will find plenty of people with a nice style of writing. They may just need a bit of persuasion.

Re my page about using my site (https://trails-tours.com/using-site/): A how-to isn't a miracle cure. A few people go there and then try the navigation options suggested. But most just use the site as they perceive it on first sight. The trick is to make the navigation features one considers useful as intuitive as possible - so that people discover them for themselves. I'm still working on it. ;-)

Pico Triano

I'm having some success bending friendly ears. In fact, I'm doing better at this point than expected. I'm quite excited about the prospects for my second issue.

This isn't my first website but it's all still a learning experience. Some things work well while others don't do much. Always a work in progress.

martinfarrent

Yeah, I have done websites before...

But times change faster than oldies like me A lot of creative people are finding new ways of designing sites. Some may become new paradigms.

I find that I have my own intuition on the one hand... and the usage stats on the other. All said and done, my 'intuition' is basically just personal experience (going way back to the first days of the WWW). The Holy Grail is seeing things through other people's eyes. Creating a good site-navigation experience for all sorts of readers and their diverse purposes isn't trivial. Only recently, someone said that he hadn't even seen my sidebar options until I pointed them out in a forum. That was a bit unexpected. But then I realised that I often navigate new sites in much the same way... fast, spontaneous clicking.

Pico Triano

I count as an oldie. Just to let you know I managed to create a links page on my site as well. Now I'd be happy to see your link there as well as jhawk's. The page link is: https://picoscycling.blogspot.ca/p/cy...-websites.html

martinfarrent

Pico, is there any way of commenting without using an external account?

Pico Triano

Good question. I'm not even sure. I'll have to check into that. At this point I'd say no but there are always ways around these things. Just have to figure out how.

martinfarrent

You're on blogspot - I don't know much about the platform.

I am using self-hosted Wordpress. With Akismet and an additional (intelligent!) captcha plugin, WP users can keep spam to a fairly manageable minimum and allow email authentification. In niche areas like ours, most spammers fully expect to end up in your spam folder. They want you (personally) to read their messages - largely about their SEO offerings.

jhawk

I too am using the Wordpress Platform. Personally, I prefer it to other blogging sites that I've tried - BlogSpot being one of those when I sought to publish my fiction writing for feedback, that was several years ago. I love using Wordpress, the format is simpler and the site, at least in my opinion, is far more attractive than a BlogSpot page.

I too use Askimet and Captcha - although I loved all those comments telling me how great my site was! Imagine my disappointment when I found that they were spam!

martinfarrent

Yes, I remember my first one, too.

It was on a completely different site. Apparently, my "deep, insightful thoughts" were something all the world should know about. So I was a philosopher for five seconds. Akismet thought it was spam. What a cheek!

jhawk

Indeed! And mine was on another site, apparently, I had an incredible writing talent and they wanted to exploit it and stuff. I was all excited, and, as I was in Journalism 12(0) at that point - my teacher promptly dismissed them as spam... I was gutted.

Nonetheless, I continue to use WP. Feel as though I need to post soon, as I haven't posted in over a month.

martinfarrent

Yeah, but truth doesn't matter in journalism anyway* - never let it get in the way of a good story. By extension: just go on believing the spam! Heartless teacher!

(*Back in my news agency days, I wrote a story refuting a false claim that Gorbachev had resigned. Walked into the pub the next day and was informed of the opposite. When I asked for their source, the drinkers showed me my own article on the front page of a national newspaper. They had read the headline, let their imaginations turn it around, ignored the rest.)