Walter S

I'm looking for ideas about how to record pictures and comments about a tour and publish to the web to share with family, friends, others. I want something enduring so I can refer back to it myself and enjoy the memory years into the future. That makes me reluctant to store the information at somebody else's website where the digital record is under their control. And I want to avoid fad technologies for which support might be lacking in the future. Something based mainly on HTML 5 without dependence on proprietary add ons is what I'm thinking.

I'd like something very easy to update and maintain. But only where that does not compromise my other requirements.

Any experience out there you can share??

Machka 

I have my own website (see signature line), and I also use Flickr for most of my photos.

Regarding my own website ... all the information which appears there is also backed up in several places elsewhere, on my own computer systems. So, even if I decided not to maintain a website anymore, I still have all my stories, articles, etc.

1nterceptor

I've been using Youtube for years now to show
my trips to friends and family; no problems so far.
Flikr for photos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQktfYqaEUo


DSCF1049 by 1nterceptor, on Flickr
















Snug Harbor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFj80L5e3no

Gus Riley

This may not be what you're looking for, but www.crazyguyonabike.com is used by many touring bicylists. Simple to use, and viewed by many.

ak08820

Actually, this is exactly what I would suggest. It is a bike touring specific web site, developed and maintained by a bike tourist. It allows to create journals with photos and is visited by avid bike tourists. What more can one ask?

mtnbud

I understand what you're saying. I don't have any solutions for you, but I'd recommend Picasa which is available through Google. You have the option of storing your information on the web, but it's not required. You also have Picnic available as a photo editing tool which is straight forward and simple to use. You have the option of making your pictures available to everyone, just your friends, anyone who you share the link with, or you only.

Here's an example.

mm718

I would suggest crazyguyonabike. It's bike specific, high traffic, great community, lots of good info there... Alternatively there are blog printing services that work with Blogger, Typepad, etc. So you could host your blog with one of these sites and then have a hardcover book of your blog printed when you are done with your tour. If the blog is primarily for friends and family this would be one way to go.

lanahk

If you want something sharable, easily updated and easily archived, consider a free Wordpress or Blogger site. If you use their hosted services, they apply patches and upgrades so you don't have to maintain it, and it is easy for others to view and comment on your site. And you can easily download all the information to store locally. You can also personalize it with themes and plug-ins.

The downside? You don't get the exposure you may have from CGOAB or even YouTube, since you have to do a lot more self-promoting.

I like the ease of CGOAB. Granted, you are locked into Neil's formatting, but that actually lets you concentrate more on your content, which is what really matters. You can trust him not to be particularly cutting edge with his coding and any changes he makes will be backwards-compatible with what he has now, I'm guessing.

If you want to sink some money into the endeavor, you can buy a domain, get some server space from Amazon and build a site from scratch with a content management system like Drupal, Joomla, PHP-Nuke or any of the others. That way, you can customize your code to be HTML 5 compliant, fully universally accessible, etc.

Walter S

Thanks. That looks like a great choice for me. I'm building a site. This looks like a good fit.

Aushiker

Another vote for CGOAB. I find it useful when I was on tour and then afterwards I wrote up my own blog posts.

Andrew

tom cotter

I too would recco Crazyguyonabike. It is a great site!!! And along with Bf, one of my favorite places to visit on the web.

My one concern about posting there would be the permanence of the content. If something happens to Neil, then what? Stuff happens!! Or, though unlikely, Neil decides to shut it down. Admittidly I don't know enough about the crazyguy site to know if it's one man show or if it would continue in Neil's absence.

merlinextraligh

You could go old school and make a book:

https://www.mypublisher.com/

human powered

A wordpress blog, either self-hosted or hosted by wordpress would be just the ticket.

Walter S

I agree. Thanks to everybody for the suggestions. I'm setting up a wordpress self hosted site at https://www.walterstovall.com.

xyzzy834

If you want people to read it because you've sent them a link, a wordpress self hosted site would give you the most creative control.

If you want people to find it themselves and read it, the CGOAB site has developed quite a community of interest and has a nice set of keyword search features.

Boondock

Tumblr is becoming more popular to blog a tour. Most people just post pictures, but video and text is also available. Don't forget to tag your post with "bicycle touring"

https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/bicycle+touring

gpsblake

CGOAB also gets my vote. It is though a really long url to pass on to your friends and others on tour. You can always use redirect service (I use https://biketour.ne1.net) to make the url much easier to remember for others or something like www.tinyurl.com/whateveryouwant or even a simple godaddy address redirect.

reed523

Another CGOAB devotee here but you've already heard plenty from that fan base. My suggestion would be to select a format that allows easy content addition while on the road. As I look back on my trip, much of what is written is a bit of an embarrassment from a "quality of writing" point of view. However, it was real at the time and I've found that to be priceless as I look back on it. Had a chosen to take notes and make a nice presentation later, i am certain it would have lost value from a story perspective.

Also, choose something that allows you to measure site visits. It will blow your mind to see how many people follow you as the word gets out.

I would also like to put a good word in for smugmug as a photo hosting site. I have been very pleased with their level of service.

KirkBeiser

If you don't think you'll continue to blog after the trip then CGOAB would by far be the easiest choice. I started with trailjournals (similar concept) when thru hiking and it worked. The nice thing about CGOAB is that all you need to do is tell another tourer your name and that your journal is on CGOAB. That's easy to find compared to remembering a website name and you are also part of blogging community.

I use wordpress which I think is the best looking popular blogging service. It's also pretty easy to use but will take more time to set up since there are more options. My blogging has definitely improved over the last 5 years and CGOAB wouldn't be a good match for me.

gif4445

I have written two journals on CGOAB. I love to use it. And FYI, you can download your journal onto your computer. I did with both, as I was as concerned as you, that I could lose the journals. Instructions are on the website.

chrisch

If you have an iPhone or iPad and are not into typing long journal entries, then check out an app I wrote called TrackMyTour. TrackMyTour is a micro blogging platform designed with bike touring in mind. It lets you update an online map with the progress of your tour. Here's a sample map: https://trackmytour.com/FQTZL. Many use the map as a standalone account of their tour, but some embed them within a blog. Whatever you decide, enjoy!

DCwom

+1 on Crazy Guy. I like the standardized look and navigation of all the journals, it gets to the point of what I'm looking for when I read a journal. A lot of custom sites can get lost in formatting and "creative expression"

Walter S

Wow. I just woke up this morning wondering how I might update a map with pictures and comments during the ride. Thanks for the post. I'll check it out!

one_beatnik

I use both CGOB and Tumblr. For an extended tour, I prefer the formatting of CGOB. This was mine from a couple years ago. https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?...c_id=9452&v=Lw
I like how you don't have to scroll through everything to get to the beginning so people just starting your journal can easily navigate.

Cyclebum

As I don't trust any internet site for 'permanent' storage of journals, I post them on CG and then print them for my stab at immortality, hoping the great grandkids will read them and maybe be inspired to take up touring.