CGOAB & Cycle Travel; For playing, inspiration and more

[HobbesOnTour]

There's feck all touring we can do at the moment, but I've become aware of a few "tools" that are very distracting

On CGOAB there is now some kind of a "Master Map" in development.
Simply put, we can zoom in on a map of the world to see "points". Each point refers to a Journal containing a map for that point. Clicking on a point will give the details of the journal and a series of red dots that show that rider's journey. There are more features in the pipeline.
It's a great way to pass a bit of time!

Over on Cycle.Travel there is a new, touring specific feature - overnight stops!
We can insert our own overnight stops (or Cycle.travel will do it!). Each "new" day will start at 0 km which may make distance planning easier.
And, of course, we can use the accommodation search at overnight stops too.
Saving or downloading we can do it day by day, or one long trip.

We may not be able to tour, but we can be getting ready!

 

[Cathryn]

Ooh that's epic, I hadn't spotted that. Thanks, I shall go and play on CGOAB right now. I am THOROUGHLY enjoying the numerous journals of Jurgen Reimann on CG - 1980s/1990s German fashion at its greatest and some truly remarkable cycling children.

LOVE the new feature on CycleTravel too. Thanks for flagging it. So much virtual fun to have on windy days now.

 

[IaninSheffield]

Been on both sites quite regularly in recent weeks and had spotted neither feature! Thanks for pointing them out 👍

 

[Mike Ayling]

Been on both sites quite regularly in recent weeks and had spotted neither feature! Thanks for pointing them out 👍

Neil on CGOAB is too busy atm trying to find new ways to maximise his donations income to spruik the map feature. He did announce it when he released it recently.

 

[Mike Ayling]

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/forum/board/message/?o=1mr&thread_id=897955&page=1&nested=0&v=1U
There has always been a drill down feature to find tours that go through towns most places in the world.
Mike

 

[HobbesOnTour]

Dragging up an old thread because working on something I had cause to look at the CGOAB map on a world scale....

For anyone who isn't aware the blue comes from dots on the map, each dot being a link to a journal page.
Looking for some info on a particular part of the word? Just zoom in on the map on the relevant area, click a dot (you'll also get to see the preceding and following points for the journalist) and you'll be whisked to the page!

It's really an incredibly useful tool for research or just information. Or for someone who wants to go of the beaten track
And a reminder that there's an awful lot of people out there going to great places on their bikes!

It's a real pity that that site is going nowhere fast.

Available at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/maps/?o=3d2

Just thinking..... maybe some of the members here who haven't been banned from CGOAB () and have journals there would like to post a link?

 

[All uphill]

Dragging up an old thread because working on something I had cause to look at the CGOAB map on a world scale....
View attachment 692340

For anyone who isn't aware the blue comes from dots on the map, each dot being a link to a journal page.
Looking for some info on a particular part of the word? Just zoom in on the map on the relevant area, click a dot (you'll also get to see the preceding and following points for the journalist) and you'll be whisked to the page!

It's really an incredibly useful tool for research or just information. Or for someone who wants to go of the beaten track
And a reminder that there's an awful lot of people out there going to great places on their bikes!

It's a real pity that that site is going nowhere fast.

Available at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/maps/?o=3d2

Just thinking..... maybe some of the members here who haven't been banned from CGOAB () and have journals there would like to post a link?

That's really useful. Thanks

 

[cisamcgu]

Dragging up an old thread because working on something I had cause to look at the CGOAB map on a world scale....
View attachment 692340

For anyone who isn't aware the blue comes from dots on the map, each dot being a link to a journal page.
Looking for some info on a particular part of the word? Just zoom in on the map on the relevant area, click a dot (you'll also get to see the preceding and following points for the journalist) and you'll be whisked to the page!

It's really an incredibly useful tool for research or just information. Or for someone who wants to go of the beaten track
And a reminder that there's an awful lot of people out there going to great places on their bikes!

It's a real pity that that site is going nowhere fast.

Available at https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/maps/?o=3d2

Just thinking..... maybe some of the members here who haven't been banned from CGOAB () and have journals there would like to post a link?

What do you mean when you say "It's a real pity that that site is going nowhere fast." ? I have always found it inspiring, and would hate to think it was going to disappear

 

[HobbesOnTour]

What do you mean when you say "It's a real pity that that site is going nowhere fast." ? I have always found it inspiring, and would hate to think it was going to disappear

Not trying to be a smartass but I mean what I wrote.

The site is going nowhere.....
I believe that all the main stats in terms of numbers of active members, numbers of active journals are all down (a long-term trend, not pandemic inspired), a lot of former members have left (and removed their (many very popular) journals) and despite some small movement the site is dated and not attractive to new generations of bike adventurers.

Treading carefully, the business model is clearly not working and there appears to be a strange combination of fatalism, paranoia and fantasism as motivators. The ultimate plan to have a website that competes with all of Facebook, Twitter and Craigslist is interesting - but to do that as a one-man-band? Methinks not.
There is not enough being done to promote the site (it was even removed from Google for a while, on principal), there is not enough been done to make the site more appealing and attractive to new users and there is a serious lack of understanding on the side of the management of how to behave in a public facing role.
I advocate for the site strongly and mention it to any bike tourist I come across. Very, very few are aware of it.

It is a shame because, for me - and I'm sure for many others - CGOAB was the place for bike adventure inspiration. We get to see the sheer variety of places that people go as well as who travels local to us, the amazing variety of bikes and gear that people use and have used. There is/was the option to contact someone directly.
A journal on a bike tour through Syria has always stayed in my mind as an example of something that can never be replicated - so many places are gone.
To my way of thinking, it is/was a far more honest representation of bike adventuring than many of today's outputs that often have some kind of popularity/financial motivation behind them. A good Instagram of a bike trip can lead to a book deal and, while it has been done from CGOAB, a book to follow a written blog of a journey is no easy task.

I think of Sheldon Browne and his site. Maintained by friends and kept up to date. Another valuable resource. And I fear for CGOAB.

 

[matticus]

There's a lot to comment on there (and the saddest bit is this

a lot of former members have left (and removed their (many very popular) journals)

but I'll just say that any site with stuff like this is - like SheldonBrown etc - worth keeping:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?page_id=628383

(some folks think that the web isn't the place for any "boring old stuff" - I hope we here think differently? ❤️ Look how old our choice of transport is!!! :P )

 

[dimrub]

CGOAB seems to be down lately quite often (e.g., now). Anyone knows what's the story here (aside from "an elderly site supported by a single individual")?

 

[HelenD123]

CGOAB seems to be down lately quite often (e.g., now). Anyone knows what's the story here (aside from "an elderly site supported by a single individual")?

I can get onto it.

 

[dimrub]

I can get onto it.

I'm getting "Error 403: Forbidden": seems to be a problem limited to my locale.

 

[Alex321]

I'm getting "Error 403: Forbidden": seems to be a problem limited to my locale.

Looks like it. I can get to it (from UK), and there are posts present from within the last day.

 

[dimrub]

False alarm: Neil was blocking the IP addresses of my employer. We've discussed this, and the access was reinstated.