WebGuy's Blog

Updates for Classifieds and Pics

steven@bikeclicks.com — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 01:26:38 GMT

I just updated both the classifieds and photos (pics) pages on the site. The updates are mainly to get around an issue with the Flash 10 Player causing issues with photo uploads. Apparently, when Adobe released Flash 10 Player it broke the photo uploader we use that allows you to upload multiple photos at once. The good news is that this update should fix it...the bad news? It's going to break if you use an older version of the Flash Payer. But wait...there's more good news. You can download the latest Flash Player (version 10) here for free.

I may have a problem

steven@bikeclicks.com — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:37:58 GMT

So a couple of weekends ago WebGirl and I decided to move our home office from the side room (a converted porch that is now a "sunroom") into a smaller room off the kitchen. We had a lot of valid reasons for this change; it was closer to the kitchen and family activity, it fit our stuff a little better and it was warmer in the winter. We also had one frivolous reason: we wanted to turn the sunroom into the "bike room".

Every weekend we would run around the house looking for bits of the things you need to race: bottles were in the kitchen, helmets in the closet, clothes in the chest of drawers in the living room, shoes are somewhere else, socks are upstairs, etc. It took about 20 minutes just to gear up and head out. Not to mention during the week there was always a stray glove in the front hall or a helmet on the kitchen table or a cross bike leaning up against the couch. It was getting out of hand and with seven bikes between us (yikes) and with all the gear things were a little...ah...unorganized.

So we dedicated an entire room in our house to all things bike. Hooks from the ceiling along with a pole rack keep all the bikes in their place, all of our clothes and gear are in shelves and easy to find, we setup the trainer and bike work stand and tools in there and we even threw in an old couch and retro coffee table in the back compete with old issues of VeloNews and a small TV to watch while on the trainer. It reminds me of the shops I worked in growing up and I love having it in my house. But sitting in there the other day (reading a two year old VeloNews) I wondered how do we explain to family and non cycling friends this room? This isn't "normal" right? Normal people don't have dedicated soccer rooms or baseball rooms do they? Is there a twelve step program or therapy for couples who race?

I may never know, but for now I'm just sitting here, enjoying my coffee, typing away on my laptop in my Bike Room.

Publish Your BikeClicks Blog using Windows Live Writer

steven@bikeclicks.com — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:25:59 GMT

In my last post I talked about our latest blog updates which allowed you to post to your BikeClicks.com blog using Desktop applications like Word 2007 and Windows Live Writer. Formatting, adding images, layout out posts and much more as possible using Windows Live Writer. For example, I posted this using Windows Live Writer.

In this post I'll show you how to connect Windows Live Writer to your BikeClicks.com blog.

To begin with, download and install Windows Live Writer. It's free from Microsoft and can be downloaded here: http://www.windowslive.com/Explore/Writer
You will need to create (or sign in) a Windows Live account for this to work.
Follow the instructions to install Windows Live Writer.
Once you have download and installed WLW you need to connect it to your BikeClicks.com blog. It only take a few minutes.

NOTE: you must already have registered account and created a blog on BikeClicks.com for this to work.

Step One:

The install will ask you if you already have a blog. Select another weblog service.

Click Next.

Step Two:

The configuration wizard will ask you to enter the homepage, username and password for your blog. Enter in www.bikeclicks.com for your Weblog Homepage URL and enter your BikeClicks.com username and password in the username and password fields.

NOTE: Your username and password must match your BikeClicks.com registration for Windows Live Write to publish to your blog.

Click Next.

Step Three:

Select Meta Weblog API from the Type of Weblog that you are using dropdown list.

NOTE: Windows Live Writer needs to know your Remote Posting URL for your blog. You can get this information by accessing your blog on BikeClicks. Click on Blog Setting and look for the URL in the MetaWeblog Options section

The address will be something like this:

http://www.bikeclicks.comhttp://www.bikeclicks.com/DesktopModules/Blog/blogpost.ashx?tabid=2003

Enter this address into the Remote Posting URL for your weblog field.

Click Next.

Click Finish. Window Live Write will interrogate your blog and configure itself for publishing,

That's it! You have successfully connected Windows Live Writer to your blog. In future blog posts I'll show you some of the advantages of using WLW to post blogs.

Blog Updates

steven@bikeclicks.com — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:12:02 GMT

I updated the blogs on the site tonight. There are a number of new features which make it even easier to use, and while we're still laying the groundwork for future functionality that let's your friends know when you've posted something new here, the coolest feature is that the new blog module supports something very techie called the MetaLog API.

What is the MetaLog API you ask? I knew you all wanted to know. Basically it's a way to post blog entries from Windows desktop tools instead of using the blog posting interface on the site. Still confused? OK let me put it this way.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could post blogs from Word? Maybe your email client? Or even use the new Windows Live Writer (part of Microsoft Live) to edit your posts, format and position photos, upload videos, insert tags, layout tables, etc. complete with a built in spell checker ? You can even post your entries from your desktop to multiple blogs! Let's face it...typing in a bloggy masterpiece in that little window that's part of our blog module is a pain and anyone who's written a long post on our site only to loose their connection and consequently their posts knows how nice it would be to work on posts over time and then publish them to the site all at once.

In fact, I'm writing this post on my desktop using Window Live Writer and then publishing it to BikeClicks.com. (I'll be posting links and instructions on how to configure Live Writer for BikeClicks Blogs).

This update also includes some other nice feature that will make it easier to post form other devices in the future. Our goal it to allow you to post you blog on BikeClicks.com from your other blog (such as blogger, or WordPress, etc) or even you FaceBook account or even your phone.

Cleaning up the Registration/Profile Features

steven@bikeclicks.com — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:08:00 GMT

I'll be spending some time this week streamlining the registration and profile management features of the site. Right now things are a little less than organized and it's too hard for people to do things like manage avatars, request or approve friends, etc. I also would like to begin some prep work for an update (replacement) to the profiles, friends and cliques features we're using now so some housekeeping is in order. I'll post more on the new features in the coming weeks but essentailly we're planning to add some "facebook" style features to the site very shortly. Again - the goal here is to connect cyclists with other cyclists who have similar interests. So right now we're working to expand the homepage and profile features to become even more users, friend, clique oriented than they are now. Profile updates, blog posts, photo upload, video uploads, posts in forums, etc from your friends or other members of cliques you belonw to will all show up on the homepage.

We're also working hard on a new ride calendar feature which will consolidate all of your rides, with the rides of your friends as well as any groups, clubs or race series you belong to. Eventually we'll even include ride ratings, comments and discussions and some mapping features.

I'll post up more often on these upcoming features now that cross season is winding down a little for me. Stay tuned.

Bellsouth Sucks

steven@bikeclicks.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:46:00 GMT

Day five with no internet connection at the house. I have been on the phone with these people over and over and over and each and every time they walk me through the "is your computer plugged into the router?" to which I say, "yes, and I can't ping past your firewall and the PPPOE can't get an IP Address" to which they say..."have your rebooted your computer?".

Yikes!

Tomorrow - insight comes and installs a brand new high speedy cable modem. Throwing out the DirectTV along with. Turns out I can get better speed, more channels, HDTV, and a DVR for about $100 less every month.

Good bye Mr. Bellsouth.

Norton Commons Race Report

steven@bikeclicks.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:26:00 GMT

First off - this was a great venue for a crit. We arrived early and stayed all day and had something to do or watch or eat or whatever the entire time. The whole main street alfresco cafe style start/finish area and the fans throwing parties and picnics on the backside of the course gave the place a pretty cool feeling.

Many of the other racers I talked to thought this race was pretty cool too. Even the Race Director for Toyota United told me his guys thought this was one of the cooler courses and formats they have been to this season.

For those that didn't make it to the race, the course was a short course (3/4 of a mile) with 6 turns. 3 of the turns on the backside were in short succession and each turn rolled onto an increasingly narrower road. Turn 5 was the most technical turn. It was a left hander with a curbed island on the right and a greater than 90 degree exit (the exiting road curved back in on itself a little) At best you could go through 2 at a time, but this series of turns really rewarded the single rider or small single file break. Like LMPD it was a good bet that the first three riders through this turn would be on the podium. Our goal/hope was to train up TL for a sweep before this turn.

The race started well for me this time. I got a spot on the line and clipped in right away with no problems. In all honesty I think this was because I was just WAY more relaxed on Sunday than at LMPD. For some reason, LPMD was a pressure race for me and Norton was a "fun" race.

In any case, right from the gun TL started working hard. Duane and Logan executed our pre-race plan perfectly and jacked up the pace in those first few laps. They launched some great surges while Tim, Ike and I just sat on. We'd let a few guys go up after them and then grab onto their train. Logan and Duane took some turns and then came back to rest for a while. Ike, Tim and I then started working the front about midway through the race. I couple of other guys launched up the road from time to time and rather than just covering it we'd wait, force riders around and then catch on.

After a while Ike and I took some full laps on the front. It was pretty hard getting anyone else up there. Bolla took some short pulls and few of the others too but just when we needed it - and out of nowhere - Logan shot up the right side of the course and slowly drifted in front of us. He pulled an entire lap, giving all of us a much needed rest and then fell off. (I later learned he flatted but man his timing for that pull was just perfect).

With about 4 to go Tim took a flyer for a while and Ike and I sat on the chase. They caught Tim and he settled back into the line. Based on John's advice for the LMPD and our experience the previous day - the plan was to get together around 4 to go and jump with 1.5 - 2 to go. On the backside of the course Ike and I could not find Tim so we just jumped up the little incline and got to the series of turns first.

I still can't believe how fast we went through there, but we started really stringing out the chase and gapping off a little. Things we working perfectly and we sailed through that technical turn. Ike used all of the road, and stood up to pedal coming out - but stood up maybe one pedal stroke too soon as his rear wheel hit the lip between the asphalt and the gutter. He hopped his wheel up (think bucking bronco) and dropped his chain but managed to stay upright.

I passed on his inside with two other riders in tow. I knew Ike's bobble would slow the chase in that narrow turn so I just jammed it down the straight and then "encouraged" the other guys to pull through. One guy looked at me like "there is no way I can stay here" but the other guy came around and pulled through the first turn and up the little incline. I caught my breath and heading into the last series of turns jumped around him. I kept the first two turns as tight as possible and gapped off the other guys. Setting up for the final turn I heard a bike coming up my left side. It was Tim.

Now, this turn had pretty much one fast line through it. It was outside to inside. It's hard to explain just how hard this turn was to judge at speed unless you've ridden it - but suffice it to say that more than a few crashes happened there yesterday and a few even happened on warm up laps.

Tim came up and shot into inside of that turn super fast. About halfway through the turn he (and I) realized he wasn't going to make it so he leaned it over just a smidge more. Well - his rear tire slipped out and he slid into the curb hard.

I locked up both wheels and did a little Tokyo Drift for a second. There was a moment when I started picking out a nice section of grass to land on - but I scrubbed enough speed to clear Tim as he basically slid out of the way. So I was still upright - but had lost all of my momentum on a bike geared for a sprint. It was an all out sprint to get back up to speed from there.

The guy we had gapped off (was running in fourth when Tim passed me) got to that turn last and just rolled past all of us into first. The guy behind me grabbed my wheel and I basically brought us both up to speed by the stop sign on the downhill finish (gave him a hell of a lead-out). He passed me there and got second. I could see more guys coming so I just TT'd as hard as I could from there and held onto third at the finish.

Despite Tim’s crash and Ike’s mishap – I think this was one of best races the TL 4/5 squad has had this season. We had a plan and we executed it. Our teammates Duane and Logan gave themselves up for the overall team. We all rode smart (instead of hard) worked as a team and even with everything that went wrong in the final laps we still got a podium. While there are bunch of things we coulda’ shoulda’ done I have to say this was one of my favorite rides with TL this season.

Thanks to everyone who raced. I could not have made the podium without everyone’s amazing efforts.

I made sure to thank the folks from Norton Commons and as many volunteers as I could find for hosting this event. We need more communities to open up to bike racing right here in town.

My New Felt FC Frame from Cyclers

steven@bikeclicks.com — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 22:56:00 GMT

I've been buying Felts for a while. I started out on Cannondales in my teens and have ridden a number of nice rides along the way. Most recently I had a Felt F4C which was pretty much the nicest road bike I've ever owned. I've been riding and racing it for about a year. It's a great bike and a great value for a full carbon bike with Dura Ace on it.

All was well until Joe at Cyclers pulled me aside before one Tuesday Night Worlds and said "I have a deal for you on a new Felt FC Frame". A couple of conversation with my wife about how upgrading my felt meant she could have my F4C frame for herself and I pulled the trigger on the new bike.

I've been riding it a lot and raced it last weekend and just have to say that this bike rocks.

Commuting to Work (or how to save $3.75 a gallon)

steven@bikeclicks.com — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:32:00 GMT

I've been cycling long enough to know I should really ride to work. I don't have any real excuses. I live close to the office (under 6 miles), I can ride on surface streets to get from point A to B, I own a bunch of bikes that are suitable for communiting (my cross bike is my current favorite), we have showers at the office and I hate spending $3.75 gallon for gasoline.

My only excuse (or the one I've been using lately) is that I didn't have a bag gthat could hold all of my stuff. My laptop is one of those widesreen jobs and once I put all of my clothes, shoes, etc in there things don't really work. Well, my wife took away my last excuse last night be presenting me with this for my birthday.

So, this morning we both hopped on our bikes and road to work. All in all it took about two more minutes than driving, we chatted away riding two up on Norris and we both felt pretty good about it when we arrived at the office. So the new goal is (weather permitting) to ride to work at least three days a week.

I hope it lasts.

Adding Ride Planning to BikeClicks

steven@bikeclicks.com — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:04:00 GMT

Our next big technical hurdle is to add some ride planning functionality to bikeclicks. It'll be hung off of the members and bikecliques features we just launched. Essentially you'll be able to create a "ride" and then either make it open invitation (anyone can join), invite only (meaning you send out some evites to specific members you want on your ride) or only for a specific bikeclique.

Members can find rides either from bikecliques they belong to or hang out in, or from a new "Rides" page we're planning. The new Rides page will list upcoming rides and show a ride calendar. Members can also search for rides and maintain a list of rides they've signed up for on a personal calendar.

The ride function will also allow people to post rides that have a fee associated with the event, so things like a tour or century or even a race can collect fees from members who sign up for the event. Members can pay via paypal to the ride owner through PayPal.

Once we get things a little more setup I'll post some screenshots.