We've completely redesigned the blog for 2022 and on this page we'll walk you though seven of the most significant improvements we've made to our site.
1.Homepage - We've removed the fixed right column and made the overall page wider. This opens up the layout significantly for larger images and provides a more flexible presentation space — the cornerstone of our redesign.
| Old design ▼ | New design ▼ | |
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Improved Layout - You'll find that we've taken most all of the old features and placed them into a more cohesive arrangement.
Features ►
Along with a main Cover Story, each issue will also include three to four featured ride reports. Updates ►
Over the course of the next year we'll be updating our favourite ride reports to the new design. |
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Departments ► Each issue will have the latest details from our Galleries, Charts, Gear, and a Sexy Bike Alert!, of course. |
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◄ Editor's Letter
I've always got something to say... ◄ Recent Rides
My latest rides with links to Ride w/ GPS. |
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◄ On The Web
We'll also drop in a couple of cycling websites or videos we've discovered that we think you might find of interest. |
Saddlebag - Lastly, we've taken all the bits & bobs from the right column of the previous design and simply dropped them into a module at the bottom of the homepage — we're calling the "Saddlebag".
▼ Noteworthy Blogs, Websites, & Friends
Keep up with the others! |
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My Location ►
Ever wonder where I ride in Wales? Subscribe ►
Sign up for updates. Contact Us ► Send us an email. |
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◄ Back Issues
Every issue of Bike Wales starting in 2017. ◄ Archive
Everything from 2016 to 2012. |
▲ How it Works
Find out how the magic happens! |
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2.My Rides - This section has been expanded significantly to sort my rides into four different categories and utilizes a more visual reference. Hopefully this method will better represent the depth of content we have to share.
a.Recent Rides & Reports ►
It's just what it says on the tin. I don't write about every ride. Only those which I find truly unique or particularly interesting get a complete Ride Report. Ride with GPS ►
You should notice too, that there's a small sidebar lisitng my latest rides. This tool is provided by Ride with GPS and embeded into the page. It contains a brief synopsis of my latest rides and the links it contains will direct you to their website — where all my rides, routes, and maps are hosted. |
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b.Rides to Rememeber ►
Looking back over 10 years of cycling and over 80 Ride Reports, it became apparent that some of my rides stood out from the others. This is just a collection of some of my favourites. Ride of the Year ►
This section also includes all my choices for "Ride of the Year" as well as each year's "Runner-up". |
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c.Ride Reports by Year - Previously, yearly reports were only accessable by a drop-down list. Not only was that difficult to manage on the back-end, but was clumsy to use on the front-end. We've now made the user interface graphical which follows the designs found on the other pages within this section.
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▼ Rides by Year - Once a specific year has been selected, the graphical interface continues for selecting a specific report from that year.
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d.Ride Reports A to Z ►
Considering how we've divided all the reports in the previous ways, it seemed obvious to have a page that simply lists everything. 83 & counting... ►
At the time of this re-design, there were 83 unique ride reports listed on Bike Wales. I find this page particularily handy because sometimes I cannot even remember which year I made certain rides! As a footnote; I built this page first and then began dividing and building all the others. |
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3.Routes to Ride - We're excited to offer this section again. We've updated a few of our older routes and added a couple of new ones. However, going forward — this section should see a lot of growth as we plan to focus on developing many more routes.
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a.Beginner Rides ►
Currently, we have only a few routes for this section; most of which were developed during my time as a volunteer with Sustrans. (Go Green Ladies!) b.Intermediate Rides ►
As we rebuild this section, we'll have more routes to offer. It's time consuming work, but well worth the effort. c.Advanced Rides...
COMING SOON! This area is our main focus for 2022. We've several new routes under development which we plan to offer in the near future. |
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d. Additional Details - At the bottom of every route we're including additional details we think you may find useful when planning your adventure.
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Getting There ►
Instructions to get you there and back, as well as where to park a car! Train Station(s) ►
Links to pertinant train stations. Weather ►
Links to local weather to better plan your ride. Links ► A summary of relevant links from specific locations and areas surrounding the route. |
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◄ Download
Save and print a .pdf map of the entire route to take along with your ride or have the digital file sent directly to your mobile device! ◄ NCN Routes
Links to each of the relevant routes used from the National Cycle Network. |
4.Events - This is a totally new section we developed having examined all the different types of rides made over the past decade. It seemed worthy to highlight those that involved groups and/or hiking with the bike.
| Group Rides ▼ | Bike & Hike ▼ | |
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5.My Rides - You can see the improved display immediately when you first open a new feature. The text is easier to read and photos are nearly twice the size as previously! Plus you can enlarge images even further in the lightbox mode. (Note: most of the older features exist in the archive and still retain the previous design. Our plan is to slowly update these as time permits.)
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◄ The wider page design means larger pictures, bigger headines, and scaleable text for a more dynamic and exciting feature opening.
◄ Don't care to read my diatribe? Click on any feature image and you'll enter the "lightbox" mode where just the individual images are displayed — full-screen!
◄ This improved layout also allows for much larger interactive maps making them easier to read and the increased size also presents a better understanding of the surrounding area.
◄ However, if the maps are still not large enough, you can click the embedded links where you'll be directed to the Ride with GPS website. There you can view the entire route and map — full-screen! ◄ With the additional space we can now create an interactive Table of Contents which allows for improved navigation — especially when reading long features.
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6.Charts - Just as with features, all of our charts are bigger. The additional width means we can now show you a decade of cycling details. Of course, we've got more room for individual yearly and monthly details as well!
| Overall Totals ▼ | Yearly Totals ▼ | |
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7.Gallery - It's ironic that we've saved this section for last, because it was the Gallery and it's limited display which started off our discussion of a redesign.
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◄ Galleries are sorted by topic. Select one to view that specific collection of images
◄ It's all about bigger pictures! Click on any image inside a collection and you'll enter the "lightbox" mode where the photos are displayed — full-screen!
◄ You can find every image dating back to 2012 in our Gallery Archive.
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And that concludes our little tour. We've two sections left to update (Gear and About) which we plan to address in the coming months.
I hope you found this walk-through helpful, but if you've got any further questions or concerns, please drop us a line. We hope you enjoy our new design and as always, thanks for stopping by.
Cheers! - muse kidd
I hope you found this walk-through helpful, but if you've got any further questions or concerns, please drop us a line. We hope you enjoy our new design and as always, thanks for stopping by.
Cheers! - muse kidd
