Where is all the News on BIKEIOWA this Winter?

Tue March 08 2011
Posted Mar 9, 2011
7,667

Yes, it has been slow on the site this Winter. All focus has been put toward the new BIKEIOWA site rewrite. Lots of progress has been made to the new BIKEIOWA.com site in the past few months. I'm sure there are hundreds of News items that have not been posted this Winter, but there are only so many hours in the day. Why is it taking so long you may ask? I ask myself the same thing. The new site is much more than a new design. It is a 100% rewrite. Every single thing will change. The look, the feel, the way you see the News, Features and Events. The way Events are added, where things are located. The new design is Fresh and more up to date. There is a focus on Iowa Bicycle Tourism as well as bicycle destinations. We are keeping the content that has been added over the last 11 years as we think history is important. We've had to slice-n-dice the old data to make it fit into the new format. If you were to tell me I'd still be working on the site rewrite nearly two years after I started, I'd tell you you were nuts! After digging in, it has been like dropping in a V-12 into a Mazda Miata. I used to take for granted all the functionality on some websites. That is until I had to create it on my own. Every button click, every font, every image position, all the data entry, navigation, security, etc. etc. I could name thousands of things I did not expect. Plus I thought I was a lot smarter. not! But the good news it that it is finally coming together! I won't announce a release date, because each week the site gets busier, which means there is less time to develop. There are still a few major components that have to be developed, and some functionality may get cut until the next version, but all hopes point toward a Spring release. BIKEIOWA.com still serves as a great niche market for Iowa Cycling. There is no other place in the USA that has the bicycling culture like Iowa. I hope the new site will pedal us to better places.

(latest spy photo)

What I think will be cool:

Portals You'll be able to go straight to the portal that YOU want to see without having to sift through all the other information.

Each City in Iowa (all 973 of them) will have their own portal on BIKEIOWA to showcase all bicycle and trail news, reviews, comments, links, etc. Cities can also link straight into their portal from their city websites making it easy to link to bicycling information.
Every Trail, both paved and unpaved will have their own portal. There are 173 trails making up 1800 miles which means there is plenty to "write home about".
Each major Genre also has their own portal. Mountain Biking, Road, Cyclocross, Party, Touring, Tri/Multisport, etc. where Events, Features, etc. can be put on display.
Other portals include Destinations, Advocacy, Green, Commuting, Culture, Tourism, Training & Fitness. There will be a few more too.

Tagging Yes, you've seen all the new website that include Tags. The New BIKEIOWA will take it one step further allowing tagging at different levels. For example, you will be able to Tag a News Item with one or more Trail, Cities, Events, and plain old tags. All this tagging will make it super easy to tell which portal News, Feature, Events, Destination, etc. should fall in. Yes, one News item can belong to more than one portal. It will also be nice to go to a Trail and see all the News, Features, etc. that have ever been posted about the trail. Same for each city. BIKEIOWA Community Comments, Reviews and Ratings. There will be ample opportunities on the new BIKEIOWA to leave feedback such as a Trail Review, Comments on a Iowa Destination, New Items or Rating a Trail. You'll be able to sign up as a member of the BIKEIOWA Community and participate much more. Tracking We'll be tracking most popular and highest rated Trails, Cities and Destinations. Those with the most hits and content will show up more often. There will be places to update Trail Status' i.e. Open, Closed or Partially Open. Thanks to everyone who supports BIKEIOWA.com! and Thanks for being patient! Ride Safe!