Ride Reports with Pics Pics Pics
 

I,d like to see Ride Reports with tons of Photos a la Adv here on the Hubb ASAP.
Lets hear what you have to say.I can only see the Pro,s
Al theturtleshead

I Agree
 

I saw one blog on advrider which used the photos to tell the story, with text only to notate the photos really. It was, as you say, a very good result to view. In their situation it must have been easy to take lots of photos. I find, alone, it is a real issue to keep stopping the flow of travel. It seems to be a choice between living the journey or recording it. But I still agree with you. Linzi.

I've put a couple up, but it's easier said than done. Stopping to take photos is surprisingly hard. You have to set out with the intention to document the trip in the first place.

Why?
 

At the risk of inciting the Turtle, but with the hope of generating traffic for Grant, here's my take....

I wonder why there seems to be a desire to 'rush to sameness'.

I mean, part of the beauty of travelling is that you get to see something other than the local fast food, big box, Hotel 6, sameness.

Suggesting that the HUBB be more like ADV, would be like suggesting Ace Cafe give away plastic dinosaurs to be more like McDonalds? How can that be good?

If you want RR's with pics - and I know some people only look at the pictures, go to ADV, or post on the HUBB with a link to the ADV RR. Is that hard?

And on another track, while I have looked at ADV RR's, there seems to be an increasing 'show offness' about going higher, further, longer, on one wheel, left handed only, through deeper mud, 'tone' about ride reports generally.

I appreciate that people have long done the weirdest things possible in an attempt at glory - I read recently that some cricket mad Brits (why always Brits) are planning to climb Everest to have a spot of Cricket.

That is OK, but at some point, folks doing RR's will have every road, bush, tree, house, vista, beach, and 'secret' spot on on planet photographed and posted on ADV. I can't help but wonder how is it better to be a voyeur of someone else's life that it is to live your own?

I mean.....have you had a look at street view on Google....there's even a picture of the house on Hollway's Beach that I lived in 30 years ago.

While having that view available is better environmentally than travelling to Australia to see it, I can't help but believe something important has been lost by making it easy to 'see' the world.

The same applies to books. Hasn't there long been a sense that it was better to be out in the world experiencing it than being 'bookish' and reading about it.

I believe there's probably some balance that makes sense, but I still think I'd rather be drinking a beer (even at my own local Legion) than seeing a Drinking Report of someone else's beer in South America - even with pics and GPS coordinates.

I do however, like HUBB's info on shipping bikes, which I read religiously as I'm trying to plan trips to both Scotland and Oz.

Over to you Albert!

Stephen

Business
 

Try to think of this site as a business for just one minute.Now think about if you had to do all the hard work for very little return.
Ok so far.
Now business is about numbers,so for the slaves who run this site need to make a living or at least feel like they are getting a reasonable return for their effort.
To get bigger numbers to visit the site is the tricky part.As in you don,t want to loose your hardcore users,but you need new blood to bring up the numbers so that you can get more cd,book or advertizing sales.
This is the big dilemma and I,m still working on the answer.
Al theturtleshead
I,ll try to be more rude and,or abrupt the next time

I've finally worked it out, all this plugging away to get more traffic to the HUBB. You're not really a bar owner in S.American are you, you're Grant's alter-ego.

But I do have to agree, I'd like to see more too, and yes while it's better to ride than to ride vicariously, I'd rather ride vicariously on a cold winter's day than not at all.

My theory on this is of course that if you can post a Ride Report on ADVRider then you can post it on the HUBB too, and in fact you can do both incredibly quickly. Simply write it once on either forum, then click on EDIT for your post and then push Ctrl+A followed by Ctrl+C. You've now copied your ride report complete with BB formatting into your clipboard. You then go to the other forum start a new post and push Ctrl+V, so you'll have pasted the whole lot in. Now click on SUBMIT, and voila you've done a ride report for both sites in about a minute extra than doing it for one.

What's the point? Well there'll be some people who nly use one or the other and that way they both get to see your ace piccies.

Why always Brits?
 

Hi :mchappy:

Quote:

"I read recently that some cricket mad Brits (why always Brits) are planning to climb Everest to have a spot of Cricket."

I think it's because we Brits have gone a bit stir crazy living on this little island and had to play cricket and explore the world to control the madness.

Good job too, otherwise no one else would have found Canada, USA, Australia, NZ, South Africa, plus India, the rest of Africa plus many more places. If this hadn't happened, then the world would have been a smaller and quieter place, as there would be no Canucks, Yankies, Aussies, Kiwis or Yarpies.

So if we want to play cricket on Mount Everest, that's OK, as we found it first! :innocent:

Some of the above comments may not be as historically acurate as they should be, however, they are mostly intended for wind up purposes!

By the way did anyone see the Google Earth pic of the chap's house in Lincolnshire? He was amazed to see a Lancaster bomber directly over his house that was there when the picture was taken via the satelite! No it wasn't from an aeriel recon pic in the 40's, but the Lanc was returning to the Battle of Britain Flight at RAF Conningsby, Lincs. Here it is:


The results of our Google Earth black helicopter competition last year proved just how eagled-eyed you lot were when it came to virtual planespotting, but here's one you missed, and a real blast from the past it is too:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01...r_grab_one.jpg
Zooming in, we have...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01...r_grab_two.jpg
...yup, an Avro Lancaster flying over Stukeley Meadows, Huntingdon, England, as originally spotted it appears by a chap on Google Earth Community who lives just about right under the aircraft's position when Google Earth's satellite captured this snap.
The Lancaster in question is the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's "City of Lincoln." The image is at 52 20 10.87N 0 11 43.34W, or right here (Google Earth KMZ link). ®

Cheers


Chris

My penny drops
 

That,s it!! You,ve Cracked it!!
I,m not taking the piss either.Whats missing here on the HUBB is a section on how to do the Ride Reports,where you can ask how post the pics,size them and all that computer stuff I could never be bothered to learn.
THE HUBB NEEDS A SECTION WITH A GUY WHO,LL HELP US ALL POST OUR RIDE REPORTS HERE.A Q+A OF RIDE REPORTS.:D
Al theturtleshead

I don’t care much about ride reports.
It’s a bit like reading erotic novels, it’s far better to do it yourself then to read about it.

Wow
 

Maybe if you read some Erotic novels it might stimulate your imagination into trying something new.
But I,m guessing you,ve already seen and done it all.
Al theturtleshead

What kind of how to? Surely to add pictures it's just a matter of using an online picture warehouse such as photobucket (resizes images as you upload them if you wish) and then typing away, clicking the image button and pasting the image URL as you go?

I don’t need to stimulate my imagination. There are loads of places I would like to go and things I would like to do.
Some dreams get realized other doesn’t.

No, I never will…

A step by step guide to using photobucket to add images to posts.

First off this guide uses photobucket purely because I have used it for ages (and it's free), there are other image hosting sites available that will work just as well.

1. Visit Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and create an account with them.

2. Photobucket works better if you take the time to organise your images into albums on the site, so assuming you have a collection of images you want to include in a post the first thing to do is create an album. Log onto photobucket and on the right hand side you should see a section on the left entitled albums. In there is the section to create a new album:
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/NewAlbum.jpg

3. Once you have created your album it's time to upload your images into it, at this point you can also choose to resize your images, for posting onto a forum such as this I would suggest you resize them to 640*480. In the upload images and video section select 640*480 from the drop down box, then click on Choose Files.

4. Select the files you wish to upload (hold Ctrl and click each one if you wish to upload more than one), once you have selected your files the upload takes place automatically.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...electFiles.jpg

5. Once the files are uploaded you can add titles and descriptions for each image if you wish (you don't have to), once you have done click on save and continue at the bottom of all the images.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...To/Details.jpg

6. You should now be back at the main screen looking at all of the images you have just uploaded. To use an image within the forums is simplicity itself, move your mouse over each of the images you have uploaded and you should see options appear directly below them, the one of most use on these forums is the option for IMG code, click in the text to the right of where it says IMG code and copy it (depending on what browser you are using it may copy automatically), then simply paste this into a forum reply and anyone looking at your post will see that image.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...opyIMGCode.jpg

That's all there is to it really, if anyone does have any questions I am more than happy to answer them (in here or via PM). If one of the mods wants a better how to writing then let me know and I will do a more detailed one from home rather than work.

Bang on
 

This is exactly what I,m talking about! If you,ve never done this before and are computer illiterate it would be great to have a place to try it out and correct your mistakes by posting the photo in the said Q+A part of the site and if you,re really getting frustrated having someone to tell you what you,re doing wrong and give details on how to get it right!!!
Al theturtleshead

Since Grant put up the Ride Tales forum a month or so ago, I've been chiming in on many new posts where new travelers/HUBB members are beginning a RTW world ride. I've urged them all to post their ride report HERE ... not on their Blog or on ADV but HERE on the HUBB. I hope everyone who enjoys the HUBB will do the same.

Like others, I am not a Blog fan. I like one stop shopping. By the way, nothing has changed here on the HUBB. You've always been able to post pics in the exact same way as ADV .... both sites use V-Bulletin software. What has changed is that NOW you have a specific forum for these reports.

Before the Ride Tales forum, I just ignored the guide lines and posted my little ride reports where ever. Like my Baja one in the Mex/Cent/S. America
forum: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...survival-34887

YES!! :thumbup1: And it's even easier on my iMac!

A "How To" forum would be nice, or a place with a few tutorials would help many I'm sure. It took me a year to figure out how to post on ADV. After I joined Smug Mug, it all became quick and easy.

Patrick :scooter:

Writing
 

Someone already mentioned how hard it is to stop for photos. Exactly correct. You either travel and enjoy or travel while recording, and that interrupts the travel a lot. Also, surely it's better to read a description and imagine than to simply look passively at photos. Life's already too passive. That's what HU is all about-learning, experiencing etc. Read, imagine, desire, save, go! The photos would actually detract from the travel experience. I'm all for just shooting off and really experiencing it myself, my way. Forget guide books and loads of research. Travel in other words. No? Linzi.

It's all about sharing
 

True, it's a hassle to stop and take photos, write reports from the road and then find Internet cafes to upload your material, but this is what prompts others to follow suit or cut their own path. From Marco Polo to Columbus, to Robert Fulton, to Grant and Susan, it was those who took the time to document their journeys that inspired others to adventure.

Inspiration to Travel?
 

Glen....there is truth in your note that having some people take time to stop along their journey and to record in word, picture or drawing, elements of their experience, has indeed served to inspire others to travel.

As you point out sharing experiences is an important part of our humanity.

However, to believe that "it was those who took the time to document their journeys that inspired others to adventure" is the main reason that others travel is, I think, with all due respect, a bit simplistic.

People travel for lots of reasons. Some want to visit historical places such as 'Vimy Ridge' ... some to return to a place perhaps after a long absence...some may want to meet their relatives or see an ancestral homeland ... some to test themselves ... some wish a spiritual pilgrimage... some may simply have it in their genes...some because they did see, read, or hear about a place that they throught they'd like to go ... and yes, some maybe because they read a RR on ADV or the HUBB....to mention a few.

(I must say though, at the risk of being too critical, that the quality of many current RR's (my own included) remind me of the 1950's (am I that old?) torture of spending an evening sitting through someone else's vacation slide collection. Click - Here we are in front of the Mona Lisa - Click - here we are at the next place - Bud's eating ice cream - isn't he cute.)

I do understand that being able to have some prior info about an intended route or destination can be useful and there can be info that is essential to share.

For me though, RR's are a bit too one way. The beauty of this thread is that there is opporunity for dialogue. Perhaps just another way of sharing.

I have enjoyed the thread, so much so, that I've not even gone to ADV since Albert started this...

Cheers
Stephen

Hey amigo, I didn't say that it was the main reason people travel, but rather what prompts them. It's agreed that there are many less-than-Pulitzer-Prize-quality RRs here, and on advrider, but they are easy to sort out by using the STAR ratings and learning who are the writers who better suit your tastes. Some are brilliant and some are not, still there is much useful technical information that may not be inspiring, but none the less useful.

And people may yearn to travel but it's adventure books, TV shows, movies, travel posters and other sorts of imagery that makes fantasy a reality--when people realize that what they dream of is possible. For me, the cover photo on Helge's book, Ten Years On Two Wheels is the most inspirational picture that I have ever seen. That image of him paddling through the Darien Gap with his bike in a canoe is burned into my psyche and along with Dave Barr's book, Riding The Edge, caused me to likewise ride the planet.

One of several criteria for writing for National Geographic is that your article must inspire others to follow your path or cut one of their own. Because my first book and Nat Geo TV show which has now aired sixty times and been translated into Danish, Swedish and recently Mandarin, I field between fifty to a hundred emails a day. The one key word that resonates in each letter is "inspiration." To me, that's the home-run more important than money.

And I wasn't referring to prompting people to take weekend camping trips but rather more challenging odysseys. Very few people just one day decide that they will traverse Africa, climb Everest or even ride to South America. Most adventurers who I have spoken to (a lot) all were inspired by the writings or deeds of others. I would bet that for most travelers on this site, if thinking about it, they could point to particular photos or stories that inspired them in some way to act.

As most of us have likely learned through traveling, the world shrinks, and our understanding of others grows exponentially with the more people of other cultures that we meet. Although there are some peoples that I liked more than others, I can honestly say that I have enjoyed and learned from most of our fellow humans on this planet, especially those from developing nations. It's my fundamental belief that if we all got out more, and took the time to meet our neighbors, there would be a lot less war. Hence the reason that I take the time to write books, Ride Reports, make TV documentaries and upload photos at every opportunity. I don't do it for the money, whatever royalties that are generated from these projects goes to straight to international aid organizations.

Maybe this is being simplistic but I still say that there is always a spark somewhere that got us going. And the more sparks, the better.

3 parts: planning, doing, telling people about it.
 

Before setting off on my big trip in the late 90s I was asking lots of people advice about different things to do and look out for. One chap who'd spent a lot of time travelling said 3 things are important.
1.Planning
2.Doing
3.Telling people about it when you're done.

Many never get past 1, or let others do it for them i.e. go on an organised tour. Some do 2. Of those that do 2, some do 3 (well or badly, depending on your tastes/interests/style). Each to their own. I do all of them, but run a website, rather than creating RRs on a forum like ADV or HU (although I do put a link from these to my site). I have the skills to make and maintain a website. People who haven't the webskills/or don't have the time create RRs.

RRs are good because there is the instant gratification of being able to post comments and you can see all your friends' comments too.

Having RRs here on the HUBB wouldn't be a bad thing. Just another way of telling your story along with websites and blogs. Hosting the pictures elsewhere and pasting in the IMG codes saves HU memory/bandwidth.

I really like the great photography on ADV RRs (their BB runs the same software as the HUBB). I don't bother much with the words though. The words on the HUBB are generally good, but a separate RR section primarily for pictures (e.g. embedded from smugmug/photobucket etc)/videos (e.g. embedded from YouTube) would be great.

That's it, my 0.5 pence worth.
cheers
Chris

Problem
 

Chris,
I just went to Riders Tales where I found your thread about Riding in Romania.All good up to that point!
What do I find? a link to your web page!
Now what does this mean to a Ride Report section? it means that I instantly move on! Why you ask? Because it means there,s no instant looking at photos and worst of all I,m going to have to navigate my way through some other guys version of a web site with all the imaginative ways they,ve used to try and make theirs different from the rest.E,g a pain in the arse!!!
Anyone using this tactic should at least put about 15-20 teaser pics to lure people into the link they,ve posted,then we can chose to look if we find the teasers interesting and not if they,re not.Better than being obliged too!!!
The other problem is that the links to others website seems to kill off all interaction.I,m guessing that to navigate back and forth between the link and the Ride Report is also a pain,so people just don,t bother.By having the photos right there with the Ride Report you can just pop on a comment however dumb it may be and it all adds to the fun and that in turn starts to create the banter in general.
Thats the point of Pics on a Ride Report!!!
Al theturtleshead

Helge's book, though short on words is rich on pictures, remember, "A picture is worth a thousand words":palm:

What Inspired You?
 

Glen....good comments....I think that you are correct in saying that there is always a 'genesis' point people can refer to as they start along their various travel or life paths....and that most people require a development process to 'get going'.

Your comments about travel building humanity are also bang on.

Your comment ....

I would bet that for most travelers on this site, if thinking about it, they could point to particular photos or stories that inspired them in some way to act....

offers an interesting opportunity.

You noted that Helga's photo served as a key inspiration .... I wonder what photo or story inspired Marco Polo, Robert Fulton, Mallory, Smeeton, Guzwell, Chichester, Grant and Susan or anyone else here on the HUBB.

What about it? What photo played the biggest role in starting YOU, HUBB reader, off on a travelling life?

Stephen

If clicking a link isn't instantaneous enough for you...


I think it looks pretty samey to many other sites. As with all publishing it's about content and presentation. If you don't like one or the other, or both, then if you look carefully at the top right corner of your browser window, there's an x-symbol. Click on that. Does the trick for me. Also remember for the future the folowing mantra "Home The Bright Stuff dot Com = Shite", and tying in with the "arse" comment below, don't go there.


If it's a pain in your arse to click on a link, then don't bother. Only do what's pleasurable to your arse. Myself, I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning after tonight's curry.


What tactic? 4-4-2? Long/short balls?


Who says (apart from you?)?

Cheers
Chris

A black and white poster from Easy Rider: Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on their chopped Harleys.
cheers
Chris

New Thread
 

Chris....from Easy Rider to theBrightStuff and the cover of the AMH! ...now that's a long and winding road...

Do you think a new thread asking peeps for their 'starting' inspiration photo would be in order?

Stephen

Good idea. There was a thread a while ago on people's fav/inspirational biking books, so why not one on pictures?
cheers
Chris

yep! I can remember mine, but doubt I could find the exact photo ....

Done!
 

Post your inspirational photo on the new thread....

Inspirational Photo

Oh Lord !!!
 

I'm going to have to agree with Mister Turtlehead here. Yes a links fine, and if it sounds vaguely interesting I'll click on it, and I might spend a bit of time looking about.

BUT, I'd far, far, far and away have a taster on here, a few photos, and a tiny bit of text, maybe just one highlight from a longer story, one part of a pre-existing blog copied and pasted on here, something to get me to bite. It's basic marketing to be honest, give a hint of something and people are more likely to bite.

And yes, I like the interactivity (is that even a word) of it being on a forum, of being able to ask questions of the author, make encouraging remarks, or hints, or anything, and being diverted away to a blog which I'll read on my own doesn't allow me to do that the same way. Here's a prime example.

In THIS post of the previously mentioned Romanian trip thread, Dave Ede says, "Very nice pictures of the Romania trip, in picture'30' was she like that before, during and after you had 'passed' through?". And that's OK, I scrolled back up to the top, clicked the link, clicked the link on the site and found the photo.

But how much better, how much livelier, would it have been if it had looked like this.

Then all sorts of people would have seen the picture, and some of us might then have taken it further, and gone to look at Chris's site, to see what else was on it.

It's marketing, and if you're doing a blog for anything more than your friends and family, and specifically if you've had sponsors you want to give converage and thanks to, or like Chris, you've got something you'd like to sell, then a little tiny bit of marketing is worth it. It doesn't even have to take that long, if you've written a blog post, just copy and paste it in.

And personally, if I saw this photo from the same site

http://www.thebrightstuff.com/picsFo...as_Ecuador.jpg

I'd have been over there like a shot to find out what the story was.

Damn amigo, you got that one right.:thumbup1: After seeing that movie in high school, I was ablaze to ride into the sunset. A fever that never ends.

Another little point
 

Another little point is that when you see a trip with an interesting title and you click on it and get a link it instantly pisses you off.Kind of like all the other people went to the time and trouble to post here and now this guy who didn,t even bother to post a few photos wants me to click his link.Nah I won,t bother I,ll just get straight back to one with photos.
If you check into other places with Ride Reports see how long the ones with links last.Not very long I can assure you.
Al theturtleshead

As someone who started with that process and then changed to posting direct, I can't possibly stress how accurate this information is. Although my photo gallery averages a half million page views a month, not so for the section with text--but that is likely for those pictures, WOMEN OF THE WORLD. My thread on advrider, STRIKING VIKING BUMMIN THE WORLD is currently just under two million hits which because new hits only record when a browser is closed and re-opened, that count is likely double.

Hi Alex
I have nothing to sell.
cheers
Chris

Yes you do!
 

You are in fact Sir selling yourself to the general readership!
If you aren,t the why the big link to your web page.
If you want to get attention,you,ll have to try harder!!
Photos for example.
The Viking can do it! You,re starting to look like you,re to good for us average types!!!
Al theturtleshead

Chris, I feel you may be a bit out of touch with how people read on line and how this whole Bulletin Board thing works. Personal Web sites are dead. There, I've said it.

Not only instant gratification but a choice of hundreds of ride reports all on one page. Also, when you find one you like and post something, you get INSTANT email notifications when it is updated.
This is one of the genius aspects of Vbulletin. So yes, interactivity is good but there is much more to it.

HUBB already HAS this capability ... as a Super Mod I'm surprised you didn't know this :innocent: And Grant has recently created the Ride Tales forum just for Ride Reports. Why do double or triple the work doing your own site and a Blog? Just post your trip report here and forget the rest. I guarantee your hit count will be 20 times what it would be on your individual web site.

IMHO, Web sites are a pain in the Arse ... here I totally agree with Albert (Jesus ... now that's a rare thing! :thumbup1:)
Why?
If I were following 15 ride reports on 15 different Web sites I'd have to navigate to visit each one and deal with each ones idiosyncratic set up.
With V-Bulletin it's all in one spot, looks great and is easy to post. So many web sites I see (especially Euro or UK based) use these little tiny pics. Why is that? They suck. Photos should be B I G.

My only advice to posters is to EDIT your pics and don't give us the whole lot unless it's exceptional. On ADV about 90% of the pics are just awful .... and guys post thousand and thousands. Finding the rare gem is not easy.

I disagree. You've already seen an example of WHY words and pics go together ... you know, like a magazine??:welcome:
Pics are OK but good writing, to me, is where the real value lies.

Like seeing Helge Pederson in person compared to Ted Simon. Helge puts everyone to sleep. Low key Ted had 'em all cheering, laughing and have a ball.

Cheers,

Patrick :scooter:

Spot frickin' on Albert.

I like the interactivity also but I also like the rule they have on ADV where
they don't allow someone to take the report off track or "Hi-Jack" the thread. The report should be the primary domain of the poster but it's always nice to see related comments, info and inspiration.

Patrick :scooter:

Different strokes for different folks
 

Well I have to swim against the stream here and say I love the different smells, textures and feel of an individual website. It feels much more like you are having a one to one conversation, rather than a bar room shout of a bulletin board. After all how often does someone come onto your website and accuse you of being lazy? Never, but on here seems that a perfect stranger will say that because they can't be bothered to follow a link to your site? The madness of the modern world .........!!

I think I like the idiosyncrasies of an individual’s website (I also prefer a homemade website, no matter how 'crap' to one from a template). Just like if I am in a pub and there are twenty loud women, all dressed the same, and one quiet one in the corner, looking a little quirky, she’s the one for me!

But saying that, of course having ride (or drive!!) reports is a good idea. But I don't think as Mollydog has said that personal websites are dead. Not for me, and I read enough each day to keep them going :)

Anyone with a personal website - please keep them going, they are so much more a personal thing for us voyeurs!

Personal websites
 

Personal Websites are by no means dead.A fine example of this was Sgt Martys thread and website.
Marty put enough stuff on his thread to keep it interesting and tempted me to click his link,from then on his writing and photos kept my interest going! I
would keep going back to his thread to find out when his next installment would appear on his website.
Marty,s work is a rare and exellent example of getting both things right.
SgtMarty wandering around Earth,is the thread on ADV and the link is on his thread.
Well Done Marty!
Al theturtleshead

Hope this is OK, but I was PM'd by someone who didn't really understand how to link images from photobucket to the forums so I will elaborate on that (can't reply via PM, not enough posts yet :().

Anyway, assuming that you have uploaded your images to photobucket your first step to getting the images onto the forum is to log on to photobucket, once logged on select albums and upload from the my albums menu.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/linking2.jpg

From the list of albums on the left, select the album that contains the images you want to link to, you should see the images in that album being displayed on the web page.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/linking3.jpg

Lets assume that I want to display the second image (my transalp with Ben Nevis in the background) within the forums.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/linking4.jpg

I simply move my mouse so that it is pointing to the image and you should see a menu drop down below it like this.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/linking5.jpg

The section I need is the IMG code (highlighted in red),
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...o/linking6.jpg
All I do is click on the highlighted text with the left mouse button, right click in it and select copy (depending on the browser you are using you may not need to do that). That copies the following text into my clipboard
In the forum all I need do is paste that text (right click and select paste) and by the power of modern technology everyone can then look at the image and ask, why did he not park further to the right so as not to get the wall in the shot?

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...%20To/demo.jpg

Oh and I mean this in no way as a bad thing, but you kind of do

http://www.thebrightstuff.com/images/AM5cover.jpg

don't you?

I think we've seen something here, different strokes for different folks. But I do feel Albert's hit the nail on the head, even if you do do your trip report on your own site, or a blog, or whatever and don't want to do a full RR on here, it's still not that hard to do a taster on here to draw people in further, and once they're in, they could well stay and read more.

Knickers ina twist
 

A lot of people seem to be getting their knickers in a twist here. Wrong Chris Alex!

I think it's less, getting knickers in a twist and more an appeal to those people who might write a blog, might even do RRs on ADVRider to consider putting something here.

It's also about helping people get more traffic to their blogs/sites, especially anyone who's been given some support and wants to thank their supporters, or equally people who've decided to raise cash or awareness for a cause.

We have loads of stuff about writing books/magazine articles, better photos, getting sponsorship etc, this is the flipside of it, marketing yourself.

Not that important for some, interesting for others.

And I don't know which Chris it is but that Chris has a link to that book on his website, so it's nice to be able to draw traffic.

It seems like some very valuable advice, backed by verifiable statistics that would help Grant as well as individual bloggers, is being disputed without foundation. That's a shame.

I've been reading, and have had a few E-Zine headline entries posted since 2001, so I have participated in the standard manner. Yet never once did I click on any of those other front page teaser-paragraphs with links to blogs, so I assume that few followed through on mine either.

After extensive trial and error, I determined the same on advrider. IMHO, given the overwhelming success of advrider RRs, the E-Zine format should be abandoned, substituting a Star Rated RR section. This encourages people to polish their work and pursue photography. Nothing like competition to raise the bar.

Bottom line, if you think that it will help this site, post some RRs, if not, don't. Let the chips fall.

His name is Scott. My name is Bright. He writes books and guides people. I teach in a school. I'm on the cover of the book, not that you can tell, because of the shades and the wooly hat. I sold him the picture for a 1-off fee. I repeat, on my website I'm not selling anything, unless you include a 2002 Suzuki DRZ400S that's standing in the garage (This has nothing to do with the discussion though :offtopic: and isn't advertised on the site, but can be seen here: Iceland TBSdotCom One careful lady owner, never been off road, mint condition etc).

Having a link to a website (either from HU to mine, or from mine to Adventure Motorcycling ~ the website of the Adventure Motorcycling Handbook ) can hardly be construed as "selling". Just ran a google search on "define selling" and the top hit was "the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money". I pay no money to Grant, Chris Scott pays no money to me for any links or book sales.

My own opinion on the whole RR vs blog vs website thing is "whatever floats your boat". My own boat is floated by good (IMO) websites in general and the labour of love that is my site. Some RRs are good (e.g Striking Viking, Moto Syberia). Most however are complete and utter boll*cks (Badly composed images, boring subjects, even worse words with horrendous vocabulary and grammar: The teacher in me coming out). Most blogs I read are mind numbing as sh*t (I got up at 9, had breakfast at 10, rode my bike at 11, took a dump at 12 etc etc). Hence I don't read them any more. But, each to their own.

I take on board the comments about putting up a few taster pictures/words before a link to a website. Next time I get round to it, I'll do that.

cheers
Chris
PS. You can tell me and Mr Scott apart. I'm more handsome than him. At least, that's what the wife says. She's blind and walks with a limp and has a hairy chin:rolleyes2:

Are you talking about your web site? :devil2: Because E X A C T L Y the same negatives can be found on web sites. Many can be dismal as well, having the identical failings you attribute to "Most" Ride Reports.

But at least a Ride Report on HUBB can have decent sized pics (unlike many web sites) and no dead links .... and readers can post interactively. Last I checked Web sites hide reader comments down below or in some obscure link.

Yes, there are good web sites too ... just as there are some good RR and Blogs. The point is with the HUBB Rider Tales forum we are supporting a rider community. This forum has the ability to bring together HU fans under one virtual roof .... instead of being scattered about ... some in the E-Zine, individual blogs or web sites all out across Cyber space.

Here, we are a community of travel riders and have some power, as a community, to act, to influence, to entertain and to aid the world around us and most of all to help each other.

Ride Reports strengthen that ability. Believe it or not ... lots more riders have heard of HU than your web site. So steer readers to your web site all your want .... they may go have a look once or twice, but most will return to the HUBB for years.

Patrick :scooter:
(no web site, no blog and no ride reports :eek3:)

Patrick
Get off my fricking case. I was giving MY opinion about RRs in general and adv RRs in particular. My site, your site, his site, her site etc have nothing to do with anything.

You said earlier in this thread,

quote "My only advice to posters is to EDIT your pics and don't give us the whole lot unless it's exceptional. On ADV about 90% of the pics are just awful .... and guys post thousand and thousands. Finding the rare gem is not easy." unquote.

So it could be suggested my last post agrees with you. Now you're trolling me. I'm confused.

If you think my site is sh*t, fine. Just don't go there. Each to their own.

A personal opinion of mine is: It's a bit rich telling others what they've got is rubbish, if you haven't even got one of your own. It's a bit like getting into a pissing competition and having no tool with which to urinate.

You say you have no website/blog/ridereports. This looks alot like a RR to me: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...survival-34887
I like it alot. Read it last year. It helped to inspire and partly assisted the route planning for my own Baja trip last Christmas/New Year (RR/webpage to come; work in progress. When it appears, remember not to look at it, it'll be sh*t:thumbdown:).

I'm off to try to sell the DRZ, then down to the overlander show at the Ace Cafe.
cheers
Chris

For it
 

Well' I'll admit to being somewhat of a Ride Report Pics, addict.You see as much as I'd like to be out seeing the big old world,well not rich,not able to get away from the farm for long periods of time,kid in school the list goes on.
So, if there's somewhere in this world I've thought about visiting and someone shows a pic and gives a their impression. Well, it's not a visit by me but at least I'll have an faint image. And that may be the spark that turns to fire.
I even wrote a RR on ADV last year about my 3 day 1000 mile trip to Peoria,Ill. to see the TT race.It had over 1000 veiws and somebody wrote that I had made it seem like a trip to Illinois was a must do.That was a neat feeling. Part of my 15 minutes.
So I vote yes to the idea. All the Earth is worth seeing. Even if y=I can only see it on the monitor.:thumbup1:

I would like to see more ride reports. I would agree that pictures are more likely to do a trip justice than words alone.

However, I do not agree that the Personal Web site is dead or obsolete and dittofor the travel blog. Each serves a purpose.

I think if one has had a relatively short trip, or wants to give an overview of a trip - its highlights, then a ride report is fine. In fact, I would say its preferable as its a lot easier to publish. For bigger trips, its perhaps not the best medium. That said, not everyone using a webhost for photos, so file size limits make it that much harder.

A personal website has infinitely more scope for creativity and content, and I can't see why either of those characteristics should be frowned upon.

One need only look at The Timeless Ride Hubert Kriegel BMW Motorcycle Raid World Travel Sidecar Adventure Gespann to see what I mean. We have followed Hubert since we met in Argentina, and particularly since he now has a Ural like me. There is no way you could have that much content in the way its been produced in a Ride Report. Nor would it accurate to say that being a personal website has somehow limited internet traffic or stiffled interest. Loads of people follow Hubert.

Other reasons maybe that a traveller wants to publish sponsor details for those who have supported them or, indeed, charities that are benefitting from the ride. It is also easier for those who are not members of HUBB to follow or get updates, eg friends and family. Margus' site is also well designed although in Estonian, so perhaps not as easy to navigate for a lot of visitors.

Some of us, myself included do not have great web skills so a website is out of the question, but want to write larger quantities. We wrote a travel blog, and a website specifically designed for travellers was perfect for this: very easy to follow for all and sundry. Loads of memory for uploading pics straight from the digicam, easy to edit, a subscribers list for email updates to those following a our trip, inteactive route maps etc: a nice compromise between the two....

As for links at the bottom of the page? Well, I may not click on all of them, but I have a peek once in a while and now and then, I see a trip that pushes my buttons and off it goes to my favourites folder to look in once in a while. Not exactly one of the trials of Hercules....

There some are some awesome websites and Hubert's is certainly one of the most fun:thumbup1:
But I haven't seen it in two years. Forgot totally about him cause I don't go to the E-zine that often. I read much of his early travels, just no time to look at all that is out there. What a character!

I'm sure he gets good numbers. How many hits?

But I'll pick just a few ride reports from ADV to give you an idea of what REALLY big numbers look like. The Striking Viking bumming the World leads the pack!
Striking Viking bumming the world (Holed up in Mexico) - ADVrider
1,935,000 views
5,867 pages

I'm pretty sure the stats were re-set to zero at one point, so I believe view numbers may even be higher than shown above. The Viking himself may the true number. Still, staggering participation from a site which on average has
a couple thousand on line.

Here is another good ride report, but far fewer hits/views/pages. You won't find better pics anywhere, on any web site. World Rider (Alan) has been on the road a long time. He does Videos and Pod Casts too.
Riding The Middle East: WorldRider Journeys On. - ADVrider
248,000 views
1700 pages

South America: Until our Luck or Money Runs Out - ADVrider
235,000 views
1474 pages
The Sequin Brothers S. America trip linked above, was relatively short. Just a few months. But look at all the posts and views in this short time. I never did find out how much money they collected once they set up a Pay Pal account to further their travels. I sent $25 US. I'd wager it's in the thousands of dollars.

Guys with Web sites do this .... but there are seveal RR on ADV where thousands have been raised to help the rider continue. I wish HU had those kinds of numbers too ... but if we had to put up with Jomomma, then 2nd thought, might not wish that! :confused1:

Ah Ha! Now we're getting to the truth about all this. As usual, it's all about money .... specifically, making money :eek3:

I now see the problem Web site fans have here.
1. you can't advertise your sponsors in a HUBB RR.
2. You can't sell your T-Shirts, stickers or whatever.
3. You can't sell your book or film.

But you know what? I bet you can with a special "arrangement" with Grant.
My guess is that you could have specific software place your sponsors in margins when YOUR report is up. Pretty doable I would imagine.

Also, HUBB has had instant email notification since day one. Signing up for HUBB is free and takes about 3 minutes. In the meantime, anyone, member or not, can view any page from anywhere world wide.

Last I checked there is no limit on text on HUBB. Pics? I'm not sure. I've posted thousands, never a problem.

The Cool thing about Ride Reports is the interactivity. Lets say your on the road in Russia and your sister or brother has a child. They can post pics anytime right on your Ride Report. I'm sure some Blogs and Web pages allow this, but is it as easy as V-Bulletin used on the HU ?

Grant now also has Video link capability. I'm too lazy to learn it but will at some point. I've lots of on board riding films and getting more all the time.

Cheers,

Patrick :scooter:

Stop Press
 

DRZ sold:innocent: :offtopic:. Ace Cafe was ace.

cheers
Chris
PS. With saying the following, I am in no way wishing to cause offence to anyone, flame anyone or anything of that sort.:oops2:. This is also off topic:offtopic:. As this is the Bar, rather than the more "serious" rest of the HUBB, I really do hope no one takes offence:

There are subtle differences between US and UK English. We all know about aluminium vs aluminum. The word "bumming" was mentioned in the above discussion. In UK English it can mean hanging out, chilling etc, but it is also a declination of the verb to have homosexual "sexual intercourse"...

PPS. Just off to look for my wife's fanny pack...

Also, DO NOT ask in America " Where can I buy some fags" !!! :blushing:

Patrick.

I think your points are all valid but specifically in a given context based on two assumptions: one it is partly or all about money: yet it may not be for many, and, two that people want lots of hits.... Those are assumptions and not universally applicable by any standards. Taking Hubert's site as an example again: no merchandise, no books, T-shirts etc, just a bloke telling his story, his way....

Personally speaking, I wrote my blog because I did not have HTML or JAVA know-how (although DIY site-builders are now more available) and I just wanted a place where my mates, family, work colleagues and any other punters who enjoyed our tale could have a read.... that is it, and TBH my motivation would be the same be it on here as a RR or a full web page for our future Africa or Asia trips...

Some people may have some sort of financial motive be it for themselves or a charity they are hoping to assist, but not all. As for interactivity, I am more likely to view someone's site, than join a forum for the privilege.

We all know what a great place the HUBB is, but to a non-motorcyclist, what is the draw to join? As for interactivity, my blog had an email or comment function and loads of people said their 2p worth and Hubert has his own forum, too.

Nothing has really changed for me: if I go away for a day trip, or a week or few here and there I would happily do a ride report (pic upload allowing), but for longer trips I feel my own website would give me the self expression I want to show what I want, how I want....

With respect to pictures, if you are not inserting a URL, then the limit for a JPEG is 40kb as an uploaded attachment: this is a lot less than other sites where I have posted pics (eg a max of 1000KB per post, and that could be 1 pic or 100). Given that I do not use a web-hosting picture library like smugmug but my HD, posting on HUBB is not an easy job: each pic needs to be edited...

I'm all for RRs on here, if it suits the posters needs, but I don't see how or why they would replace personal websites.

Trolling?
 

You better re-read and try to understand the intent of the post you quouted of mine.

Chris, Buddy! It's not about YOU, and I'm NOT trolling you.
It's about C O M M U N I T Y. That was the whole point I was making .... I thought it was pretty obvious, sorry if you thought I was coming after you, I wasn't, but you left yourself Wide Open in the previous post stating all Ride Reports are crap. Get it?

I'm just a guy who would like to see the riding community more "together".

I happen to agree, as I stated earlier, there are dismal reports aplenty to go round, whether web site, Blog or HUBB RR. But reports on HUBB will get more immediate feedback and writers will have the opportunity to learn and get better based on this feedback.

Once again, NOT ABOUT YOU, CHRIS. The idea is that with a Community of Riders with LOTS of Ride Report to choose, you have a choice and can read or pass on many, and do it all in one place.

Good reason for this. I get paid to do "ride reports", have done for 20 years. The internet does not pay. Yet. I usually don't work for free.

Doubt I'll see it unless you cross post it on Ride Tales or link it.
Glad you liked my Baja thing. I did this little piece because some HUBB guys kept asking me via PM's about Baja. I am not a Baja expert .... but ride with a few. So I put this up. I thought it was half baked.

I'm not currently doing magazine work so may, at some point do a few more reports. I've been working on a book for a while. Someday it may be finished.

Congrats on the DRZ sale. I hated selling mine. Best desert bike I ever had.

Cheers,

Patrick :scooter:

This tendency is changing. Hence my comment about dead websites. Do you know how many new members ADV gets each day? Do you think these guys go searching for obscure web sites?


I get this. A good web site can like a movie .... your movie. I like that idea. You have total control in terms of look and feel of the site as well as content. If a site is good enough it will get return visits.

I could not do anything on line without Smug Mug. I can send in any size file I want, including RAW files and do nothing. Videos too. It is NOT FREE .... good service never is.

Well, not replace .... yet:innocent: But I see supporting HUBB and other similar sites the same as supporting the rider community and staying in touch with those out on the road.

Thanks for the response! :thumbup1:

Patrick :scooter:

No offense gents, but if I may make a request, please try to all get along.

I do find most contributions to be insightful, educational, and on occasion uplifting. The shared commraderie is one of the most enjoyable features of this fairly close knit group.

The arguements, which can never be resolved through online banter, are one of the least enjoyable and I would argue a big reason that people move on, or refrain from participating in the first place.

If this were a real bar, I'd be happy to buy youse all a beer and we could all get back to talking about important things, like bikes.

So an e-beer is on it's way to all, they can be redeemed for the real thing anytime anyone visits Vancouver.

And how about an informal policy that one of the unwritten rules of the site is to be respectful of all users and when an inevitable disagreement arises, you are entitled to a single to and for, and after that additional discussions between the parties takes place via pm or email?

It may be that another way to make this site stand out from all the others is it becomes known for the wisdom and experience of it's users, their generosity with information and advice, and their kindness and civility to fellow riders and site users.

Peace out.

Where does this info come from, though? Personally, I can only account for my use and my preferences on the internet: I could only guess at what the millions of other surfers are looking for and how they like it presented.

I'm not saying either scenario is not happening, just that one does not preclude the other.

Increased traffic on ADV isn't an indicator of dropping p-websites, IMO. Do all these guys on ADV have travel aspirations like those we promote on here? Do they, in fact, ride anymore than a blast on the back roads at the weekend? Who knows...

It seems we are coming back to this point of hit-rates.
For me, a non-commercial publisher, it would be no more important than the pleasant knowledge that many are (hopefully) enjoying what I have written.

Regarding picture uploads, I am still just going to upload from my camera to the site in question. Publishing RRs as much as I'd like to, its not a motive enough to enter into a subscribed service...

Moderator
 

Chris....thanks for your thoughtful reply....like many things, we often respond to what we see, not what we don't see...your role as moderator is important to the HUBB and if there's been 'history' - then I can see some frustration emerging.

Someone mentioned that travelling, either around the world or to the country next door, can open up one's humility and humanity....regretfully, it seems to me, based on my rather limited experience on various travel related websites.. little of that sentiment that emerges from 'real travel' seems to translate readily onto the web.....most often the jomomma style seems, sadly, to be more the norm.

Mark Twain said: "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime".

Too bad using the internet doesn't produce the same fatalities noted by Twain.

Stephen

Fruit
 

Well after all the talk is done you need to get over to the Ride Report section and see the 8 little ride reports beginning to blossom over there.If you support them they might grow.
See Australia,Israel,Russia,Mexico the Himalayas and the Grand Canyon.
More fun than all the newly found civilized discussion you,ve been having!!!
Al theturtleshead:oops2: