How to Blog? Crazyguyonabike?

[Lowly Swale]

I expect this has been discussed before but, can anyone either explain or direct me to an explanation for novices about blogging and why Crazyguyonabike is so popular and how does it work? Having looked at Crazyguyonabike home, there is just so much volume of information, how do you sift through to find something relevant to one's interest yet not be overwhelmed by the choice? How do you know where to look? Then, if deciding to start a blog, how does one place it in Crazyguyonabike so that it can be found? Why is Crazyguyonabike preferable to, say blogger.com?

[e46rick]

I have cruised Crazy... on many occasions.  While the formatting and graphics are not on par with today's web style, it is a very informative and interesting website.  I agree there is a TON of info to sift through.  I have had reasonably good luck just using their search function to find more specific information.

[SlowAndSlower]

If you think you will get lost on CGOAB then you will really be a small fish in the ocean on Blogger and other like sites.  CGOAB has a good search capability and tagging system. If you want to be "discovered and followed" then that's the place to be. Google in fact will yield good and recent search results on the CGOAB site.

While it does not have great flash CGOAB is technically rock solid and most importantly consistent. It works pretty good with everything including mobile.
Additionally the CGOAB journals read like a book whereas a blog is reverse chronology presentation.

[jamawani]

Crazyguy is the gold standard.

[adventurepdx]

Additionally the CGOAB journals read like a book whereas a blog is reverse chronology presentation.

I think a good distinction to make between CGOAB and blogging templates like Blogger, Wordpress, etc. is Crazy Guy is a site for travel journals. which isn't always the same as a "blog". (At least in my head.) CGOAB is a community of travel journals all about bicycle touring. So if all you want to do is talk about bicycle tours, it's probably the best place to go.

However, if you wanted to talk about bicycle tours and other stuff that may or may not be related to bicycling, a personal blog on a blogging template like Wordpress, Blogger, etc would be the way to go. These sites have the the added benefits of customization of design and all that, something CGOAB doesn't provide.

As for "reading like a journal", there are ways to create linear-reading journals with Wordpress, Blogger, etc, usually by creating "categories". A good example of using Wordpress to do that is here, check out trip reports on the right of the page:
http://www.spiralcage.com/rootless/

[RussSeaton]

Guess I have a different opinion of the Crazy Guy forums.  The forums do not get much use.  I assume it is a large website.  So I would expect much more forum activity.  I like this forum better.

[SlowAndSlower]

As for "reading like a journal", there are ways to create linear-reading journals with Wordpress, Blogger, etc, usually by creating "categories". A good example of using Wordpress to do that is here, check out trip reports on the right of the page:
http://www.spiralcage.com/rootless/

Ah yes there are ways to do almost anything you would want to do in Wordpress today as it has morphed into a content management system. But CGOAB does it without the journal author having to do anything. Blogger not so much.
I personally have issues and differences with the CGOAB owner and hence I do my own thing using Wordpress for my website. But that doesn't make CGOAB , in my mind, any less superior and less valuable resource. BTW my website can be viewed at https://indianbendsolutions.com

[Miller]

Crazyguy journals are the easiest to navigate, the site get tons of traffic, the guestbook feature is nice, and overall it's a wealth of information (thousands of journals from all over the world). Not to mention lots of gear lists, reviews, articles, and decent forums.

There are many ways to explore crazyguy. You could go to journals, categories, routes and look at different routes. You can also browse by locale. You can sample journals by looking at featured journals on the home page or by perusing the "hit list." At this time of year there are also a lot of people beginning cross country rides on ACA routes (Southern Tier, TransAmerica, and Northern Tier)... 

To start a journal you register with the site and then go to the "my" option and there is a button to start a new journal.

[John Nelson]

If you are getting ready to take a bicycle tour, and if you want to keep a journal of your trip, then creating and updating a journal of your trip at CGOAB is pretty easy. You don't need to figure out how to navigate the whole site--you just need to figure out how to write a journal. Start by clicking the "Help" button on the top line of every page. Then scroll down to "Creating a New Journal". If you decide to use CGOAB for your journal, then you'll have to read more of the help page. You might eventually want to read it all.

If you want to see whether or not you like the format of CGOAB journals, then just click the "Journals" tab on the home page, and click any journal you want to start reading it. Just step through the pages with the NEXT button. It's pretty simple.

You can then read blogs at Wordpress and other sites to see which you like better. As has been previously said, a blog can be just about anything you want, but a journal is something quite specific.

[neilgunton]

Hi, I am Neil Gunton, I run crazyguyonabike. I'm usually pretty accessible if you have any questions about using the site - just click on Website > Contact (see the blue navbar just under the ads). Or, here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/website/contact/

Thanks,

Neil

[Lucky13]

Crazyguy is the gold standard.

I agree. If you are planning to post a journal of your travels, then CrazyGuy is the place to be.

It has a very clean and consistent layout - with none of the usual distractions of a "modern" website. The design allows us to focus on what is important - the narrative and the photography.

[Lowly Swale]

Thanks for all that helpful advice. I feel more well informed now.