The Katy Trail and Rock Island Trail

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BikeKatyTrail.com changes

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Ray (webmaster) on 2/19/2011 11:15:49 AM:

BikeKatyTrail.com just got a make-over.

I built this website nearly a decade ago using technology that has become outdated ("classic ASP" for you techies). Since then, I have built several other trail websites using more cutting-edge technology (ASP.Net) with additional features that I could not reproduce here.

Today I was finally able to transition BikeKatyTrail.com to the more current platform. If you are a return visitor you might have noticed that things look a little different, although I tried to keep the website's look and navigation as close to original as possible.

At the same time, I also transitioned to a new web hosting company to improve the site's reliability.

Things often get broken in the midst of such a big change. If you find anything that does not appear to be working right, please leave a message here so I can check it out.

Thanks for visiting!

MidSouth from Rogersville, MO on 2/21/2011 9:33:55 AM:

Looks good Ray. I have noticed that the individual town information doens't come up when you select from 'Towns & Services' or from the map.

Ray (webmaster) on 2/21/2011 9:58:28 AM:

Thanks MidSouth! I've got the town info thing fixed now.

Green Machine from Lawrence, KS on 2/21/2011 10:46:52 AM:

Ray,

Looks great. This kind of thing takes a lot of work behind the scenes and I just wanted to let you know that it is much appreciated by at least this user. Your hard work has made my several trips to the trail much easier to plan. Not to mention that you inspired my own website.

Again, well done and much luck in the future.

Green Machine from Lawrence, Ks on 2/21/2011 10:50:56 AM:

Just noticed,

In Safari, the trail conditions link on the front page doesn't seem to move you anywhere. I know the info is at the bottom of the page, but someone unfamiliar with the layout might not.

Thanks again.

MidSouth from Rogersville, MO on 2/21/2011 11:43:16 AM:

Ray, the Trail Conditions link does work in IE however.

Ray (webmaster) on 2/21/2011 1:58:11 PM:

Thanks for the compliments, and thanks for the heads-up on the Trail Conditions link. This cross-browser compatibility stuff can drive you crazy, but this issue is now fixed.

Thx again!

Paulie from Knoxville on 2/22/2011 10:17:58 AM:

New site looks great Ray. I've been a regular visitor since the early days. Being a rail trail junkie, I'm familiar with your other trail sites. Maybe you could provide some links on the Katy site to your C & O/GAP and the Silver Comet trail sites.

Thanks, Paulie

Anonymous on 2/22/2011 10:28:22 AM:

Ditto Ray, Your website is great. Thanks for all your hard work in promoting the Katy trail.

MidSouth from Rogersville, MO on 2/22/2011 11:40:22 AM:

Looking good Ray! Another question on the other websites. Is it possible to put the 'Brief' & 'Full' radio buttons on the other comment forums also? They don't seem to get the traffic that the KATY forum does, but I am planning to also do the C&O and Gap and Cowboy Trail in the near future.

Ray (webmaster) on 2/22/2011 12:24:59 PM:

Thanks folks, I appreciate the feedback.

Paulie, I have links to the other trail websites at the bottom of the homepage. Didn't want to be too pushy about self-promoting my other sites, but the links are there because I knew some people would find them useful.

MidSouth, yes the changes to the Forum will get to the other sites too, although it is hard to say when. I have a few other ideas that I would like to experiment with before copying those enhancements out to the other sites.

Thanks again!

festus on 2/23/2011 9:47:23 PM:

first time on in quite a while. this looks fantastic ray. tis took a lot of work. excellent job my man and thank you.

Gary from Near Tebbetts on 2/24/2011 12:10:20 AM:

Nice improvements Ray, I did notice that I am no longer receiving the automatic e-mail notification of comment updates though. Is this no longer a feature available with the new site or do I just need to sign up again for it somehow?

Ray (webmaster) on 2/24/2011 5:24:56 AM:

Good point Gary - I forgot to mention the daily digests. This function is not yet working, but I expect to have it running in about a week. You do not need to resubscribe - you'll just start seeing the digests appear again, hopefully soon.

Thx again for the comments and feedback!

ka3751 from Saint Louis on 2/25/2011 8:11:03 AM:

On the milage page, Page Ave Extension and Green Bottoms are missing. I think it would be nice to keep these on the page, even though they are not towns. The parking lot at Page Ave Ext is a starting point for many people.
Thanks,

Ray (webmaster) on 2/25/2011 12:09:45 PM:

Good catch ka3751 - I missed those. Will get them added back in within the next few days. Thanks!

DardenneGal on 2/26/2011 6:03:18 PM:

I agree on keeping page bridge on the mileage chart. We ride from there often. Also, is it possible to have the round trip mileage back on the chart. I know...I'm lazy. I just need to double it but I liked that feature.

The site looks great!

Anonymous on 2/26/2011 9:29:41 PM:

Mileage page also looks like it is back to normal on my laptop, thanks.
Ray, I got the same daily digest post on the Claysville Store thread sent to my email account three separate times this past week but none of the other new ones.

Ray (webmaster) on 2/27/2011 7:19:19 AM:

Thanks for the continuing feedback, folks. The mileage chart now has Greens Bottom and Page Bridge lot, plus a new Round Trip column.

Still ironing out the wrinkles in the forum digest.

Happy trails!

DardenneGal from Dardenne Prairie on 2/27/2011 10:10:44 AM:

One more request. Could you add the MO Research Park to the mileage chart? It's a great place to park and get on the trail. Thanks for adding Page Bridge and Green's Bottom!

Ray (webmaster) on 2/27/2011 11:39:50 AM:

DardenneGal - you got it!
Thanks!

DardenneGal from Dardenne Prairie on 2/27/2011 1:33:54 PM:

Thanks for adding the MO Research Park!

Becky from Washington, MO on 6/14/2012 10:51:46 AM:

We LOVE this site Ray. My son is earning his Cycling merit badge and this has been a wonderful tool! Any chance you could turn it into an app for smart phones?

Ray (webmaster) on 6/14/2012 11:19:45 AM:

Thanks Becky, glad to hear that the site has been helpful. My son needs his cycling badge too - we are training for a cross-state ride, which should help knock out many of the requirements.

Yes, in fact I do plan to build an app. Honestly, it'll be a while because there are a few other items ahead of that in the "R&D" list, and it is a pretty big undertaking. With apologies to the iPhone folks, I will start with an Android app because it's a better fit with my programming skills.

As long as I'm mentioning R&D, the next big item is a tool to plan & manage itineraries. More details later in the summer.

Good luck to your son on earning his badge.

Trek on 6/14/2012 1:01:50 PM:

The Official Guide for Missouri State Parks, is an iphone app that has info for all state parks including the Katy. After selecting the Katy Trail, you can read history, view maps, etc.

There is also a list of Emergency Numbers. Although the emergency contact number is listed, they are by county. I contacted the developer and suggested that the numbers be listed by town or position between towns. I'm a MO native and used to live close to the trail in Saline county, but I've not a clue what county I'm in when I'm between Pilot Grove and Clifton City. It's nice to have contact numbers to call, but functionally they've missed the boat on this app. Something to consider for the BikeKatyTrail app.

FEEDBACK! - Please let us know if you have suggestions, corrections, complaints, or ideas. Your input is valued and appreciated - thanks in advance!

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