where has george been?

Everywhere! Well, maybe not everywhere but been keeping busy. SEMA is next week and we’ve been trying to finish off a few more web projects at work before then. Working on that didn’t exactly help my two tests this week at school – whoops.

I was catching up on STR emails and threads this morning so sorry if it took a few more days than usual. Also donated to Mark, who lost his apartment in the wildfires. We’re trying to return some sense of normalcy to his life by getting him a new ride. If anyone wants to help: go here. You can read about the situation in this STR thread.

I’m considering blogging a bit more on the tech side – perhaps starting a new blog just for that. I’m learning a lot with what I do at work and might even release some of my code that could be useful to others. But alas – that would just be another thing to consume time. I should start looking into ways to cut more our of my to do list than add to it.

Hmm, where to ride . . .

As the Wheels Turn In My Life

Since it does say “STR, bikes, and life” up top I figured I’d spew some things that have been happening to me personally.

Today, during a calculus test it hit me. Pounding headache, running nose, and maybe a light fever. I finished off the test and found me a quiet bench in the shade. Took out my laptop to knock out some emails and follow-up on something I was working on at work in the morning. The headache only got worse so I decided to forego my 2 o’clock business telecommunications class. Also, I postponed an SEO consulting session that I was going to do for a marketing professor at school who recently launched a website.

This only adds to the small case of poison oak I have on my arms. Yeah I know . . . wah wah wah. Oh well – headaches suck, runny noses suck, poison oak sucks. I’ll complain all I want! 🙂

Other than the recent body/health issues I can’t complain about life right now . . .

• STR is still on a roll – traffic has increased more than 280% since the start of 2007, we’ll likely be over 1,500 members before our 3rd birthday, and most importantly – people are still having a good time and building strong friendships. Even now I’m still meeting tons of awesome people because of it. I doubt there has ever been a force such as STR that has united socal riders like STR has. Those who were around during socalmtb’s popular days – correct me if I’m wrong (I started riding after it’s glory days). And yet for all it has done, our future as a community is still extremely bright.
• My new job which I started in early summer (php programmer & search engine marketer) has been going very well. I have a lot of offer the company in a lot of different areas (UI, programming, business strategy, css) and my performance has not only exceeded their expectations but mine as well. Hmm . . . now if only my pay would match my value to the company 🙂
• School – school’s a funny thing. In many ways I really do enjoy school. I enjoy the atmosphere, the people I meet, and some of what I learn is actually useful. However this is my 5th year and sometimes I’d rather just be working full time, improving STR, spending more time mountain biking, building other projects, and/or starting up a web design business. Why 5th year? I started off as a computer science major then later switched to management information systems when I became interested in business as well. Also, I’ve taken some random classes merely on the basis of them being interesting – not because they counted towards my major requirements. But . . . at the end of the day I realize that I shouldn’t be in a rush at all. Why rush it? I’m only 23 and have tons of time to accomplish everything or at least most of what I want to do. But then again, life throws curveballs sometimes . . .
• FixMyBike.org – This website project is more Rob and his wife’s idea but I’m doing the web stuff for it. Rob’s a great car/bike mechanic and I truly believe this website will help a vast amount of riders around the world. Only problem is – I have trouble finding time to work on it.
• RIDING!! I recently built (technically Rob built it) a Turner 5 Spot. I love it! My previous bike – a yeti 575 had never let me down. I enjoyed that bike a lot. Maybe the only reason I wanted to try the Turner was out of curiosity but I’m happy I did try it. The spot feels very stable going downhill and isn’t a slouch on the uphills either. I’m consistently doing weekend and the random mid-week rides. I hope to start stepping it up sometime soon to try and better my Counting Coupe time next year.
• New pets! I have always wanted a dog. . . . But alas I still don’t have a dog. By new pets I mean three fish in a 10 gallon freshwater tank on my desk at work. One betta, two swordtail, and a snail. They’re interesting to look at when I’m bored. Each has it’s own distinct personality.

I just sometimes wish I had more time for things outside of work and school. Especially wish I had more time to devote to (in no particular order) STR, fixmybike.org, riding, friends, and doing freelance consulting and websites on the side. But one thing I learned while being a waiter is that you can only do as much as you can. Sounds simple but as the old saying goes, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Keep your goals and expectations for yourself challenging yet realistic. Otherwise you’ll doom yourself to disappointment.

Oh, last thing I’ll mention is that I reconnected with a long-lost high school friend today. A couple co-workers and I were on an It’s a Grind run when I ran into Meghan there. Meghan was in a couple art classes with me in high school. We chatted a bit and seems like she began to do a lot more with art than I did post-high school. Her website, www.monsterflower.com, displays some of her really fantastic artwork. Looks like she’s pretty active in the Long Beach art community and displays her work at a lot of shows.

Getting an STR link on Corba’s Resource Page

Corba has a resource page here. They currently have links for the following there:

• South Bay Mountain Bike Club
• Over the Bars Mountain Bike Club
• Pasadena Mountain Bike Club
• North Ranch Mountain Bike Club
• Dirt Chix

I’ve sent two emails in the past trying to ask for some link love from Corba to no avail. Never got a response either.

Here are one of the previous emails sent to info@corbamtb.com on May 27th, 2007:

Hi,

I’m writing to ask if you could include a link to http://www.socaltrailriders.org on the Corba links page. It’s still fairly new compared to other such sites but has exploded in popularity. Lots of friendly riders on that website and I bet some of your site visitors would benefit greatly from finding a link to it on your links page.

Thanks,
George

Today I sent another email to not one but many addresses:

• webmaster@corbamtb.com
• info@corbamtb.com
• membership@corbamtb.com
• volunteer@corbamtb.com
• markmtb@adelphia.net
• mtbike4@earthlink.net

And the email:

Hi Corba people,

I’d like to request a link addition to your resources page, please. It’s to SocalTrailRiders. The URL is http://www.socaltrailriders.org/

It’s the most active community/forum/website of riders in socal and has been for at least a year now. It would surely be a great resource for people who visit your website.

Some example pages:
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/7082-rr-demo-days-yeti-chumba-rocky-mountain.html
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trailhead/6742-black-star-beeks-place-newbie-ride-beeks-clean-up.html
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/1878-vq-cc-recap-pics.html
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/5985-rr-bikes-beers-2007-a.html

thanks for the consideration,
George Gonzalez

p.s. Tiny heads up on the website redesign: on the homepage there are extra <a> </a> tags for the “::” after calendar in the footer. And as a tip: I noticed all the CSS is inline. Moving the css to an external file will not only help search engine optimization but also decrease download speed for users because those files get cached after the first visit.

Hopefully at least one person who gets that will be a little open minded to the idea of having an STR link on their resources page. Will update this post later if I get a response (or no response).

Update:

Huge thanks to Hans over at Corba. Here’s his response

Hi George,

Hey no problem I will add STR to the links! You have a great site there!
I was riding with a guy (forgot his name?) in Tahoe on the MTBR Gathering. He said he helped start it with you. He goes to school in AZ now.

I was wondering how would I change my user name on STR? I looked around on there and did not see a way to do it?

Thanks for the tips on the CORBA site! I see what you mean about the footer.

Thanks, Hans

New bike! 2004 Turner 5 Spot

As the title says, it’s a 2004 Turner 5 Spot. I bought it from Rodel (chaos on STR). I’m really stoked about it. Took it out today and did a whiting -> stt -> luge -> whiting loop with Rob (turnerrob) and Stu.

There are parts that I already want to change. I want a slightly shorter stem (70mm vs. current 90mm), new handlebars (want wider), silver hope skewer for the rear, and in a month or so a new saddle. Stem will be also be silver to go for a blue/silver color scheme.

She rides beautifully – very active suspension, corners well, and very stable going downhill. Felt a tad stretched out which is why I want to try a shorter stem.

As for decals/badges – I want to do something custom with SocalTrailRiders on it. Maybe just badge, maybe just decals, or both. The new screw on Turner head badge looks pretty cool.

More info on it.

From the Riders’ Point of View: Blackstar to Beek’s Place

Some quotes and photos from two ride report threads:

• RR: Blackstar to Beeks (newbie ride)
• RR: My Own Personal Beek’s

Then I kept hearing “Its just a little more….” hehe I numbed that out of my head cause I know it was gonna be a grind.

All of STR great spending the day with you all and a special thank you to Brian for turning around manning up and kickin some serious @$$… You Tracey for being truely committed to attaining your goal. You both are huge inspirations…

Like Rachel(Wrecker) said, that’s what so great about this sport and this group of riders known as STR.

This was huge for many of you newbies, I’m sure of that. Of all the times I’ve been to Beek’s, this was the best time for sure. To see someone push themselves to the brink, but continue on and make it to the top is what this ride was all about! A JOB WELL DONE TO YOU ALL!

And last but not least, my boy Jake!
This was his first real climb, 15.6 miles round trip, with 2135 ft. of climbing. Not once did he mention turning around, and cutting it short.

Surlygal and neccros are examples of why mountain biking stays in my blood. They were out there pushing their bodies beyond their pain thresh holds. I saw tears, cramps, empty camelback bladders, frustration and the biggest sense of accomplishments I have seen in years. Huge prop’s to you two!!!

We asked if anybody wanted a lift up the hill and the answer was NO! Traci was determined to get up that hill and not take the easy way out, great job for going the distance!

I signed up for the ride at the last minute and was glad I did. I was expecting the large turnout after seeing the last few Fully rides, but it was nice to see how cool everybody was. Not an elitist’s attitude in the bunch.

One of the reasons I LOVE mtn biking is the comraderie, one of the reasons I love STR is the lack of ego and the intense support for each rider, one of the reasons I loved this ride is that it had it all! You guys all rock!

I would personally like to thank you for the opportunity to ride with you to Beeks. I found this to be one of the most inspirational days that I have spent on the bike in a long time. Your commitment, drive and follow through were absolutely amazing, watching you work not only through the physically challenging, but emotionally challenging climb of your life. I feel very honored to have been able to have been part of that and there is nowhere that I would have rather been then sitting on the top of that hill with you and Brian. It brought back memories both recent and distant of personal challenges, and really showed that if one sets their mind to something, there really is no limit to what can be attained.

And last but not least: here is John’s video cam footage.

Rider Down & Bike Shop Reviews

SocalTrailRiders is proud to announce our two newest forums –

Rider Down
Bike Shop Reviews

Rider Down

Rider down is a forum for mountain bike injuries (or conditions), recovery from injuries, and encouragement for our fellow STR’ers who have fallen victims to injuries.

It’s true that the injured list system that I have had on the back-burner is now considered closed and abandoned. I feel that having a Rider Down forum is just as good and in some aspects better than a separate custom injured list system.  A major pro of doing the forum vs. custom web application is that people are already familiar with the thread/forum system of communication.

Bike Shop Reviews

Bike shop reviews are incredibly helpful for people looking to buy bike parts and get things serviced – which is pretty much every rider out there. Bret came up with this idea and I agreed. This whole subject deserved it’s own forum. Currently it sits as a sub-forum inside of The Marketplace forum. Each shop will have its own thread.

As always, adding forums is a delicate thing. We don’t want to add so many forums so that the information gets diluted and scattered across tons of forums. Each one should serve a different and important purpose.

STR & The Warrior’s Society

Chris Vargas and I have exchanged a few productive emails these last couple days.  There’s already a bit of link love on the 2007 Traverse write-up and will be a bit more in the 2007 Pow Wow write-up including some credit given to Schecky who wrote Twas the Night Before Vision Quest.

Chris asked for help in getting feedback from the STR community regarding scheduling and some other things. It’s great to hear that the Warrior’s Society is  actively seeking the opinions and thoughts of riders who do their events.

• To give feedback on Toad Festival 2008
• To give feedback on The Traverse 2008 

Performance and More!

Performance Tweak

Some of you may have noticed on the homepage of STR that the page would hangup temporarily right before the recent topics. I’ll spare you from the techno-mumbo jumbo but I figured out the bottleneck and switched it to something a lot quicker. Same functionality but now the homepage usually loads a lot quicker if you’re logged in.

Jerseys Update

As of the beginning of last week Hot Shoppe had all the jersey numbers, name info, and the deposit so it’s up to them now. I can’t wait to see the new jerseys!

New Job For Me

I’ve started working for DPI as a PHP programmer and search engine marketer. It’s a lot more challenging than my previous gigs but also a lot more rewarding. The company itself is composed of a small but talented team and I feel good about working there. This job would not have been possible without the experience I have gained while working on STR.

Plus, it’s like a 10 minute bike ride from my house!

Warriors Society Link Love?

I have been trying to persuade the Warrior’s Society to give SoCalTrailRiders some link love on their race write-ups. We have tons of awesome recaps written by people who experienced those races first-hand — that’s great additional reading material for anyone interested in those races.

Here’s the email I wrote today to Chris Vargas and their webmaster:

Hi Chris,

Thanks to you and everyone who helped put on the Traverse. A lot of our members rode it and loved it.

I enjoyed reading the write-up on your website and have a suggestion that will be of great benefit to other readers. We had a discussion going with Traverse recaps and it has the best collection of racer write-ups. Here’s the link: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/6279-traverse-recap.html. I bet the readers of your write-up will also enjoy reading recaps from the racers themselves — perhaps you can have Barry include a link to it in the recap?

We also have the best collection of VQ/CC recaps written by racers (along with some photos) at http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/racing-training/4956-vq-cc-rrs.html. I emailed you after the Pow Wow about it but perhaps you didn’t get my email.

thanks for your time,
George Gonzalez

quick update today

Forums were down for about five minutes today at around 1:50pm whilst I updated the vbSEO software to version 3.0 Gold. Technical information on the update can be found at vbSEO’s announcement page here.

Hopefully that didn’t ruin anyone’s STR surfing pleasure today. As always we try to keep the website’s software updated. Regular updates of software ensure a secure and reliable website.

Thanks and have a great day!

Thanks to Sprockethead & Surlygal

I’d like to thank Andy (Sprockethead) & Traci (Surlygal) for discovering two bugs in the new homepage. Without their feedback these two bugs would have gone unnoticed by me.

Andy noticed that the “Logged in as ___” would overlap a bit if the username was long and it wrapped to the next line. Traci discovered a more obscure bug that only occurred for members who were logged in and had 0 posts. The whole left side where the recent topics are supposed to be would fill up with ugly error messages. Both these bugs were easy fixes but like I said . . . much credit goes to Andy and Traci for taking a couple minutes to report the bugs.

The new look has been fairly well received by our members. Hopefully it makes everyones STR experience just a little bit more pleasant.

As kind of a side note. . .

Update for injured list: still in the planning stages. Pencil and paper have been the primary tools until today when I made a couple entity relationship diagrams and some interface designs with OmniGraffle. Slowly but surely this will come together.