Mountain Bike Bill, The Dirt on the Dirt

Tag: Website

Map File Links Back Up

So of you may have noticed that my National Geographic TOPO! files were showing up as broken links.broken_link

 Turns my ISP had made some tweaks on the server setting that caused the file not to be recognized (MIME Type Associations for the geeks) even though the files were indeed on the server.

I have the issue all cleared up now so they are once again downloadable.  For those of you who also asked about if I had KML, GPX or CRS files for the various places, the answer is maybe.  As I get around to updating the various pages on my site I’m revamping my GPS files as well.  In the interim you can convert them yourself through some many conversion utilities that are out there on the interweb.    

Take a look at my FAQ on GPS and TOPOs to get yourself throughly confused on some of the conversion processes I use.

On a related note, I have had a new GPS for the last six months that I have been tinkering with.   The Garmin Oregon 450.  I pretty darn happy with it and will try to get some more verbage out on in the future.   Finally on the subject of GPSs, sooner or later your GPS will stop working, wither it is due to dead batteries or a tumble off your pack, it will be a pricey brick on one of your rides.   Be prepared to navigate without it.    Now go have some fun getting lost! 🙂

Server Issues Resolved

Some of you may have noticed this past week that my site was down for about 12 hours.   

My Internet Service Provider suspended the account because my site was overloading their server.   Appears I had a configuration issue with an automated backups program that caused some expontential growth of the number of files on the server. Normally there is around 40,000 files associated with MountainBikeBill.com on the server.   The error reached critical mass over the holiday weekend and the number of files grew to around 185,000.   Evidently those kinds of numbers are frowned upon.   

Techno babble, blah blah blah, yada yada yada…… end result is I got the mess is all cleaned up now.

You may resume your previously scheduled work diversion tactics  🙂

Comments still a problem

I am once again having problems with users registering to leave comments on the blog.  I had it fixed for a while, but issues have arised again with my ISP and blocking emails.   Hopefully I have it fixed soon.   In the interim, you can email or PM me on the various forum siteswith the username you requested and your desired password and I can set it up.

UPDATE Monday Jan 26th, 8PM:  Okay it looks like it is working again.  My ISP explained that over the last several monthse they have been doing a bunch of ANTI-SPAM stuff measures that caused some conflict with my “non-standard” setup.  Thier current configuration is working and the tech support guys tell me I should not have to change my setup anytime soon.   I have my fingers crossed.

For those of you who have attempted to register in the past and never got an email with an activiation link, you can go onto the blog and when you go to log in, select the “I forgot my password” option and you will be given directions on how get it resent to you using username you orginally tried with.  For new users all should work fine.

Good Luck 🙂

-Bill

Fixed User Registration Bug

It has been raining here in normally Sunny San Diego for a few days so now is good time to take care of some indoor issues I have been dragging my feet on.

Some of you may have noticed that when you tried to register a user account on this blog to leave a comment that you never got your password sent to you.    After much delay on my part, I finally chased down the issue to a configuration change with my Internet Service Provider.  I have fixed/configured around the problem now so for those that choose to, you may now register and leave comments.

For those of you who have attempted to register in the past you will need to use the “Lost my Password” option from the login screen to have it resent to you.

Completely new users should work properly.  

The email comes from WordPress-NoReply@mountainbikebill.com so make sure your spam filters don’t snag it.

EDIT:  This post looked very geeky and in need of some MTB Content.  Here is a ride shot from sunnier times. (White Tanks)

Spring in AZ08 Pages Up

I finally got around to getting all my pictures and stuff from my fun little jaunt out to Phoenix. We had some might fun playtime on South Mountain and in the White Tank Mountains. Some of this is not totally new, but it is the first time I have gotten it all together.

Day One on South Mountain – Telegraph Pass and Upper National

Day Two on South Mountain – Mormon Loop, National, Geronimo and Mormon.

Day Three – White Tanks Mountain Regional Park – Mesquite, Willow Canyon, Ford, Goat Camp and Glendale ER.

I would like to give a big thanks out to the tons of folks who gave me well-wishes and sent good vibes and thoughts my way after the crash on the Goat Camp trail. It really helped to keep my spirits up through a rather painful healing process. I have tried to get back to everyone but I am certain I have missed a plenty.

Thanks,
Bill