This post represents the launch of the latest iteration of BikePrairieSpirit.com, as well as a change in editors.
The web site was created and launched by Samuel Schimek (“Timon of Athens” in the old forums) in 2010. By 2015, other responsibilities had limited Sam’s ability to maintain the site, so he asked me to take it over, and I have done so.
For those who may be interested in the technical details, the old site was hand-built with HTML pages, some custom code and databases, and a homebrew forum. It was a smooth, elegant, and well-designed site, but increasingly difficult to update, maintain, and support evolving web standards (such as a mobile-friendly design).
In order to make the site easier to maintain, I’ve built it under WordPress, the world’s most popular web publishing platform.
As a result, long-time site visitors will notice a new look. Most of the old content has been transferred to the new site, but some features have been greatly changed. The forums were one of the casualties of the transition. It was unfortunately not possible to import all the old threads into the new system. However, I’ve archived most of the old threads under the Old Forums link. There’s a lot of great information there, which people will hopefully still be able to find through the search feature.
Of course, the launch of a completely new system is never entirely seamless. If you notice features missing, or information that looks “off” somehow, please contact me, and I’ll try to set it right.
In the meantime, thanks for reading, and I hope people will continue to find Bike Prairie Spirit to be the web’s best resource for information on bicycling the Prairie Spirit Trail!
And thanks to Sam for creating all wonderful site, and allowing me to continue his work.
