Redesign

I’ve redesigned the blog. It is now simpler, slicker, sexier, smoother and more functional at the same time. It now features a sophisticated map which has a programmed ability to show my location live during the long journeys (of which I’ll be speaking extensively), tweets streaming straight into the posts list, all sorts of fancy social media sharing tools,  but most importantly — the new colors match the design of my awesome helmet!

Shining new design
Shining new design

Fact: No traveler has a map as cool as the one on the new One Hell of a Ride. Seriously.

Countdown to 2010

Sounds awkward after the New Year festivities? For us the chosen ones 2010 starts in April, and we are counting every second to get back on the road with that soft chilly Spring scent in the air.

I have added a Season 2010 Countdown widget to the blog on the right sidepane, above the About text. While half of the winter is gone by now, still more than two months remain. And hell, World of Warcraft just doesn’t fill the gap.

Of Subscriptions

If you’re reading this post, you may have come across it through your search query on your favorite search engine, or it may be that you are just reading this blog regularly (if you’re currently in the coziness of your favorite feed reader, you can safely mark this post as read and move on to the next item in your roster).

For you guys, the need to subscribe is certain.

Whether you’re using Google Reader, Bloglines, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Outlook, any other feed reader or none at all — subscription is an easy and convenient way of getting the updates as they appear instead of refreshing till your reload button goes numb. I found this important to mention, as I get a lot of direct hits.

Most of the time simply adding http://www.onehellofaride.com/ to your reader’s subscription list should be enough. For particularly dumb feed readers http://www.onehellofaride.com/feed/ would be a more precise URL. Over there you will also see more options of subscribing to the blog updates — you can even get the new posts in an email.

There are at least three feed readers already mentioned in the post, so if you don’t have a choice at the moment — they are listed in order of exponentially dropping coolness.

Seriously, content and convenience are more important than form and style. Go ahead and subscribe. Catch up with the Web 2.0 train before Web 3.0 hits you from the back!

And do not worry, big brother I will still track you.

Getting CBF500 Accessories

Here’s a quick guide for everyone (including myself) for getting Honda CBF500 accessories if you’re living outside the western world:

  1. Get the CBF500 Accessories Catalog.
  2. Locate part number of the accessory you need.
    (for example, part number of Black Interstellar 45l Top Box is 08L55 MCW 8V0)
  3. Make sure to locate any requirements the accessory may have.
    (the 45l Top Box requires a Top box bracket 08Z51 MCW 800A and a Rear carrier 08L42 MER 801)
  4. Google for the part numbers: 08L55 MCW 8V0 germany – and enjoy the results!
  5. The only remaining thing now is to pick the one store that ships where you are. This might require some negotiations.

This is all. Wanted to write this down for myself, and then thought – what the hell, let it be public.