Can you write a journal offline and post it later? - CycleBlaze

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Can you write a journal offline and post it later?

Gary Alexander

I will be biking the Great Divide with limited WiFi service.  It will be a multi month trip and I want to keep track of my travels.  So I want to make sure I can write along the way and post when WiFi is available.


Thanks!

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6 months ago
Keith AdamsTo Gary Alexander

I and many others have indeed made retroactive posts.  When I'm unable to write directly I use the very old-school pen and notebook method to capture my thoughts, then transcribe later when I can get on.

Some authors have posted journals detailing rides they took decades ago, long after the riding's done.  Others have transferred journals previously published elsewhere, of rides long since completed.

When you create a journal you set the date(s) as part of the overall journal.  When you create an entry you can choose a date for that entry.  It need not be within the date range of the journal overall.  For example, I've written and dated several journal entries prior to and/or after a trip as preliminary or wrap-up content, and the dates on them fall outside the dates when I was on the road.

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6 months ago
Bob DistelbergTo Gary Alexander

Gary, are you asking about tools available that would let you do this? If so, I don’t believe there’s any offline editor built into CycleBlaze that would allow you to completely compose your post offline, then post it with the click of a button once connected. You would need to compose your text in some other offline app, like Word or maybe offline Google Docs, as well as get your photos organized. Then once you are back online, you would need to cut/paste and do some final editing to create your post.

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6 months ago
Leo WoodlandTo Gary Alexander

I am a Vieux Grognard and nearly always write my memories with pen and paper and put them on the interweb afterwards.

I've written them live at the time as well, of course, but I have a resistance to devoting my life to diodes and internet connections. There is little more pleasurable once a ride is over than to sit with a book to read, or a story to write, listening to nature and sipping a drink.

It dismays me the way some people insist on organising their cycling lives by where they can get an internet signal.

Certainly, there are a handful of people who care where I am and what the weather is like. But they can manage without news for a day or two. There was a time without mobile phones, let alone internet connections. I survived cycling trips then and I'm sure I can master them now without fretting that I haven't told people about the pizza I had for lunch.

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6 months ago
Mike AylingTo Leo Woodland

As another old timer I agree 100% with you, Leo.

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6 months ago
George (Buddy) HallTo Gary Alexander

Gary, the way I have done it is similar to what others have described but you may find it beneficial anyway.  If there is no wi-fi connection, I record the text in a MS Word document.  When I come to a place where I would have included a photo, I just add a line something like "insert photo of the spaceship here" to help me remember the photo I intended to include.  I write out the entire day's narrative that way, and then when I later have wi-fi I just copy and paste the text into the CycleBlaze journal - my notes regarding "insert photo here" make it easy to find the particular photo and upload it.  You may have to do some formatting to the text to make it bold or whatever, but this is quick and easy.  

Sometimes when there is no wi-fi available, there may be a cell signal.  I can use my cell phone as a wi-fi hotspot in these cases, although it may be slower (especially with photo uploads).   And even if that isn't a good option for you, if you have cell service during parts of your day's ride you can also use voice-to-text to dictate the narrative for the day and save that somehow to be uploaded later (I often dictate an email to myself and save myself some typing at the end of the day).  

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6 months ago