coolest/best community MTB websites - need design ideas

OK - here's the deal

our local trail advocacy group - www.cotamtb.org - has an outdated website

there is SO much room for improvement i just can't stand it anymore

i am trying to volunteer to update the website on the front- and back-end


do you guys have any links to local mtb sites that you think are well-designed or offer cool features?

i.e. www.gutsploder.com has sweet topo maps with embedded photo links to chronicle each stunt

www.disciplesofdirt.com has a nice layout

i appreciate any ideas you squirming maggots come up with :biggrin:

The link for Disicples of Dirt is . org not .com:

http://www.disciplesofdirt.org/

The latest seems to be to get a nice CSS (Cascade Style Sheet) and start there. Something like this site may be a starting point or purchase one if it is in the budget.

http://www.freetemplatedesigns.com/index.php

Some really like to add some Flash, Java or do the site in Ajax but there are disadvantages to using them heavily on the site. They are band width intensive (Flash more so than the others) and are not as search engine friendly. They also can be very browser version limited.

Here are some sites that get this guys vote for style and look (none are cycling related that I could see in a quick scan):

http://philrenaud.com/156

The of course there are the bad web site example sites that point out things like poor color combos, html frames everywhere, slow non-optimized graphics that take forever to come up, etc.

Overall I think the existing site has alot going for it. It loads fast (I am on broadband though, would also want to try a dial-up load) and the pictures are very nicely laid out.

A long-running and very successful local/national riding site. Great community, too.

http://www.vorb.org.nz/