Ride Oregon

In 2008, the Oregon Tourism Commission set out to establish Oregon as the premier cycling tourism destination in the nation. Building upon the hard work and vision of a handful of dedicated groups, the Ride Oregon website is the first grand step in the realization of this dream.

Substance started by exploring what already made Oregon a legendary destination for travelers on bicycles and understanding how we could tell that story and make it even more appealing to all cyclists. Ultimately, we distilled it down to this simple truth: Celebrate the Ride.

In pursuit of this goal, we created a site that allows cyclists to discover rides and cycling-related events that match their travel plans, their tastes as riders, and where they want to visit in Oregon. Using a sophisticated implementation of Google maps, we created an interface where visitors can explore Oregon and search for rides. The map interface also leverages Oregon’s deep database of places to stay, eat and visit, as well as bicycle-related businesses and services and let visitors layer this information on top of the map in relation to the rides they are planning to do.

We also wanted to connect riders and put them on the road together by letting them indicate they’ve done a ride or if they’re interested in doing one. The intent is to both create ambassadors for the rides themselves as well as create connections between riders who are looking for riding buddies. There are also additional social elements on the site: commenting, sharing via email, Facebook, and Twitter integration, that extend the Ride Oregon story beyond the website itself. And finally, people can submit their favorite trails, road routes and events to the site, allowing everyone to celebrate what they love about cycling in Oregon.

The platform enables Travel Oregon to publish editorial content so that they can constantly tell the story of bicycling in Oregon and what makes this such a special place to ride. Looking forward to 2010 and beyond, the Ride Oregon site is the key component to this statewide initiative.

Built on WordPress and utilizing the BuddyPress plug-ins as a starting point, the site is completely customized to let cyclists from around the world celebrate the ride.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT RIDE OREGON

Communication Arts selects Ride Oregon as Webpick of the Week
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The WordPress Showcase recognizes Ride Oregon
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CSS Mania recognizes Ride Oregon
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Site Inspire recognizes Ride Oregon
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Unmatched Style recognizes Ride Oregon
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PatternTap recognizes the Google Maps integration