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Four Years of Noobishness

02.19.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 16 Comments

Yeah, do you believe it? This marks the fourth anniversary of the Bike Noob blog. One thing I’ve noticed since I started writing in 2008 is that cycling seems to have gained in popularity, so much so that it’s now featured in one of those Internet “what they think — what I think” memes that’s going around:

Click to embiggen.

That fits me to a “t” — especially the chimp. I’m him.

I’ve been wondering what keeps bringing people back here to read my posts, and it occurred to me that if I just dig into the statistics provided by the fine folks at WordPress, I might get a clue. So here are the five most popular Bike Noob posts of all time:

5. Metric century. I hadn’t checked all time stats for a while, and this one surprised me. It makes perfect sense, though. A metric century is probably the first major mileage milestone targeted by noob riders.

4. The Selle San Marco Ponza. This is the racing-style saddle I rode for about a year, including on two century rides. I wonder now how I did it, it was so uncomfortable after about an hour. The Ponza is a fairly well-known saddle, and I seem to get lots of traffic from people looking for a review.

3. Triple chainrings — or compact double? For a long time, this was the number one post on this site. I think once new riders get a bike and ride it for awhile, they start to wonder about the advantages or disadvantages of whatever chainring setup they don’t have. To the point that…

2. Triple vs. Compact Double –Again! is the second most-viewed post on the site. Folks, I think we’ve run out our discussion on this one.

And the most-viewed post on Bike Noob of all time?

1. CO2 cartridges or a pump? This post goes back to the first few months of this blog, so its longevity has something to do with its popularity. It’s also one that I listed in my “Favorite Posts” tab, which undoubtedly drove traffic to it. But clearly, these kinds of basic equipment discussions pique the interest of the target audience for Bike Noob — riders who are either new to our pastime, or who are looking for straightforward information about the basics of our sport. And to the post itself, altho I carry a cartridge and an inflator, I will still rely on the pump in the event of a flat.

So — equipment and/or accessories tops our interest quotient. That continues on down the list. Other popular posts include a survey of Speedplay pedals, cleat position (under the ball of the foot for power, but all the way back for long-distance comfort), wet or dry chainlube, and cyclocomputers.

My guest posters, Jeff Hemmel and Don Blount, have also contributed posts on equipment. Jeff’s reviews of the Bontrager Inform and Bontrager Affinity saddles are right up there in page views, as are Don’s posts on trainers vs. rollers and the Bont ctt3 shoes with the moldable insole.

It’s hard to pigeonhole the least-viewed posts — they tend to be all over the map, although many of them were posted in the blog’s first year, before Bike Noob caught fire and rose to become one of the pre-eminent blogs in all of bikingdom. Several of them had to do with specific rides I took. Lots of bike blogs write about rides, so maybe that shouldn’t be a focus here. We’ll see.

I’ve taken down the tab for Favorite Posts, simply because I think it has driven traffic to those posts to the exclusion of others, and for that reason I think I’m not getting an accurate picture of what really interests my readers. We’ll see if the stats appreciably change in the coming year. Besides, if I were to list what I consider MY favorite posts, they’d probably be a different five altogether. (Remember “Smoked By An Old Guy?”)

And while I’m mentioning Favorite Posts, I should note that after two years, it’s time to redo the look of this blog. Nothing drastic, but enough to keep it fresh.

Anyway, in the coming year, I pledge to try my best to keep you interested and engaged with what you read here, as you follow the ramblings of an oldish and unmechanically-inclined cyclist of middling ability and an entry-level bike who just happens to love getting out on two wheels.

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A Little Reader Participation, Please

04.07.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Back in February, I pledged to me more interactive on this blog — to do a better job of engaging my loyal readers. I don’t know that I’ve actually lived up to that pledge. But now, I’ve got an idea. Actually, I stole the idea, which is where most of my good ones come from. (Thank you, Fatty.)

I’d like to ask the readers of Bike Noob to contribute a post on a specified topic. In keeping with the focus of this blog, the topic is: What is the most important thing you’ve learned about cycling?

I know most of you have interesting takes on that — probably more interesting than anything I could come up with.

But here’s the challenge: I’m not looking for anything that will fit on your 140-character Twitter feed. I’d like a full-blown blog post. That means something between oh, 400-600 words.

To help you fill that kind of space, here are some tips:

  • Tell how you came across the tip. Is is something you discovered yourself?
  • Relate an anecdote about making use of the tip yourself
  • Dialog (using quotes) is a good way to pad your story and to add interest at the same time

I will edit your post for grammar and spelling, and perhaps correspond with you by email if I feel the need for some additional details.

Send the story via email to rainycamp AT yahoo DOT com. (Use the conventional @ and . in the address.)

Pictures are welcome. Preferably .jpeg or .png files, although I can work with most anything.

Include a picture of yourself. A head shot, so people can see you, or a shot of you on your bike, and/or in riding kit, or not — as you wish. I’ll probably shrink this down.

Include a short bio. What city you live in, occupation (optional), riding preferences (road, mountain, commuting, etc.), how long you’ve been riding, what you ride (make and model of bike).

I usually post on Bike Noob on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I’m not planning to run all the submissions consecutively, but will probably sprinkle them among my regular posts. So it might be awhile before your submission makes you a famous Bike Noob blog contributor.

I’m kind of excited by this. My inbox is empty and waiting.

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Categories // Blogging Tags // guest post

A Three-Year-Old Noob?

02.17.2011 by Ray Niekamp // 14 Comments

February 18. That’s the day I put up my first post on Bike Noob.  Three years ago.

Unbelievable. A blog I started just to get a feel for writing a blog has turned into something that I would be hard pressed to do without. The greatest reward for me in writing this thing is how much I have learned — about blogging, about biking, and about other seemingly unrelated topics.

Certainly, my cycling horizons have broadened in the last three years. I started by just taking bike rides that were a little longer than most of my acquaintances took, and what happened? I started riding with a club (which showed me how much room for improvement there was), I bought a new bike (which is now a not-so-new bike — it’s three years old, too, and I’m looking enviously at other velocipedes — I just have no idea what I want), I started doing organized rides and eventually worked my way up to a century, I did organized time trials (but haven’t gotten into actual bike racing, and don’t plan to), I devoured every book, article, magazine, blog, online forum, Twitter feed, etc.,  I could find about biking (and I’m still hungry for more).

I’m seeing a lot more biking blogs out there than there were when I started. A lot of them are better than this one, and I’m wondering if I can maintain the freshness of my posts with all the “competition.”  But as long as I can stay interested, I’ll keep trying to be interesting.

The best part about Bike Noob, as far as this noob is concerned, is you — the reader. I’ve enjoyed the feedback I get in the comments. I promise to do my part to make this place more two-way than it has been, and try to engage you in online conversations via the comments. I know your time is precious, so when you take a few minutes to add your thoughts to my posts, I truly appreciate it. I’ve already made some virtual friends as a result of this venture — I hope to make more in the coming year.

In the meantime, get out and ride! (And keep the rubber side down.)

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