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BikeNoob 2.0: Boston Edition

06.01.2015 by Scott Jangro // 8 Comments

When I saw that Ray was hanging up the blog, my first reaction was like many of yours: “oh no!”

For years, this blog has been a wonderful mix of personal experiences, education, and advice. And it occurred to me that it doesn’t need to end.

I emailed Ray and asked if he would like to let someone else pull and keep the paceline going strong and in the right direction. He graciously accepted my offer to do so, and here we are.

BikeNoob’s center of operations is moving from Austin to Boston. I hope the guest bloggers will continue this journey with us, and I hope Ray will check in as well.

bike wave.

My name’s Scott, I’m from Boston, 47, and I’m still very much a BikeNoob. I’ve been riding seriously for 3 years. I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve still got lots to learn. Cycling has changed my life.

I’ll be writing a more thorough introduction soon as I get things finalized.

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It’s Time

05.17.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 55 Comments

It’s been awhile in coming, but I have finally concluded it’s time. This is the end of Bike Noob.

I’ve enjoyed writing the blog over the last seven years, watching the page views rise, and fall, and rise again. I’ve gotten to vicariously know some of you from your comments on my posts.

But lately, I’ve been less than enthusiastic when I realize it’s time to write another post. I’ve stockpiled ideas, and pulled them out when I needed them, although more often than not, the blog is a reflection of what I’m thinking about at the time I write it. When I started, I had a plan to post three times a week — Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I stuck to that plan for longer than I thought possible. But sometime in about 2013, I fell out of that routine. Missed a post? Not a big deal — you can write one tomorrow.

Except that when tomorrow came, I’d be in the same blase state as the previous day. Lately, I’ve been going a week without posting anything new. It’s really bad when I go more than a week without posting anything.

But lots of blogs don’t post on a regular basis. I’ve got several of them bookmarked in my feed reader. I wonder if they’ve abandoned their blogs without taking note of the fact. Then, lo and behold, one of them will write something — and disappear for another several months. I don’t want to do that. First of all, the rewards disappear. Page views plummet when new posts don’t appear regularly. I suspect bloggers who put up something every day — even if it’s not really worth putting up — have more traffic than I do. I know I have more traffic than folks who don’t post for weeks on end.

I’ve been able to keep this blog going because of some wonderful help from two guest posters — Jeff Hemmel and Don Blount. Jeff’s a freelance writer from Florida, and Don is a newspaper editor in California. They both started out as noobs like me, but unlike me, they both made rapid and substantial progress in their biking. Their contributions have kept Bike Noob around longer than it would have been otherwise.

I’ve watched my biking evolve over the past few years. Century rides don’t appeal to me anymore, but I love rides in the country of 30-45 miles. I used to train to get faster. Now, I couldn’t care less about that. It’s more about the ride than about the records. I discovered mountain biking — something I ignored for years, but when I tried it, found it to be tons of fun. I don’t worry about the weather anymore — if it’s raining, like it was this morning, I just find something else to do.

I’ve even been getting back to the basics of biking, as they were before MAMILS crowded the roads. I’ve been riding in cargo shorts, with (horrors!) cotton socks. They don’t get saturated with sweat, not by a long shot. I forgot my helmet the other day, and just kept going. Heck, when I was a kid, I’d ride my bike everywhere, and never wear a helmet.

Well, anyhow, all of those things put together have convinced me it’s time to pull the plug. Keep on pedaling, keep the rubber side down. I’ll still be on the roads and trails with you — you just won’t be hearing about it from me any more.

[UPDATE: While the author has stepped away, the blog will continue. Read more…]

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Another Year!

02.17.2015 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

glassThe fine folks at WordPress tell me this is my seventh anniversary as a blogger.

Many thanks to all of you who continue to stop by to read my occasional entries, and to offer always interesting and fun comments. I’ll try to keep things moving along in the coming year.

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