Guest Post: Some Come Some Go, A Few Come Back

Some blogs have more readers.  But mine are the best.

To prove that statement is not just an idle boast, I'm going to give today's post to one of those readers.  

If you've been reading this blog, you may also have noticed that one of my more frequent commenters is "Steve A."  He has an excellent blog of his own, DFW Point-to-Point.  In today's post he's going to talk about his experience as a bike blog reader and writer, the bike blogs that have come and gone and some other things he's observed in the decade or so that this genre has existed and in several more decades of cycling.

The Man Himself

So, without further ado, I give you over to Steve:



Some Come Some Go, A Few Come Back
                                              --by Steve A. 

 

I must say I've enjoyed Justine's blog for a few years now. It started not long after my own, about five years ago, but she's been more diligent about posting ever new and interesting topics. In no particular order, I tend to like posts about Mercians (I actually keep my eye open for one nowadays), vintage (I know some readers have a more recent view of "vintage" than Justine and I do) equipment, and some of the less well-known places around New York that I've heard of only here.

During that time, we've both seen many blogs come and go. Recently. I've tended to use her blogroll as a supplement to my own. Lucky for us that our tastes in what to read seem to complement each other rather than strictly duplicate things. Over the time our blogs have been around, I've seen many blogs disappear. I'm sure Justine can think of quite a few as well. I've also seen quite a few pop up and then poop out. Some, like Lovely Bicycle, have become VERY popular and some have simply stayed popular, like Bike Snob NYC. I'm not really sure what possesses people to write blogs. Myself, it's somewhat like a journal used to be. I think Justine works harder. Lord knows where she digs up some of the ancient items I've seen here.

Anyway, as I'm sure she'll agree, we have SERIOUS political differences. For example, I have never been a fan of Chicago Schwinns and I'm otherwise an agnostic about Asia versus Europe versus the USA. I guess that's why I have a Frankenbike. On the other hand, I tend to be a bit more of a drop-bar purist. I guess that's what one gets for growing up with Sloane's book. Still, I like to recall the Rodney King quote of "Can't we all just get along?"

Justine made a number of suggestions. Looking at them, I guess I mostly ignored them in this post, instead thinking about them interminably. HOWEVER, I DID pay attention to them. For example, I've got a book about cycling and traffic planning on order through our local inter-library loan. As a teaser, the author notes that "BoB" (Bikes on Buses) did NOT originate with cycling advocates, but rather found favor with low-traffic bus routes in places like Texas. Hmm.

Still, this is rather an unusual time. You see, TWO blogs seem to have popped back to life this week. They CAME BACK! I had them both in my "hibernation" area, but I saw new signs of life here. I guess some people just have faith. Those are "Rat Trap Press" and "Biking in Heels." I hope that this is some new, early sign of Spring. We shall see.

P.S. Just before I posted this, Steve hastened to add:  "My opposition to American Schwinns does not extend to Paramounts!"