Wednesday, February 17, 2010

MILESTONE FOR BLOG REACHED

Zeke’s Great Smokies 2 Wheeled Adventures reached a new milestone in the wee hours of February 17th. The 5000th visit to the site occurred at 3:24 a.m. Unfortunately, I can’t thank a specific human for the special visit as it was a googlebot crawling the site. However, I can say  a big THANK YOU to the 5001st visitor from Goleta, California, who came via a referral from BikingInLA. The visit occurred at 5:24 a.m.

This blog has been up and running since my first post on Saturday, January 10, 2009. The post was titled A New Year, A Renewed Set of Goals. While starting the blog was somewhat of a lark on my part and to learn more about the power (or lack thereof) of blogs, I must say that 1 year and a month later, I have discovered that through the blog, I’ve become a better rider and, hopefully, a better writer as well. I’ve also been fascinated by the technology of the experiment. I’ve made new friends with whom I have constant contact and have found a medium by which my brother, David, who lives on the west coast,  and I (living in the mountains of Western North Carolina) can enjoy a common activity despite the 2300 miles that separate us physically. My understanding of the world of cycling has been immensely broadened on too many levels to list here.

In addition to Bro Dave and my “best half” Kathy, I received early support and encouragement from Kent Peterson at Kent’s Bike Blog and from Jim Artis at Cycling Experiences. Alan at Ecovelo was kind enough to give me a listing on his blog roll relatively early on as was Tracey at Springfield Cyclist. Dave Moulton was equally gracious in giving me a listing at Dave Moulton’s  Blog. Most recently, I was very pleased to be honored with a link on BikingInLA. As anyone, who participates in this electronic medium knows, building links and cross links to the best sites is a major part of the success of any blog. I can only say THANKS to each of these folks for their support and confidence in my work. I take it seriously that each of you give me the opportunity to expound on my thoughts/rides/observations on your sites.

Of all the help that I’ve received, a very special thanks goes out to Jim Artis as his frequent postings regarding my writing, his suggestions, and his feedback have been of immeasurable help!

So, I fully realize that 5000 visits are mere child’s play in the greater world of blogging. It is a start though and that 10,000th visit cannot occur without having achieved this milestone first. Again, thanks to all those who have helped Zeke’s Great Smokies 2 Wheeled Adventures “ride” this far. I hope you’ll continue to join me as we head down the road!

Sincerely,

- Zeke

5 comments:

Jim Artis said...

Congratulations and thank you kind sir. The best as we head down the road. --jim

Anonymous said...

You're welcome.

But just to be clear, I only link to blogs I read — and I only read blogs I like. So you gotta be doing something right.

Congratulations and keep up the great work.

Unknown said...

Thank you! I hope you keep liking what you read. I hope the snow begins to clear here so the roads will clear so I can write about actually riding again! I may become a mountain bike owner by next winter!

- Zeke

David said...

Congratulations. I missed the post about the $5000 for the person that guesses closest to when your 5000th hit would be. For the record my guess was Feb. 17th 3:24 am! ;-)

Congratulations!

Unknown said...

Thanks! I'm sorry that you missed that post as did apparently everyone else. Of course, I had added my own little twist. You had to predict which bot at which time would be the 5000th visitor. Maybe you can try again on the 10000th visit! :) I'll go ahead and deposit the $5000.00 now into a interest earning account. By the time we get to the 10,000th visit, the pot should have grown to $5,000.02.

- Zeke