Has It All Been Said?
Compared to the vast world of blogs out there in the internet universe, those directed at cycling are rather small in number. With that said, however, I really can’t believe just how many cycling blogs there are. Through the development of the Crank Cycling Blog Directory, I’ve been able to see just how many great cycling blogs exist….and every day I seem to be introduced to more.
With all those cycling fanatics spending their days blogging, you’d think that everything that could ever be said about the topic has already been told. You know what? You’re almost correct. Let me put it this way…..I once planned to write a post about celebrity cyclists, and within a couple minutes of searching the subject, I discovered that Cozy Beehive, Cyclelicious , and Ibike had all already done this….and done so quite nicely. So I moved onto option #2 for my post that day.
Then there was the time I wrote a post about spitting while cycling, and a few weeks after publishing it I came across an archived article by Fat Cyclist on the very same subject. Just recently I wrote a post dedicated to my wife. Now, I knew going in that I couldn’t be alone on this one…but what I didn’t realize was how close the proximity would be to some others on the subject. Old Guy on Two Wheels wrote one about his wife and their anniversary the night before my post went out, and then Donald’s Daily Draft let me know about a post he did for his wife just a few months ago.
Even though these posts were on similar topics, each of us had our own unique spin and personality, so the content was still very individual. I’m not alone in this semi-duplication. During my constant reading and searching of cycling blogs, I’ve found countless blogs all dealing with the same topic or following a similar theme. Even the same photos can be found on more than just one site, sometimes. Product reviews, tour coverage, rides, equipment, life……within these, it seems hard to find a subject that hasn’t already been talked about. But has it all been said?
The cool thing is that even if I gave the exact same topic to every single cycling blogger out there, I know they would come back with their own approach, style, and feel….making each and every one of them worth reading. I love that. Like many of the other cycling bloggers, I do hope to provide unique content and give my readers a fresh approach. In the hopes of you all coming back for more in the future, I want to provide content that may not be getting airplay on other sites…..or if it is, then adding something to it that makes it worthwhile to read again.
I wonder if any cycling bloggers have written about the commonality of other cycling blogs? What I do know for sure is that within this cycling blog community there is going to be some fantastic posts coming out this week, this year, and far into the future. I’m blogging among the best, and all of us as readers get to benefit from this talent.
No, it definitely hasn’t all been said.
Hey Darryl, I definitely agree with this post. Sometimes its frustrating when I look at all of the other, bigger mountain bike blogs and think “wow, does anyone else need to write ANYTHING?” But like you said, there is always a different viewpoint to provide, a different nuance to emphasize, a slight change to the topic.
I think that’s why bike magazines stay in business: the sport, the trails, and people in general are constantly changing. So I think that’s an important point: if we stay on the cutting edge of change, there will eventually be new things that no one has yet written on, and that’s when an opportunity REALLY opens up for ingenuity!
As I work in advertising when I’m not pretending to be a pro cyclist, I can tell you that there’s no such thing as an ‘original idea’. There are just different takes on it. Same with cycling blogs. As you said everyone will come at it from a slightly different perspective, but it’s also about being reminded of certain things and aspects of cycling from time to time. So even if you think it’s been done before, do it again, but do it your way and it’ll strike a chord with someone. 🙂 Like Bike Noob said earlier, most of us can’t get enough!
You’re absolutely right, my man…..and just when you’re least expecting it of the the cycling bloggers posts something that totally blows your mind. I Love It.
The same thought has made me almost bin my blog several times in the past but then I get inspired again … by an inspirational story of tribulations, courage and success, or a comment on my blog providing hope or support or simply friendship … or a beautifully crafted sentence that summarises the essence of cycling and passion.
I stopped caring about whether it has been said before by others or better because blogging – for me – is a way of building relationships with like-minded people. Like you! 🙂
Darryl, you are not alone in noticing that sometimes we cycling bloggers all write about the same thing at the same time. Sometimes it is spooky the commonality we all have…! For me, this is the one thing that the cycle blog world has made me see the most clearly; that despite the diversity and our many differences (lycra vs ‘normal’, helmet / no helmet, vehicular vs segregration etc etc) that actually we all want pretty much the same thing, that is, more cyclists and safer conditions in which to cycle. How we all get there is part of the joy of the process I guess – there is no right or wrong – but it certainly makes for great reading along the way!
What’s important is that we harness the group movement out there at really important times. For instance, here in London as I’m sure you know we have an issue with cyclists being killed by HGVs. After the last death all of the bloggers got together and agreed to write about the issue at the same time. Because combined we have a huge readership we were able to mobilise quite a few people and really raise the awareness of an issue. That’s the smarts when it comes to blogging, and I’d love to see more of that kind of networking going on between cycle bloggers. Shared insight is a great thing! It doesn’t even have to be for a political ride; you could organise a big ride, like Bikehugger’s mobilesocials, or whatever, and it’s a great way for the bloggers to cross-pollinate their sites with one another’s readers and really build a cycling community.
Keep up the great work!
Very well said….thank you.
We truly do belong to a great group of people and all of us are better off having people like you in it.
I once read somewhere that everything about bicycling has already been written (so I guess that’s another version of this post of yours, too). But that didn’t stop me from starting my own blog, or from following a couple dozen in my RSS reader. Each writer has a somewhat different take, even on an issue that has been covered often, and for that reason alone, they’re worth reading. Besides, I think we tend to soak up biking info like sponges, so for most of us, we can’t get too much.
It can never all be said.
I try to divide my posts into three basic types: Ride Reports, Technical, Social
* Ride Reports will be different every single time. Even the way the wind blows and the air tastes is different on each individual ride. You can never duplicate the same ride twice. So these have never been written and they are full of original pictures and maps to encourage other riders to explore the same places.
* Technical Reports can be found everywhere. I try to draw from a pool of knowledge and experience, including my own, to help educate my audience so they can find the info in one place. Sometimes the reports are from my own testing and others I collect from all over. If a reader comes by to see a ride report, then they might have questions about technique or what type of equipment people are using.
* As I ride I pass some interesting and unique places. I try to include a little historical and ethnological background for the reader to help them get more out of otherwise pretty pictures. Discussions may range from government policy, social theory, ideology, (post) colonial theory, architecture and much more. These posts really add depth to a ride and can help fellow riders learn to view their rides differently. What was once just a building becomes filled with symbolic meaning.
There is so much more to say to add depth and meaning to our imagined community of cyclists. It adds to the body of literature and information that creates a vivid picture of “cycling”.
Keep writing!
Nice…..This is exactly why we as cycling blog readers are the luckiest out there. What a great comment. You’re a good man, Andrew.
I like that there is such a network where – although we might talk about the same things – there is that commonality where another view might be presented, or another example, or an option that we never thought of, or something else entirely. It’s not all preaching to the choir, even if it is about bicycling – but it is a common thread that holds all our ideas together. It’s got “forward-moving” written all over it.
Yeah, we’re definitely a part of the best blogging community. I’m really digging everyone I’ve met through this website as well as social media…..great people. Thanks for dropping in and leaving your comments. Forward Moving is so right.
My reintroduction to cycling after a 10 year gap was primarily motivated by weight loss. (Google Frank Kinlan, the Daddy of UK weight loss cycling/blogging.) What I wasn’t expecting was just how motivational the Fat bikers blogging community is and as we’re all trying to do the same thing I expected repetition in the Blogging. Wrong! There’s as many angles on “Fat biking” as there are Bloggers. Vive la difference! I’m 10 months into my new cycling life of weight loss and good health and the 4st 3Ibs (59Ibs) of fat lost is down to my Blogging Peers as much as me!