100k views. Thanks

Some time today, one of you will account for the 100,000th page view, here at Bikewriter.com. I guess that's small potatoes for the commercial web sites that aspire to replace the motorcycle magazines, but it's still a lot of visits for a private blog.

Writers write for all kinds of reasons. Some seek fame; the really delusional ones, fortune. But mainly, writers write in order to be read. I'm really gratified that people have followed a link somewhere, ended up at bikewriter.com and at least briefly lingered on some post I wrote a hundred thousand times.

One thing I learned when I started blogging on the old RoadRacerX web site was that it was hard to predict which posts would really get traction with readers. Sometimes, I'd submit one and think, "Phew, that's a stinker, but it's Wednesday night and I've got nothing else to submit," and the post would generate all kinds of positive email. Other times, I'd polish something I thought was a real gem, and get no feedback at all; I might as well have put a message in a bottle.

After the demise of Road Racer X (both magazine and web site) I started doing this on my own. Gradually, I stopped trying to hit a regular Thursday deadline; I now write whenever I'm moved to do so. Sometimes it's daily, sometimes it's weakly. And with no one to ride herd on me, the posts are probably a little wilder. I still can't believe that people took that 'Stoner in a league of his own' story seriously! At least one post lost me a friend. And any month now I expect to apply for a media pass at some event only to be told I've been blacklisted. (Maybe that should be a goal.)

Some of the most-read posts were bittersweet for me, notably 'Make Noise for Marco Sunday.' I wish I'd never had that to write about.

I guess the most gratifying aspect of all this is that about 1% of you don't just read a few posts, you click over and buy a copy of Riding Man, too. Effectively, that pays (just) enough that Mary lets me keep devoting time to this project.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll be back from my vacation any day, and (ir)regular posts will resume. Lots of interesting things have been happening to me, motorcycle-wise, and I've been meeting some real characters. So check back soon.

Thanks again,