Happy 5th Anniversary To Me!

5 years ago, today, this blog was born and a journey of discovery, filled with many new friends, began.

My 1st post was a reprinting of a Letter to the Editor I had once written to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, in Pomona CA., the city I lived in at the time.

It was called BICYCLIST TO CAR OWNERS: CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?

A few days later I wrote a picture filled series of posts introducing myself to my hoped for audience:

WHO AM I?...AND HOW LONG HAVE I BEEN IN THE SADDLE?

I began at Blogspot, moved to MovableType, then Typepad.

In 5 years I have written 918 posts covering News, Issues, BikeBloggers, Websites, Product Reviews, Bike Ride Adventures, and more.

132,887 visitors and counting have explored this blog and all it has to offer. (An Average of 125 Unique visitors a day, sometimes more.)

There have been 668 comments left by readers.

BikeBloggers and a few other Bloggers have Trackbacked 66 times, and many BikeBloggers have added me to their Blogrolls.

I have been acknowledged as the inspiration to start Blogging by a few of the best BikeBloggers in the world, a legacy that means more to me than I can ever express in words.

I've had informative, sometimes heated, debates with some prominent folks in the Cycling Community, and in Politics, and some with ordinary cyclists  as well, all of which I've shared, and which sparked discussion in the Comments.

I've been interviewed by a local newspaper and been mischaracterized by a columnist for another, and corresponded with local, national, and international journalists.

I've been consulted by the writer of a book and been quoted in said book (See link in Sidebar).

I get e-mails from Cycling Activists and ordinary cyclists, asking questions, or giving me heads up on something.

The rides I've shared here are many, as are my opinions and creative writing efforts.

Thank You, each and every person who has visited, commented, and e-mailed.

Thank You to all who have Blogged about something I've written, or written about me in other media, and who have me in their Blogroll, or receive this Blog as an RSS Feed.

To those I call friend...Thank You for your friendship, and encouragement, it means more than I can say.

In honor of this Anniversary I've created a Special Page, listed in the Sidebar (Over the coming year other Pages will be added if I have an idea for 1.):

It celebrates 5 years of Blogging by listing the 101 Best Stories from the past thus serving as a way for newcommers and longtime readers, alike, to explore the best of my writing at their leisure.

I apologize for the temporary odd look of the page, a matter of my figuring out how to update old HTML in the template so as to correct the problem.

Enjoy:

Cycling Dude 101: The Best of My 1st 5 Years of BikeBlogging