Motorcycle Blogging - Reflections After One Year

Well it's been a year this month since I started this blog and it's been a heck of ride and a huge learning experience.

The idea to start blogging came to me as a good way to practice writing and the cool thing about it was that someone actually would read the stuff I wrote.

One of the first pieces of advice I got about blogging was that the subject should be something that I really enjoy talking about and could sustain enthusiasm for over a long period of time. If it was readers I wanted then I would need to keep the focus of the blog razor thin.

I made a short list of potential subjects and motorcycling was at the top. One of my favorite things to do is to go on motorcycle rides with my brother in-law and somewhere along the way we would end up in a coffee shop. There we talked about motorcycles, motorcycle adventures we’ve had, adventures yet to come and the philosophy of the road.

So I thought I would continue the conversation through blogging and let everyone interested- in on what I had to say.

But the trick was it had to be interesting enough for people to want to read. Otherwise I might as well just stick to conventional journaling and forget about blogging on the Internet.

I decided to give it a go and see where it takes me. I made a commitment to running Motorcycle & Scooter Talk at Kano's Coffee House for a year and then decide whether or not to continue.

It turns out blogging is way more time consuming than I ever imagined. And I've found it difficult coming up with new things to write about while still keeping within the subject at hand-motorcycles and motorcycling.

Which is why I've decided to expand the focus of Motorcycle & Scooter Talk out just a bit and begin to write a little more about other things, not necessarily directly related to motorcycling but hopefully of interest to motorcyclists.

And feeling restricted by single subject talk, I have a couple of other blogs going such as The Sustainable Earth Project and two more under construction; Further! Boomer News & Views and Hippieland.

But Motorcycle & Scooter Talk has been a lot more positive than negative. I've had a bunch of fun reading and replying to comments folks have left for me, visiting other blogs and leaving comments for them.

I've also found that the experience has been an exercise in self-discovery. Writing has helped me focus on who I really am and made it more clear on who I'm not. I have come to know myself better than ever before.

I've learned both in writing and in my own personal growth, how to adapt without losing integrity, to refine and to re-focus. To keep at it until I know I've done the best I can do.

I’ve come to know that personal blogging for the long haul has got to be a labor of love; it's an act of self-expression, an art with the canvas being a blank computer screen.

The reward has been the satisfaction I get when occasionally I feel that the right words have been put down that shine a light on my soul and reveal my spirit within.

And the big bonus to blogging is the feeling of appreciation I get when someone has read my work and left a comment.

Comments and the number of subscribers Motorcycle & Scooter Talk has are my feedback and inspiration for continuing to write.

And so, all things considered I've decided to give it another year at least and see where the road goes. I hope you all stick with me and come along for the ride!

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