Should You Blog About Your Bicycle Tour?

As technology improves, the traveling cyclist continues to increase his arsenal of high tech devices that allow him to both keep in touch with the outside world and stay entertained while out on the road.

Today, I want to talk about blogs and how you can use them to document your bicycle tour(s) and keep in touch with people while you travel.

What is a blog?

According to Wikipedia.com, a blog is “a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. “Blog” can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.”

You might be interested to know that this article is posted on a blog. You might also be interested in checking out my personal blog at www.darrenalff.net.

Why should you blog?

For one, blogging is a great way to keep in touch with your friends, family members, co-workers, and the people you meet while out on the road. A blog allows you to share stories from your travels, post photos, and even add audio or video.

A great thing about a blog (versus a regular website) is that you need little or no knowledge of website design in order to get started. Once you learn how to insert photos and make basic formating changes, you’re set to go!

Blogs are also great for the traveling cyclist because you don’t need any special software to use them. You can make changes to your blog from any computer in the world. Because you don’t need you own computer to make updates, a blog can eliminate the need to carry a computer on your bike tour.

Here are a few others reasons you might want to start blogging about your bike tour(s):

 Having a blog gives you a way to express yourself.

 Blogging gives you and your bike ride exposure (which is extremely important if you are doing a bicycle tour for charity or promoting a particular event or product)

 Keeping a blog will force you to become more knowledgeable about the areas you are visiting.

 Blogging helps to improve your writing and communication skills.

 Blogging puts you in touch with people from around the world.

 A blog can actually earn you money! (I’ll talk about this in more detail in a future article)

 Blogging lets you share your knowledge.

 And finally, keeping a blog is a great way to stay motivated while you are out on your tour. When people are reading your blog and commenting on your material, this can be a great motivator and will push you to keep going.

So, how do you get started?

For a step-by-step breakdown of everything you need to do in order to get started blogging, check out Darren Rowse’s article: “Blogging Tips For Beginners.”

More blogging tips can be found at www.ProBlogger.net