Thursday, July 7, 2016

When a blog dies......

I like to read up on all things motorcycles and I happen to follow quite a few moto blogs out there on the interwebs, whether they be on blogger, wordpress or other platforms. I also happen to follow a few Vloggers on youtube like RJ and Adjrian Nickelodean and a couple of others.

Some of the blogs I follow are quite active and post up new posts everyday and then others like myself only post up every couple of weeks or so. I notice some blogs haven't been updated for 8 months or 12 month or sometimes 1 or 2 years. I recently last year found a young Aussie blogger from Adelaide called Riding with Ash, to which I subscribed to and read all of his posts some of which were quite well written. He rode a Yamaha MT-09 naked bike.

Here's a quick pic of his blog, link is above.

Riding with Ash



There are not a huge amount of Aussie blogs but when I find one I usually subscribe and see whats going on in other Aussie riders worlds. This was a fairly new blog and it started out very quickly with regular posts then it stopped again as quickly as it started. I often wonder why a blog will go along then suddenly stop with no new posts. Why are there no more posts???? Did the blogger get bored with it, did they not get the attention on their posts that other social media platforms provide an instant response and gratification from like facebook, instagram etc, did it become a chore rather than an enjoyable thing, have their live's become so busy with the real world that they no longer have the time to post? The possibilities are endless.

What ever the reasons they can be many and varied but I am always left wondering. Geoff at Confessions of an Aging Motorcyclist put up a post to let his readers know that the blog wouldn't be receiving any more updates because of his hectic social life, how hectic can a 68 year old's social life be anyway? But at least he never left anyone hanging, on what happened.

Now where is this all going I hear you all thinking. Just the other day I came across a Moto Vlogger on you tube called Snarkies Vlogs. He is another young kid from Adelaide in his early twenties who rides a Kawasaki ZX-6R and is a bit of a genius at video editing. From one of his particular vlogs I learnt a startling revelation that came as a complete shock. Snarkie was talking about a lot of riders crashing in the Adelaide Hills and he was explaining about this one guy that run his own blog called Riding with Ash. Click on the link below and start it at about the 7:50 mark to find out what happened.



Video courtesy of Snarkies Vlogs, no copyright infringement intended

Yes that's right Snarkie goes on to explain in the above video that Ash was killed on his bike while out riding with one of his mates. Such a sad thing to have happened no matter what the circumstances actually are. Now I know the reason why there were no more updates to his blogs. I feel incredibly sad for his young family.

I have also wonder recently about giving away blogging as I've been kind of feeling like I don't have anything else left I could possible say. If that does come to pass and I do hang up the blogging hat then at least I am going to put up one final post to let everyone know that I'm ok and that I'm just giving it away. I would hate for people to wonder what had happened and may fear the worst but hoping that it wasn't so.

To all the riders and bloggers amongst us, ride with care, stay vigilant and have fun and come home to your loved ones.



Cheers


21 comments:

  1. I watched the video. That's a sad story. Tragic.
    I've followed a few blogs where the owner suddenly stopped posting, and I wondered what happened to cause the blogs to stop. On one of them, the family posted about the passing of their son a year after his death in a MC accident. On another blog, no word, no new posts, no new blog... Maybe he found something new in his life? It does make a person wonder.

    I know I'm not as active as a poster as I used to be. Life sometimes gets in the way of plans, priorities and interests change. With my changed interests, I wonder if people will want to read what I post. I started mine a a motorcycle trip blog, but the trips have become much less frequent, and I don't want it to turn into "the farm report", or "cooking from the garden".
    Also, sometimes I'm slow to check on the blogs that I follow, then when I do, I feel odd leaving a comment a month late...

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    1. I'm hearing you Eric. Maybe you want to start a new blog for your farm report or cooking blogs lol. Comment or not to comment sometimes that is the question. Sometimes I have nothing to say so I don't comment but I try to say something if I can.

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  2. Sad story, I feel for his young family. This can happen to all of us, anytime. Wishing you a continued safe and fun journey.

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    1. Yes very sad, may he ride on on the other side and let the wheelies be glorious.

      Be safe as well Sonja and Roland.

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  3. I am happy you are still blogging. Often I too think of not blogging anymore. Something comes up and I'll wonder if anyone is really interested so I don't blog about it, or forget to blog. Just keeping up on reading the ones I follow sometimes is like a part time job.

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    1. I sometimes feel that to write up a post and edit photos and make videos is more like work than fun, maybe I need to re evaluate those posts and make them shorter or just more pictures until I get my mojo back.
      I know what you mean about the part time job, I hardly watch TV anymore as I'm surfing blogs and motorcycle related sites.

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  4. Sad to watch the video part about Ash. I wonder at times about the risks of riding. I got past the most dangerous stage of my riding where I was always testing my skills and machinery.

    A licence suspension was the best thing to happen to me. Went onto moto-x bikes for a couple of years and by the time I returned to road bikes a few things had slightly shifted and I never returned to the local race track roads/speed scene.

    Quite a few guys have collected each other over here on the Izu Skyline which is the Mt Glorious or Putty Rd of Tokyo. Guys running wide or cutting corners, blokes just riding a bit faster than their skill level or route knowledge. That or a car turning in front has to be the highest risks of the weekend rider.

    If I stopped blogging it would mean I stopped riding as well. Not sure what I would do with myself then. Become a train spotter. But I do think of the risks more every ride.

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    1. Iron Chef's blog post reviewing his Yamaha FJR1300 (which I would still consider buying) is a great example of why blogging can be so great, in that it offers real-world analysis and critique that you just won't find on commercial sites, forums or magazines. Those product reviews, along with the travel reports make for excellent reading. Keep on blogging Iron Chef!

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    2. You are absolutely correct Jules, reviews by real world people that spend their own hard earned on items is a much better review than some journo that got the stuff given to them. It's also one aspect I like about bloggers.

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  5. Nice post Steve, quite thought provoking. I think of my blogs as just a scrap book or photo album primarily for myself to look back on in the future. If anyone else like specific posts or pics that's a bonus. However, I know one fella who had been blogging for years and he just to the point where he preferred to post a couple of pics to Facebook whilst he was out riding or on a trip. A smartphone and Facebook make it fast and not time consuming, AND you can have closed groups for specific things. With Instagram and some of the new emerging platforms I can't foresee many of the digital natives getting into blogging actually. As always, ride safe.

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    1. Hi Mate
      My blog has been a bit of a personel journey or diary if you like which has evolved over the last 6 years,its a lot harder to produce good content for the blog. Facebook seems like the easy route but is soon forgotten. There are many good post out there on blogs that I refer back to from time to time, that doesn't happen with facebook.

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    2. Having lived in Adelaide or a few years I am not suprised by the accident. Lots of narrow winding roads in the hills is a motorcycling nirvana. It was the first time I ever wore out the edges of my tyres before the centre! But, those narrow roads lined with Armco barrier one side and an embankment the other are unforgiving. I used to ride with a workmate who was an ex national level racer. Blindingly fast, he apexed corners and I was always left waaay behind. I heard a few years after I left Adelaide that he had had a head on crash with another rider down near Maccelsfield and they were both killed. Sad but not wholly unexpected.
      I agree with Jules. My blog is like a personal diary and if others enjoy it, great. I enjoy other blogs for their road trips and gear tests, plus the odd "cooking down on the farm" posts.
      I have not posted much lately not because I am not doing anything, more that I am doing too much and don't have time. (also, my bike IS in for some non crash related repairs)
      I guess we need to remember our blogs aren't our jobs. They are for pleasure and there is no pressure to punch out a post every few days. Just go with the flow........but blog on. ;)

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    3. Well said, my blog isn't a job although occasionally it feels that way. I'll keep on posting when I have something to post about, haven't been out for a ride lately, just working and family duties has kept me busy.

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  6. Hi Steve,
    Kind of you to mention about stopping my blog - it was over a year after that notice before I started blogging again, albeit a bit patchy. You cheeky bugger, my wife says I have the mentality of a 5 year old so real age doesn't come into it :-) . I actually started blogging for the family as none of them knew my earlier days on 2 wheels and then it sort of gained a life of its own. As well as being busy, I was acutely conscious of nor wanting to bore anyone. After the break, there were a few different things to report on but have tried to keep the frequency down. I really hope you'll keep blogging from time to time as I love your posts. However, it's your blog and if you want to take a break or post less, do whatever floats your boat as ultimately, we do it for ourselves.

    I'm currently in Fiji and will stick up a few photos and comments on the blog next week. Then there might be a gap and I'm cool with that and so should you be with yours if you feel you need a break. I certainly don't get bored with yours, neither with the half-dozen others which I always read.

    Great post mate - something which most of us chew over from time to time.

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    1. heh heh hope you didn't mind being the butt of my jokes. I will keep blogging and the frequency will vary as does yours, I guess as long as I have something to blog about or something to say it will remain for now, but if I do decide to stop I know I will definitely let everyone know.

      Enjoy your time in Fiji ya lucky bugger, we are in the depths of winter and you are hamming it up on a tropical beach at 28°C. Bastard.

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    2. Yeah, I chuckled and thought that was cheeky too.
      Don't worry Geoff. I just found a big box of long lost motorcycling photos with many showing a young Chillertek. Let the fun begin.

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  7. yeh your right and I am in that lot that dont post enough
    will try to rectify it lol


    hows the bike going now gearbox wise as in no issues

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    1. HI mate
      Sorry for the late reply.
      Gearbox is going ok, haven't really had a chance to get out for a ride lately. Just been busy

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  8. dont worry chiller wreck.... as long teres alcohol and bikes there shall be plenty more stories ..

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