Five years and one day

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Goodness, I just noticed that I've been a member here for five years. Originally, I just blogged a few times because I was posting elsewhere, although Erin was kind enough to give me author status based on my other efforts.

Eventually, in the July of 2007, I began writing a blog about getting soaked while out on my bike. It was such a sensual experience, the coldness of the rain, the sunshine, the thunder and lightning, that I wanted to record it to understand it. Instead I fictionalised it, and still am. Who'd have believed sixteen hundred and fifty episodes later, I'd still be writing it and that it seems to have so many regular readers. I'm sure there are loads who wish I had blogged it instead.

Originally, I wrote it directly on the website, then lost several episodes over connection failures, so I resorted to writing and pasting it. It's still written and posted most nights as soon as I've wrtten it it goes up, so is as spontaneous as I can make it. The only formula I use is to follow the new episode on from the previous one to try and maintain continuity. I know I make mistakes, some are howlers, but on the whole it flows reasonably well and those who reckon they could do better, are welcome to try. 1250-1500 words every night - it's not easy, but with Bonz and Whizz, we make a formidable team.

It's been an eventful five years, and I hope my skill as a writer has developed, I've tried several types of genre to try and create a flexible approach. Mostly it's succeeded insofar as it was enjoyed by enough people to make we want to keep trying.

Thanks to Erin and her team, to all my regulars and any new readers who get enjoyment from my ramblings and take time to let me know. Thanks to my friends here and elsewhere who support my writing with encouragment and some constructive criticism. Thanks to the Bike archiving team, whoda thought someone would want to preserve it - still as long as they don't want to pickle me, I suppose it's a good idea.

I look forward to the next five years, who knows what that will bring - surely not episode three thousand and odd!

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Comments

I'm just one ...

of the many who will continue to look forward to our (almost) daily dose of bicycles and dormeese.

Holly

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Holly

Congratulations!

Well done on spending half a decade hanging around with the rest of us loons almost every night :)

Since one or two people may possibly be reading this who know what a wiki is and aren't afraid to edit one, I'll take the opportunity to do a plug and point out there is a Bike Wiki in dire need of some editors...


As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

Hah beat you

kristina l s's picture

Just over 6 in my case.... But then if I look at kudos or button thingies or actual scribblings or volume or... Umm, yeah I'm just a wee bit behind, cough splutter. I can toss off a story fairly quickly if I'm so inclined, but damn I am absolutely amazed at how you do Bike almost every night and keep it interesting and coherent, well relatively, Hah. Not to mention other stuff. Maybe I should get a cat, puppy's not too interested in the laptop, though that might be a good thing, it's possible she's smarter than I am.

Keep on scribblin' Ang.

Kristina

Not sure why you need to thank us.

I mean, we should be thanking you (and do, regularly) for writing things for us to enjoy.

Thanks!

BW


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

In congratulations!

Andrea Lena's picture

None of this is mine; hopefully it's amusing enough to paraphrase. *

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Westmoreland:

O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those women in England
To ride with us to-day!

Henrietta:

What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
No, faith, my coz, wish not any man from England.
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this ride,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made,
We would not ride in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to ride with us.
This day is call'd the feast of Dunstan.
She that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will yearly on the vigil feast her neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Dunstan.'
Then will she raise her leg and show her scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Dunstan's day.'
And she'll remember, with advantages,
What feats she did that day. Then shall the names,
Familiar in her mouth as household words-
Maiden Rock Hill, Bay City Plummet,
Sturmey and Archer, Raleigh and Dunelt-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
And Saint Dunstan’s Day shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of sisters;
For she today that rides her steed with me
Shall be my sister; be she ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle her condition;
And cyclists everywhere now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold themselves cheap whiles any speaks
That rode with us upon Saint Dunstan’s day.

*adapted from The Reading
http://www.uscoles.com/2007Blessing.pdf

  

To be alive is to be vulnerable. Madeleine L'Engle
Love, Andrea Lena

I've just started Bike

I'm up to chapter 93, so I got a long ways to go, but I'm enjoying it very much.

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874

Wendy Jean's picture

And leaving comments every step of the way. You and Angharad are probably going to be the only readers, for a while at least.

nah...

I'm on 188

Abigail Drew.

Here,s to episode three thousand and beyond

I,m one of those who read Bike everyday that it is posted.If it skips a day I feel as if something is missing from my life.I do not begrudge the author her days off ,far from it,I think she deserves them.Bike has become part of so many peoples lives who like me dont normally comment but enjoy it nonetheless.A heartfelt thank you to Angharad for giving her time to entertain us with her wonderful family and long may it continue.

devonmalc

Okay, Angh...

I'm trying to write in a similar, sort of 'freestyle' fashion. All right, I can't seem to match your consistency, but I'm trying!

I only have one question. How in the world do you get Bonzi and Whizz to help you? I've tried to get Madison and Bonner to help me, and all I get is gibberish-quite frequently as I'm working on a chapter. I believe they want to help, because they seem almost magnetically attracted to my keyboard.

Congratulations on your fifth "aniversarry", and please, never stop writing? EAFOAB has become almost an institution, and has brought me joy, pain, wonder and frustration, and I'd like to see a lot of authors say they can do that.

With Love,
Wren

What a concept...

Episode 3,000 of Bike! WOW. I can understand your trepidation.

You take on some pretty significant issues while spinning your yarns. For this, as well as the pleasure I get in reading them, I thank you.

So long as you enjoy writing them, I suspect you'll find me among those sitting at your feet (okay, not quite) listening to your stories (okay, reading them after you post them, but the other sounds better, to me.).

Thank you!
Anne

Happy five years and counting!

And I'm looking forward to Bike 3000 and all the episodes in between.

Give Bonzi and Izzy a scratch behind the ears from me.

Kris

{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}

It varies

Angharad's picture

If the story line is clear then an hour - I write quite quickly, most of the time. If it's more complex, up to two hours. I have done it in front of friends who were staying with me, and have one staying next week. So Bike has cost me between 1600-3,000 odd hours to produce. Add my other stuff here, and I suppose it works out at about 5,000 hours. So I give approximately 1,000 hours per year to readers here - still nowhere near as much as Erin.

Angharad

Five years and one day

Maybe Cathy will have misadventures posted by others

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

Immortal Words

JC (that's the big Julie): Veni, Vidi, Vici [I came, I saw, I conquered]

Angharad: Veni, Vidi, Velcro [I came, I saw, I stuck around]

And hey, we're so glad you did, Ang. Your contribution here has been immeasurable.

Positive Statements

Veni, Vino, Vomitus?

Veni, Vino, Vomitus?


I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.

Thank you Angharad,

I have read the lot and will keep reading,but somebody else posting Cathy's misadventures?
"Not bloody likely" ,you,Cathy and Bike are now a BCTS institution and God help anyone
trying to horn in on it,so I can't see that happening.God bless you.

ALISON

Why not ...

Why not three thousand and odd? (And they're not odd dear lady, they're GOOD!) (Or they're odd and good.)

OXOXOX

Bev.

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As The Soap Turns

You're in rarified territory, Angh, sneaking up into the episode count regions of the longer-running soap operas on radio and television, and while a couple of them have 50 years head start on you, they've used teams of writers to get there, and only do 5 episodes a week. You've clearly demonstrated a level of talent, perspicacity, and sheer dedication far beyond what any of us lowly, unpaying readers deserve.

I would actually hazard to guess, that if you wanted to write broadcast serial fiction for a living, you've got a portfolio now that would certainly get you a look-see. IMHO, "Bike" has been better than most of the crap on daytime TV. But, I suspect the type of crap they would want you to write for daytime tv would be less fun to write than Bike seems to be.

If you keep enjoying it, we will, too!

___________________
If a picture is worth 1000 words, this is at least part of my story.