What about St. Catherines...?

Despite what seemed to be an overwhelming amount of social activities especially on our day of rest, we were refreshed when we discovered just how sincere our hosts showed concern for our well being. Everyone wanted to connect in some way with each rider. An unusual discovery occured as we learned just how often our blog sites were being read!

During our celebration ceremony, we discovered just how many people read ALL various blog websites. Because there were so many readers, the time required to "get acquainted" during the celebration ceremony was shortened significantly. Under much different circumstances, it might have been considered rude to suggest to someone you just met that they were not "blogging" often enough. And yet, with so many people reading the blogs, we had conversations like we were all "old" friends. So it was suggested that if comments were submitted more often, it might enhance the overall participation level and response time bloggers blog. This could expand way beyond our immediate support groups as well?

So with some simple survey questions, why did the world-wide Sea to Sea blog readers avoid leaving comments and enhance the desire of cyclists to blog more often? Some readers were unfamiliar with the technical methods on how to submit a comment and some were either shy or wanted to keep their messages private. In any of these cases, it was suggested that during the last six days of riding, it might be fun to expand our friendships and overall number of supporters.

Some cyclists launched some internet tools to measure the amount of "hits" their respective blog sites actually receive per day. Some sites receive over 200 hits per day! Still others monitor our progress using Google maps with "Street View" to get the feeling of the actual ride.

The published book called "Switching Gears" was distributed to attendees who wanted to follow share the trip's route with others. Some of these books were autographed to encourage new sponsor's with a specific cyclists name. This helps any of us feel we have a specific connection and ownership with this whole effort to raise awareness towards poverty and its devasting effects.

Thank you St. Catherines.

Special note...Chris and Joanne, who attend Maranatha CRC, made an extra special effort and assisted me some laundry needs. They actually delivered the laundry to the door of my tent! I missed saying 'Thank you' because we were all attending Sunday nights meeting preparing for tomorrow's ride. So...a special thanks to Chris and Joanne's effort. (Please help Chris and Joane receive word of my appreciation.)

All comments are welcome and encouraged!