Showing posts with label action wipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label action wipes. Show all posts

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Keywords, Action Wipes & Bikejuju

OK, so the purpose of this post started out simply - to win the free Action Wipes in the Bikejuju contest. Having just linked back to Bikejuju I could stop right there and qualify per the rules of the contest, but who would link back to Bikejuju for only selfish reasons? Why would someone so carelessly break with the long-standing Blogger's Code?

That would be wrong.

So let me say this. I am already an Action Wipes user! Love them - a great product to address the aromatic embarrassment when you say, "Hey! I rode my bike into work today!" And your co-worker says dryly, "I know..." I have two packs sitting right over there on my shelf here at work - got them after Bike Skirt gave them their seal of approval. Now I don't really need any more Action Wipes right now, so if I win I am going to donate them to charity (though I need to discuss the tax implications with my CPA).

So Bikejuju, you might as well start addressing those babies to me here at Bike Date HQ, 'cause there's a stinky armpit out here in CA just waiting to be neutralized by those sweet, sweet Tea Tree oils and other magical salves and poultices.

But here's the thing - the thing that makes makes this post more than just a suck-up to Bikejuju. This contest is what is called (in common parlance) "a cry for help". We bloggers are out here posting, often several times a month, in an act of pure self-sacrifice, expecting nothing in return. Well actually there seems to be one common thing we'd like, and that is some sense of who the hell reads this stuff? This contest is that lonely blogger's cry for help - a quid pro quo: Let Bikejuju know you are out there in a verifiable way, and you can wipe away his sense of isolation and leave a mild-but-tingly eucalyptus scent!

And he is not alone in this. I am able to see how many hits I get a day (anywhere from 40 to 100 believe it or not) and other odd details about the traffic here at Bike Date. Because aside from the random commenter, I would otherwise have no idea. And I learn interesting things. Things like putting the terms "dildo" and "bike" in a post will pump up your blog's traffic.

My inclusion of those terms was innocent enough - I had no idea there actually is a "dildo bike", or how many individuals are out there telling their Google, "I would very much like to see videos of this unusual bike!" (I'm guessing about 40 to 100 a day). From my site's stats, I can see that these folks hail from many far-off places, like Kalamazoo, Michigan; Rapid City, South Dakota; Brisbane, Queensland; Manchester, Michigan; Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; Ajax, Ontario; Corvalis, Oregon and even Efshahan, Iran! The dildo bike diaspora.

From his search keywords I saw that an industrious chap in Minot, North Dakota was wondering how to make a dildo bike, while Deseranto, Canada stood out for searching ‘free bike dildo videos’ - I guess up there in the land of universal health care they think everything should be free...

Here is a graph of recent searches leading to the Bike Date site in order of volume:

So the Giant Suede is currently edging out the others, but as always the various combinations of "bike" and "dildo" are holding steady. I see that "bike with dildo" just barely beat "cute bike seat", and I hope that doesn't mean they may have been sent to the same urls - I doubt that would have ended well.

So here's the real point. Yes, you can cynically link back to Bikejuju to try to steal the Action Wipes from me (and as I said I'll donate them to charity, which I don't expect to be praised for unless you feel strongly about it). But what we really want is a sign, some small sign that you exist, that you care. (No not you 74.168.135.101 , I know what you're here for...)

So if you made it this far, leave a comment. Even just one lone character from among the qwerty choices. Something. Or do I need to offer a free dildo cozy to make it worth your while?

Don't tempt me.

Friday, April 10, 2009

My Hothouse Flower - the perfect commuter bike

OK, so I finally solved the riddle - what bike would be perfect for my bike commuting needs? And while it hasn't solved every issue (like I can't tow the bike trailer with it, and it's not a minimalist, single-speed hipster steed), this bike has solved many of them in a truly environmentally sound way - since it's one of the two bikes I already own!!

I know that the bike world can be consumed with the need for the new (well maybe that's more about me...), the need for the super-specific fit between bike technology and bike use, the need to not just be heard, but seen... But isn't not buying anything the truest form of minimalism?

So here's how I commute now. On this - my road bike.


It's been waiting for me patiently all week, pining for the time to free up for that weekend ride to Palos Verdes, kept from the pedestrian chores of errands and my cruise to work like some hothouse flower. Finally I just went, "Crap, I LOVE riding that bike. I should ride it everyday! Why in God's name would I leave that bike at home?"

Now admittedly, I'm not going to leave this bike parked outside some bar for hours while I pound back Jeagers with visual effects data-crunchers from DD and their data-crunching girlfriends (actually anyone that knows me knows I'm exactly 100% more likely to be in bed by 8:30 watching the Daily Show with my lovely wife...). Yes, this bike needs a little love. But my commute isn't filled with hardcore curb-jumping or wheel-tacoing potholes. If it can handle the weekend road-miles it can certainly handle a couple miles through West LA to work. Right?

Obviously, when the confluence of desire and dollars meet somewhere down the line in a lusty surge of materialism, I will succumb. I'm human, after all. But until then you'll see me, waiting for the light to change at Olympic & Centinela, in pin-stripes and wing-tips, clipped in to a logo-encrusted road machine, with my laptop on my back (and a pack of Action Wipes waiting for me next to the Avid...)