250th post! I question why I blog at all?

The motivation for this post stems from a conversation I had on Friday with a good friend from 2006-2008 who also has a blog. She asked if I still read her posts, and when I replied yes, she was unsure because I hadn’t commented in a while. I explained that I had little to comment on since she’s married, has two kids, and runs less than I do. We’ve lost some common ground, but I like to stay updated. She said she posts less now on Facebook, which I quit using last July.

I thought of my own blog. I started it in 2007 with three posts that year. Tonight would be the 250th post, averaging one post every two weeks. I posted more frequently, but between 2011 and 2013, I had 33 posts or once every five weeks. I had two surgeries and a significant bicycle crash in 2011, which resulted in a concussion. My highest post years were 2008 and 2009, with 73 and 62, respectively.

In this time of self-indulgence, I revisited my two-year-old question: “Why continue with this blog?” I wrote:

• “Bloggers have scant opportunity to collect our thoughts, to wait until events have settled and a clear pattern emerges.  We write about ourselves at a relatively fixed point in this constant interaction with the ideas and facts of the exterior world.  In this sense, the historical form closest to blogs is the diary. But with this difference, a diary is almost always a private matter. Its raw honesty, dedication to marking life as it happens, and remembering life as it was make it a terrestrial log. A few diaries are meant to be read by others, just as correspondence could be—but usually posthumously or as a way to compile facts for a more considered autobiographical rendering. But a blog, unlike a diary, is instantly public. It transforms this most personal and retrospective form into a painfully public and immediate one. It combines the confessional genre with the log form and exposes the author in a manner no author has ever been exposed.”

I don’t blog for others. Sharing my ride is a nice byproduct of documenting my thoughts, including fears and joys. Writing helps me sort out my complex life and makes my craziness seem routine. It gives me purpose and a positive emotional feeling. Unlike a diary, knowing it’s public provides accountability and improves my mental health. I’ll continue past 250 posts; they may become more interesting and allow others to share the ride.

Winter is gone! Regular bike rides to work will become a reality if I stay healthy. There are many benefits beyond financial ones.

 Carry on my friends, carry on!