Sunday, December 14, 2014

BITU Celebrates 4 years

Wow. That's right. Biking in the Upstate is celebrating 4 years this month. Last year was the first time that this blogiversary was ever celebrated, and I briefly looked back on the successes that have happened. This year I decided to continue the tradition since it's this blog's birthday and its close to the end of the year. Let's take a look back over 2014.

2014 Biggest Upstate Bike News Story:  The Doodle Line Bike Trail Plan completed. The cities of Easley and Pickens worked together over the last couple of years to put together a plan for a trail that would connect the communities by the old "Doodle" railroad line. This is quite possibly the biggest news to his the Upstate since the inception of the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Recent news indicates that this trail may be completed during summer 2015!

2014 Most Visited Blog Post:  Christmas Gift Review: Bontrager AW3 Hard Case Tire. Last Christmas I got a new hard case tire, and was pretty stoked. Hard case tires are great for biking in areas with a lot of road debris. The tires are designed to reduce the frequency of flats, and I can attest to that. They are a bit more pricey then regular tires...but they are so worth it. This post got picked up by Bontrager on Twitter, and I got a lot people interested. It got 306 pageviews, leading this post to my 7th most visited post of all time.

2014 Blog Post with the Most Comments:  The Good, The Bad and The Reality of Clipless Pedals. Several of you had some encouraging things to share with me as I explained my opinions on clipless pedals. I appreciate your encouragement, feedback and the discussion. After six more months of riding, I'm still feeling the same:  I love 'em for the weekend rides, but they aren't as convenient for commuting. I have learned that maybe what I really need is two bikes. One for long rides on the weekend, and other with the gear for commuting. Hey Santa, if you're reading this, take note. (One can dream, right?)

2014 Author's Favorite:  Top Southeast Mountain Biking Trails: Checking Out Tsali Recreation Area. This was a close choice between several different posts, but I really enjoyed the vacation that went along with checking out one of the best mountain biking parks in the southeast. And the pictures in this post are just beautiful! If the idea of a get-a-way weekend in the mountains is something you're thinking about, check out this post. Along with the trails, there are campgrounds, whitewater rafting, great bbq and a smoky mountain train ride near-by.

The fourth year of this blog's life was a fun one to write. I look forward to seeing what the fifth year in 2015 brings!

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