Thursday 11 September 2008, Friday.3 days before I have to take my plane home .. confusion. Since Paul from Orange County did not return my phone call today, I decide to call Simon from Yuma to tell him I changed my mind and that I would descend tomorrow and would be in Yuma around midday, Saturday. I camp in the state park of point Mugu, just north of Malibu and choose a site next to a German Mercedes truck, more or less Unimog style. Nobody is there, a bike that has his place on the back of the truck is parked nearby. I expect some young adventurers, now surfing on the beach. But suddenly a nearly bald man comes out and we have a quite interesting conversation. I hear a wife is hidden in the truck. I will only get a glimpse of her, sitting in the passenger seat the next day when they leave. In stead of showing me his truck, he gets his computer and shows me pictures of the inside. I suppose and hope this couple is an exception, but what an amazing contrast with the extraordinary openness and hospitality I have met in the last 2 months. He also proudly announces me he will make an extra cup of coffee in the morning, but that promise does not materialize. But the coffee exists because he walks over in the morning with a huge, good smelling cup in his hand.
So with a not so nice end of this fantastic journey in mind, I prepare for the tough ride through the Friday traffic of LA. I return to Malibu to get fuel and when done, a guy in his thirties, with a large tattoo on his leg, comes over . All the way from Canada he while looking to the maple flag sticker on the front. No, from Belgium and at the end of my 12000 miles Alaska journey, but I am in hurry because I have to ride to Yuma to try to store my bike. Some hesitation during seconds... But I can store your bike. And he walks to his van where some 4 tattooed guys are waiting : Las Posas, a locally owned and operated painting company in big letters on the back of the van. I just have to put my man on the job and in 10 min I will be back and show you my house, my family, my business. Your bike will be save because I cannot ride a bike anymore for a long time... got 2 DUI over the last 10 years.
Why not give it a try, will see his house and family and I can still take off later. So while I have a coffee at the nearby Starbucks, Vincent returns after 10 min and he takes me to his house in a clean neighborhood. (Camarillo-Ventura). We leave the bike in front of his house, with the helmet and all my stuff on it...It's ok, nobody here will touch anything in front of Vince's house. Waw, impressive. And off we are to his office, then to a house where he has to give a proposal, to another house to pick up a signed contract, which I have to read completely, to an ongoing job where his 2 guys need paint, to a paint shop to buy the paint. Meanwhile he is on the phone, goes through his papers to find the house, and tells me his story. Ex hell's Angel, drug dealer, but now a hardworking entrepreneur taking care of his family. I like the guy, his enthusiasm and his f..cking redneck talk . Out on the way to his appointments he makes a detour and stops in front of a liquor shop. And he takes some time inside. My heart accelerates. I realize I have no clue where I am, somewhere in the suburbs of LA, no idea how to get back to my bike and sitting in the van of an ex(?) heavy boy. But it is all ok and he takes me to a Motel 6, which I have to refuse him paying for, and leaves me for the day. Tonight I cannot take care of you, but tomorrow my brother will pick you up for a ride and at midday I have a BBQ for your at my place. And that is the last thing I saw of Vincent. Anyway, I already had taken the decision to accept the invitation of the FIT representative in LA to store the bike at his house. At 7pm the phone rang : Paul from Orange County. The call I had expected the day before. They had just arrived home from Cambria. In the beginning I thought it was Paul from Palmsprings, one of my 3 biking buddies on Highway 101, who had proposed to help me with storing the bike in a storage park near his place.
At 8pm Claude from Moro Bay called me to tell that the son of his friend in San Diego was enthusiastic about the idea of receiving a GS traveler. Without hesitation I called imediately Gaspard. It felt nice to speak French after 2 months of American. Gaspard simply told me that he was expecting me the next day.
To make it short : the bike is stored in a garage in between a 30y old Bentley and a Porsche 914, and I spend an excellent weekend with extremely friendly Gaspard and Breea. We closed the weekend and the 17.500km journey in the best Sushi place I have ever been. Breea promised me that she would convince Gaspard to accept my offer to take her out for some weekends on my bike. They also promised not to clean the bike. I like the Alaskan flies on the windscreen.
Last ride today. To San Diego. Is there any other country in the world were you will find 5 places to store a huge dirty bike for unknown months for a total stranger, and this in 3 days. Just by answering the people who will talk to you while you stop somewhere, and ask you where you come from. When you tell them that you are at the end of a 18000km journey and that you are looking now for a place to leave your bike, you see on their face that they are searching intensively their mind in which way they can help you out. Amazing. Slept in a Motel 6 that I had to refuse from being paid for by Vincent who picked me up at a gasstation in Malibu, and took me to his house to show me where he would put the bike. I was ready to ride the 600 miles to Yuma where Simon was waiting for the bike. Paul from Orange County, whom I met in Cambria called at 8pm to tell me that he was home and was waiting for me. Claude (french) from Templeton, whom I met in Moro Bay while cleaning the fish he took in the morning, called me at 7pm to tell me that his friend Gaspard in San Diego would like to store the bike in his garage, next to his 7 cars and 2 bikes. And the FITm colegue of my wife, in LA was waiting for my phone call too. Ready now to pack a last time the bike, first time out of a motel room in 3 weeks, and prepare mentally for the crazy transit of hwy 101 and interstate 5. Hope saturday will make it less of a struggle.
Got one of my best days, yesterday. Slept in Pheifer Big Sur Park and road the 26 mi back to Monterey because I wanted cell phone coverage and south there is nothing for the next 90 miles. I followed Ocean Av and hit a very exclusive suburb of Monterey (Carlisle?) Spectacular beach, very chique shops. While looking for a croissant and a coffee I ran into Joseph and Sandy from Santa Barbara (met them the day before). The road south of Monterey is surely one of the most scenic and biker friendly that I did on the whole trip. Talked for the first time in 2 months with some europeans, the mayor of the german twin city of Zolder, more germans, danish, dutch. 70% of the people on Highway 1 are europeans, and 30% of them drive a rented mustang convertible. Usd 1300 for 2 weeks. But apart from some rented RV's, you will not meet them on the park campgrounds. In Cambria, I parked the bike while looking for internet, and Paul come over for a talk. I told him I was a little worried to find storage for the bike... only 5 days left. He called over his wife and said.. Honey, we can store that bike, do we? So apparantly my problem is solved. They live in Orange County, LA
Stayed at the San Simeon state park, campground nearly empty. My lovely neighbours, 3 very well humoured ladies, brought me some vegetables and fruit. Generosity, generosity.. and again generosity
No time to write, was on the road with 3 bikers from So Cal (as they said themselves), lot's of fun. Vancouver, east to Ossyoos (camped with Peter and Michael), back west to Anacortes (where I staid with Larry and Maggie whom I met in Mexico last year), over the Olympic peninsula south through Washingston state. One day of serious rain. Met Scott, Paul and later Larry on the road in South Washinghton. I am now with David, friend of Zigy, and serious Ducatti rider. Do not know which direction I will go today, but will eventually catch up again with my 3 mates, who are going very slowly down the coast.
Contrary to the weather forecast, I had 3 sunny days. I missed the 10h10 boat in Comox and went back to the village for the new internet Caffee The ZOCALO KAFFEE. Spent 2h updating my blog and talking to Diana, artist, owner of the place and world traveller. At least that's what I call somebody who travelled 1 year with husband and 2 kids in Central America. At 3pm I met Judy and Bob, an older couple (at least older then me) travelling on a BMW RT from LA. Nice ride to Saltery Bay, but since the ferry was at 7pm I stayed in the very beautiful provincial campground nearby the ferry. Excellent salmon burger near the jetty. While setting up my tent I was invited by Lois, a brave and very lovely grandmother from Vancouver travelling on her own in her motorhome. She had a nice fire going and the beer that I was missing. It was a privilege to sleep in between these centuries old cedars and firs. This is real rain forest. At 2h in the morning I crawled out of the tent for the toilet (which was obviously right next to the tent), and it was total darkness. Back in the tent, in my sleeping bag with the broken zipper and under the blanket that Lois had given me for the night, I heard a heavy noise, like from a dog slipping of a plastic surface. I realized I had food in my topcase and if it was a bear, he would push over the bike to get to the food. I hoped a big jumping tent would scare him away. But all went quite, so I suppose it was a smaller visitor. Bought a new sleeping bag in the Canadian Tire, which I thought only sold tires, but is in fact some kind of a canadian Walmart. The rest of the ride down to the ferry in Langdale was wonderful. Make sure to leave the ferry immediately otherwise you have a load of slow cars in front of you, very difficult to overtake on these twisty roads. Slept on the terrace of the house of Lois in Horseshoe Bay (she had called the owner of her appartment to open the door, she had stayed in Powell River). Gorgeous view of the ocean and the coast. Now in Osoyoos, nice Park campground again. Very cold ride through Manning Park, Princeton. But once in the Okananga valley, temperature is back in the 20s. Nice valley. Tomorrow the cascades ride in the north of Washington state, up to Mt Vernon.
I just realize that it was a long time since I did update this blog...Smithers, that seems so far away now. We went back to Quesnel, where Damielle waited for us to ride south together. It was exceptional hot, at least 30C. We hit the rain on the way to Lillooet, driving through a beautiful valley, and by pulling out the rain gear my new Pentax reflex camera hit the pavement... dead. Spoiled the fun. Nice camping, hot shower. Talked with a Swiss couple on 2 BMW 650 GS on the road to Argentina. Young and unexperienced. They payed a fortune for the shipment to Vancouver, had knob tires to ride the south of Canada (could understand if they went to Alaska), had a fishing rod on the bike and tons of fuel. They were not going to cross Center America, but flying from Mexico City to Ecuador. Because to dangerous ???? Danielle left us in Pemberton, and we passed Whistler without going in. Whistler will get the 2010 winter olympics and is the Canadian Sankt Moritz or Aspen if you prefer. The highway to Vancouver is one big building site and becomes spectacular in the last 50 km, when you the water shows up. After six weeks of ice capped mountains and (often dead) forests filled with bear I was happy to see the ocean again. The road indication in Vancouver is a disaster, so I overshoot it by 20km, already on the road to Seattle. A biker put us on Marine Dr, straight to the airport. No cheap motels here. We best we got was Travellodge in Richmond. A half day of shopping for a new camera and a travel bag and some decent cloths for Sofie, and a half day strolling at Granville Island. Vancouver is a very cool city, European feeling, 60% of the population is from asiatic descend. I stayed a little bit disorientated after Sofie left for Otawa, but took of immediately for Vancouver Island. Met John on the ferry, 52y, road his Honda in 5 days from the east through the rain over some 5000km. A real cowboy. He just sold his farm with 65 horses and was on his way to his son living on the east coast of the island. I went to Sooke and camped in the very beautiful campground of Sooke Potholes Park. Sooke is a place where I could live. Scotland style, but better weather. Got approached by a woman who got all exited about the bike. She dreamed of a Long way around, but she had only a 125cc bike. Beautiful ride over the logging roads back to the east coast. The island has not been touched by the Pine beetle. Look it up in Google. Very interesting to read about that catastrophe. Millions of trees have died from Colorado up to Yukon. All global warming. At a gasstation, Eric, 69 years, writer and taxi driver (he also had to eat to live), was over enthusiastic. He had Honda 750 from 1984, he insisted to pay me a coffee at Tin Hortons, and he wanted me to go see his son when I arrived in Tofino. Because, due to the weekend, finding a place to sleep would be difficult in the Park. Beautiful ride to the West, saw 2 bears grazing like horses. Ari was a little bit surprised to see me, and he suggested to go the Mackenzie campground. They always will squeeze you in, he said. True it was, at 46 dollars. The worst place I slept in 6 weeks. 1 toilet, 1 shower, extremely noisy. And, not their fault, rain from the moment I put on the tent. Back on the East coast. Missed my boat to Power River, so had the time to write this. A very nice internet caffee, on the corner of 5th street in Courtenay. greast food. Free computer. Now prepared for 3 days of rain
yesterday, I mixed the word awesome with awfull. Yes, the road to Stewart is AWESOME. And from the junction up Nort, Harley Davidson free. Only BMW GS or Kawa KLR, the real travelers.
Back in Quesnel. The heat wave is still on.. 34C. Tomorrow nice weather to ride to Whistler.
Yesterday was like skying in the Alpes and riding through an African forest. In the morning riding in the cold in between the ice and snow blocks with the glacier some 300m below the trail, and in the afternoon, riding in between two dense green walls, 200km uninterrupted warm forests. We saw 4 bears. Sofie is showing signs of bike fatigue. It' s a good thing that she can step of the bike in 3 days. And it' s a pity that we had no place on the Prince Rupert ferry. That would have saved her some 1000km on the bike, and would have been a 17h boat trip through the inside passage, with exceptional good weather. The inside passage brings you through the many islands on the west coast to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, with views of whales and ancient coastal forests. Today we will ride the 500km return to Quesnel, where we will stay with Danielle, friend of Zigy.
I have no time to reduce the size of my pictures in order to upload them, but here is a travel report of 2 girls who did the same trip, and it says it all.... www.seizethejourney.com/alaska/080507.asp
Back in Smithers, 300km south of Hyder. Went over the 10 000km mark for this trip. 5000 with Sofie. The actual heat wave in the South west of Canada made that we still had very nice and dry weather so far north. We started the day with a 50 km ride to the Salmon glacier (just google it to get some pictures). Impressive. At the way back we had a quick stop at Fish Creek to see another grizzly taking his salmon. The 60 km stretch of coastal mountains south of Hyder/Stewart is a giant freezer with all these glaciers making sure you need a second layer under your jacket. We left at midday, but after 200km we had to take of all the warm clothing. Tomorrow back to Quesnel. No time for uploading pictures
Picked up Sofie in Salt Lake City on the 4th. We cruised and camped nicely through Utah and Wyoming, but by leaving Yellowstone Park I was stopped by a female ranger for speeding. Or she was scared, or she wanted to show her authority, but after asking if I carried a firearm she made Sofie sit down next to the bike, and I had to stay sit on the bike. Ridiculous. She wrote a ticket of $145 and when she gave it to me she said, that since I did not formally apologized, she went through with the ticket. Ridiculous again. The first campground out of the park was closed for tents since there had been a bear attack on a sleeping man in his tent. The camphost explained that we could camp some 5 miles further, but that was no option for Sofie. We found the last room in a nearby lodge. Next day, bad day again : after some 20 km Sofie realized that we lost a bag with rainclothers + second tent. I went twice back on our tracks, and by riding against the upcoming trafic, I touched at 40km/h the guardrail with my left pannier.... we crashed..... we had nothing but the allu box was completely destroyed. No help from the quad dealer in Cooke City, neather from the Harley Davidson riders doing the Beartooth. But we managed to put the pannier back in place, without being able to close it. Any way we are fully recovered from the disaster. We bought a new tent and clothes in Billings and crossed in one day Montana up to Glacier Nat Park. The Beartooth is a spectacular pass going over the 4000m and bringing you in 30 min from 5Celsius to 30C. Glacier park is also very spectacular but we had to return because of the bad weather. I have to leave this message because I am using the computer of the friendly Korean owner of the Flamingo Motel in Cardstone.
Slept yesterday at the most beautifull campground up to now : Dinosaur Nat Monument on the Utah side. Did during the day some 100 km of gravel roads (Walden to Steamboat Springs and Echo Park campground in Dinosaur Colorado side). Dropped the bike nearly 3 times but was lucky. Sublime rides though. Had my first talks with somebody "from the other side" when I asked to change a $20 at a couple sitting in front of their large RV (you must drop the exact amount in an envelope at the gate). They were friendly but asked me immediatly how it is possible that a man so unpatriotic as Obama could eventually become president of the US. They offered me a glass of (very) cheap wine and during our half hour conversation, the Lord was called for help at least 30 times. They showed me the inside of the monster and explained that they had no house for the last 18 years (they were 71 and 74). The television set was on FOX TV, so no change for poor Obama with these people. I politely left to pay my camp fee. Met a jewish couple at the sandwhich bar in Dinosaur (very good vegetarian sandwhich) who were sure of a landslide win for Obama. Wherever I stop, people talk to me about the elections and fuel prices. And today I was strongly invited at home of an american family, dutch/brazilian antecedants, living in Oregon. This is really an amazing country, bringing you every day a new surprise. But I am sure you would not get it by driving around in a car and sleeping in hotels. Like the christian couple said : you are not going to knock on your neighbours door in your hotel to ask for a 20 dollar exchange.
Back in Boulder. The last days have been an alternation between beautifull rides in the Rocky Mountains and visit of the BMW dealerships of Colorado. I must say I lost a good deal of my confidence in the American efficiency. Lost my clutch in the rain in Idaho Springs on the way down to Durango. Over the phone I bought a membership of AAA, who towed me to Denver. Stayed a day with Zigy and Shari and went to see some 20 houses in the region.... this is a buyersmarket, especially for us Europeans. Took off again, direction south, only to return from Lake City the next day, because I lost my clutch again. This time I topped up the clutch fluid myself. Back again with Zigy. The smallest car I could rent was a 3.7l jeep; meanwhile people continue to ask me how many miles a gallon I can do on my bike. On my way back to Denver I got a very nice salad for TWO euro in the Pizza Hut of Fairplay, where a man tried to sell me his house. This is really a beautifull and amazing country. I am thinking more and more that I will not be able to get enough of it in these 2 months, and that I will change my plans by leaving this bike in the US for the next 2 years. I will rather ship my GSA from Europe to Chile. Will try to add some pictures
The last days have been exiting and fun. I must hurry up because the public library in Ester Park only gives 30min of internet access. I went to Boulder to buy a lens for my Pentax and while eating in front of the Wholefoods store (best and most expensive take away food) I met Zigy who saw my bike, and who did what I would do : go and talk to the guy. The sky was very dark and he invited me to his place. Beautiful house, beautiful wife. Generous man, my age, photographer, hates freedom as much as me, and for sure .. rides a GS 1150. By going to the REI shop (an improved and american sized Decatlon or AS adventure) he saw that I had no more tail and brake light. We tried to fix it in his garage but no way. I also met his friend Donald, who was in Boulder for a paramedical course, a man full of humor. It was the first time since I am in the US that I talked politics with Americans. Normaly the first conversation is FUEL. Anyway, very interesting to see how divided the 2 political camps are. Stronger then in Europe. I mean, I have friends with opposite political opinions, no extreme right though, but here in the US that seems less of a possibility. Anyway, the four of us were clearly Obama. Boulder is, up to now, the most pleasant town I have seen in the US. This is Subaru and Prius country, svelte people, bicycles, and mountains. IBM is big here, as well as other well known companies. Next day I rode to Loveland, to have the bike fixed at the BMW dealer : after 2 hours they found that the cabling under the fuse box had come loose. From the rough roads in Mexico. When I arrived in Rocky Mountains Nat Pk at night, all campgrounds were full and I had to drive 50 kms south to a National Forest campground. These campgrounds have a limited number of tent sites and no way to put anything outside the marked rectangle of your site. This also means that the campgrounds are not overcrowded and are very pleasant to stay. In the early morning I went for a 2 hours jogging-walking trip in the park, keeping in mind that jogging was not recommended because of possible attack by mountain lions. I was more or less the first one in the park, and by going higher and higher I did not see anybody. On my way back down, the crowds started to fill the trail. At midday I met, riding the old trail of the national park, 2 canadian brothers on ..... BMW GS. Blair, broker and high roller (dixit his brother) living in Canada and Jeff, oil man, living in Houston. Blair on a brand new 1200 GSA, Jeff on a girly bike (dixit me), a 650 GS. Jeff had pecked up his bike with a huge fuel tank and a complete forest of wires hanging from his tankbag. Both of them had left 2 tons of luggage in their base camp in Ester Park. Since I was there at 4000m high, no food and all campgrounds full, they invited me to share a lunch of freeze dried stew prepared on a Jetboil, and proposed to set up my tent on their large tentsite at the KOA campground in Ester Park. KOA is a chain of privately owned campgrounds, the mc donald of campgrounds, with no strict rules like the government campgrounds, but with laundry, showers, etc.. Any way, we spent 3 wonderfull days offroading and biking around the area, hopping around like noisy schoolboys having a lot of fun. The 3 bikes took a lot of attention where ever we stopped, with fat harley davidson guys drooling around the 1200 GS, and wanting to sit on. When we showed them the pictures of where we were the day before, just unbelieve and frustration. We did not show the pictures with Blair's bike and mine dropped to the ground. Blair' s bike has been baptized, while he hopes his wife will not see the marks of it. But Jeff will surely make sure she gets the full story. Yesterday we were cruising at 60mph on a 40mph road when I saw the brake lights of Jeff and Blair coming up. Then I saw the police car with full lights coming from the opposite direction. He passed me, made a U-turn and came behind me with full siren. Since I thought he was not after me, but after my friends in front of me, I did not stop. The man went crazy. More even when I stopped on the road. Sir.. you must stop on the first turn that you can... not on the road. He had logged me at 60, the others at 54 and 52 miles. Anyway I succeeded to talk me out of a heavy ticket, and when I found my friends in the next village, they had hidden their bikes in the backyard of a restaurant. They went north this morning, I will stay one day to do my laundry, and catch up with my mail. Time is up, have to go.
Left last friday Santa Fe in a hurry at 2 pm, since a huge thunderstorm was coming in and would turn the 5 mile clay trail from the house of my friends in an impossible soaped surface. I did not know this but it is the monsoon season and it rains every afternoon, very heavy rain. Bought an Airhawk cushion in Santa Fe and it works miraculous. Camping in Taos was a direct hit : I was the only tent in a beautiful place and all the facilities were mine because the RV's use their own showers and toilets. At the fiesta in Taos I witnessed the arrest of a poor guy : first 2 officers were running after him and in no time at least 15 others came in from all over the place, by bicycle, bike, car, on foot. The guy was in pain with his arms on his back and since he was screaming, a fat police officer just wrestled him to the ground. Pitty I did not have my camera with me. Sunday : Grand Sand dunes National Park. Beautiful. Had to buy some wurst and wood to get some food at the evening. Did some trail, but had to turn back because of the deep sand. 2 brothers from Boston, also stuck in their Subaru offered me a beer. Piet en Dominique : hurry to put these horses in a trailer. Fabulous riding here on special horse trails. Monday : Buena Vista - Colorado. Nice camp place along the Arkansas river. I rode the Empert trail, that the brothers had explained to me the day before. Tough riding. Had to stop in front of a river. Since I was alone I decided to leave the bike and continue on foot. When I saw my first moose elk, an enormous animal I also realized that I was in bear land. Tuesday : Nederland in the middle of the rocky mountains. On the road I met Harry on his BMW 1200 GS. Harry IS 80 YEARS OLD. He was just riding around like me. On the 5 days, a lot of people took a picture of me, but this time I took one of him. This is Switserland, but american sized. People are still skying : the road is at 2000m, but the mountain tops are full of snow (3500m).
My time is up : I have to find a place to camp at 3 miles from here.
Cerillos-New Mexico. ready to go. Ik heb gisteren mijn moto bij Sandia Motors in Albuquerque gerecupereerd, na het pijnlijk achterlaten van 1800 USD. De motor had wel in 5 jaar geen echte revisie meer gehad, buiten het olie, banden en remblokjes vervangen. Ik start vandaag op 51700 km en vertrek tegen de middag naar Taos, zo' n 2 uur rijden van hier. Moet nog een GPS en een telefoon kopen. Het is hier warm en zwoel. Elke dag regen, en deze namiddag mag ik me ook aan een douche verwachten.
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U kan dit zelf helemaal aanpassen. Surf naar http://www.bloggen.be/ en log vervolgens daar in met uw gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord. Klik vervolgens op 'personaliseer'. Daar kan u zien welke functies reeds toegevoegd zijn, ze van volgorde wijzigen, aanpassen, ze verwijderen en nog een hele reeks andere mogelijkheden toevoegen.
Om berichten toe te voegen, doet u dit als volgt. Surf naar http://www.bloggen.be/ en log vervolgens in met uw gebruikersnaam en wachtwoord. Druk vervolgens op 'Toevoegen'. U kan nu de titel en het bericht ingeven.
Om een bericht te verwijderen, zoals dit bericht (dit bericht hoeft hier niet op te blijven staan), klikt u in plaats van op 'Toevoegen' op 'Wijzigen'. Vervolgens klikt u op de knop 'Verwijderen' die achter dit bericht staat (achter de titel 'Proficiat!'). Nog even bevestigen dat u dit bericht wenst te verwijderen en het bericht is verwijderd. U kan dit op dezelfde manier in de toekomst berichten wijzigen of verwijderen.
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WAT IS CONCREET DE BEDOELING??
De bedoeling is dat u op regelmatige basis een bericht toevoegt op uw blog. U kan hierin zetten wat u zelf wenst.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u heeft een blog gemaakt voor gedichten. Dan kan u bvb. elke dag een gedicht toevoegen op uw blog. U geeft de titel in van het gedicht en daaronder in het bericht het gedicht zelf. Zo kunnen uw bezoekers dagelijks terugkomen om uw laatste nieuw gedicht te lezen. Indien u meerdere gedichten wenst toe te voegen op eenzelfde dag, voegt u deze toe als afzonderlijke berichten, dus niet in één bericht.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken over de actualiteit. Dan kan u bvb. dagelijks een bericht plaatsen met uw mening over iets uit de actualiteit. Bvb. over een bepaalde ramp, ongeval, uitspraak, voorval,... U geeft bvb. in de titel het onderwerp waarover u het gaat hebben en in het bericht plaatst u uw mening over dat onderwerp. Zo kan u bvb. meedelen dat de media voor de zoveelste keer het fout heeft, of waarom ze nu dat weer in de actualiteit brengen,... Of u kan ook meer diepgaande artikels plaatsen en meer informatie over een bepaald onderwerp opzoeken en dit op uw blog plaatsen. Indien u over meerdere zaken iets wil zeggen op die dag, plaatst u deze als afzonderlijke berichten, zo is dit het meest duidelijk voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken als dagboek. Dagelijks maakt u een bericht aan met wat u er wenst in te plaatsen, zoals u anders in een dagboek zou plaatsen. Dit kan zijn over wat u vandaag hebt gedaan, wat u vandaag heeft gehoord, wat u van plan bent, enz. Maak een titel en typ het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks naar uw blog komen om uw laatste nieuwe bericht te lezen en mee uw dagboek te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met plaatselijk nieuws. Met uw eigen blog kan u zo zelfs journalist zijn. U kan op uw blog het plaatselijk nieuws vertellen. Telkens u iets nieuw hebt, plaats u een bericht: u geeft een titel op en typt wat u weet over het nieuws. Dit kan zijn over een feest in de buurt, een verkeersongeval in de streek, een nieuwe baan die men gaat aanleggen, een nieuwe regeling, verkiezingen, een staking, een nieuwe winkel, enz. Afhankelijk van het nieuws plaatst u iedere keer een nieuw bericht. Indien u veel nieuws heeft, kan u zo dagelijks vele berichten plaatsen met wat u te weten bent gekomen over uw regio. Zorg ervoor dat u telkens een nieuw bericht ingeeft per onderwerp, en niet zaken samen plaatst. Indien u wat minder nieuws kan bijeen sprokkelen is uiteraard 1 bericht per dag of 2 berichten per week ook goed. Probeer op een regelmatige basis een berichtje te plaatsen, zo komen uw bezoekers telkens terug.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken met een reisverslag. U kan een bericht aanmaken per dag van uw reis. Zo kan u in de titel opgeven over welke dag u het gaat hebben, en in het bericht plaatst u dan het verslag van die dag. Zo komen alle berichten onder elkaar te staan, netjes gescheiden per dag. U kan dus op éénzelfde dag meerdere berichten ingeven van uw reisverslag.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken met tips op. Dan maakt u telkens u een tip heeft een nieuw bericht aan. In de titel zet u waarover uw tip zal gaan. In het bericht geeft u dan de hele tip in. Probeer zo op regelmatige basis nieuwe tips toe te voegen, zodat bezoekers telkens terug komen naar uw blog. Probeer bvb. 1 keer per dag, of 2 keer per week een nieuwe tip zo toe te voegen. Indien u heel enthousiast bent, kan u natuurlijk ook meerdere tips op een dag ingeven. Let er dan op dat het meest duidelijk is indien u pér tip een nieuw bericht aanmaakt. Zo kan u dus bvb. wel 20 berichten aanmaken op een dag indien u 20 tips heeft voor uw bezoekers.
- Bijvoorbeeld:
u wil een blog maken dat uw activiteiten weerspiegelt. U bent bvb. actief in een bedrijf, vereniging of organisatie en maakt elke dag wel eens iets mee. Dan kan je al deze belevenissen op uw blog plaatsen. Het komt dan neer op een soort van dagboek. Dan kan u dagelijks, of eventueel meerdere keren per dag, een bericht plaatsen op uw blog om uw belevenissen te vertellen. Geef een titel op dat zeer kort uw belevenis beschrijft en typ daarna alles in wat u maar wenst in het bericht. Zo kunnen bezoekers dagelijks of meermaals per dag terugkomen naar uw blog om uw laatste belevenissen te lezen.
- Bijvoorbeeld: u wil een blog maken uw hobby. U kan dan op regelmatige basis, bvb. dagelijks, een bericht toevoegen op uw blog over uw hobby. Dit kan gaan dat u vandaag een nieuwe postzegel bij uw verzameling heeft, een nieuwe bierkaart, een grote vis heeft gevangen, enz. Vertel erover en misschien kan je er zelfs een foto bij plaatsen. Zo kunnen anderen die ook dezelfde hobby hebben dagelijks mee lezen. Als u bvb. zeer actief bent in uw hobby, kan u dagelijks uiteraard meerdere berichtjes plaatsen, met bvb. de laatste nieuwtjes. Zo trek je veel bezoekers aan.
WAT ZIJN DIE "REACTIES"?
Een bezoeker kan op een bericht van u een reactie plaatsen. Een bezoeker kan dus zelf géén bericht plaatsen op uw blog zelf, wel een reactie. Het verschil is dat de reactie niet komt op de beginpagina, maar enkel bij een bericht hoort. Het is dus zo dat een reactie enkel gaat over een reactie bij een bericht. Indien u bvb. een gedicht heeft geschreven, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze het heel mooi vond. Of bvb. indien u plaatselijk nieuws brengt, kan een reactie van een bezoeker zijn dat deze nog iets meer over de feiten weet (bvb. exacte uur van het ongeval, het juiste locatie van het evenement,...). Of bvb. indien uw blog een dagboek is, kan men reageren op het bericht van die dag, zo kan men meeleven met u, u een vraag stellen, enz. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.
WAT IS DE "WAARDERING"?
Een bezoeker kan een bepaald bericht een waardering geven. Dit is om aan te geven of men dit bericht goed vindt of niet. Het kan bvb. gaan over een bericht, hoe goed men dat vond. Het kan ook gaan over een ander bericht, bvb. een tip, die men wel of niet bruikbaar vond. Deze functie kan u uitschakelen via "Instellingen" indien u dit niet graag heeft.
Het Bloggen.be-team wenst u veel succes met uw gloednieuwe blog!
Neen, uw blog moet niet dagelijks worden bijgewerkt. Het is gewoon zoals je het zélf wenst. Indien je geen tijd hebt om dit dagelijks te doen, maar bvb. enkele keren per week, is dit ook goed. Het is op jouw eigen tempo, met andere woorden: vele keren per dag mag dus ook zeker en vast, 1 keer per week ook.
Er hangt geen echte verplichting aan de regelmaat. Enkel is het zo hoe regelmatiger je het blog bijwerkt, hoe meer je bezoekers zullen terugkomen en hoe meer bezoekers je krijgt uiteraard.
