DnvrFox

I am asking because I find that, unless they mention something like a "double century" in the title - or something similar - they are little viewed and even less commented upon.

I once posted a thread with the title, "Naked Mtn Bike Riders" - or something like that - and EVERYONE opened the thread - and, of course, there were no naked people whatsoever - it was just a little probe on my part as to what makes folks read or ignore threads!!

It is an item of interest to me, because it takes a fair amount of work to put together a ride thread with pictures, and one is not really motivated to do so if it is going to be pretty much ignored. I am considering not putting in that effort any more for my generally "non-exciting" (apparently to others) rides.

So, what say you?

Do you open or read "ride threads" and if so, why? and if not, why not? Is it worth other's efforts?

RonH

Naked??? Naked is good.

I read the thread title and do a quick read of the first few lines and pics. If it is interesting I'll continue on. The thread doesn't have to be about centuries or long rides or "rider hit by pickup", etc. If it is interesting with or without pics I'll read and reply.

I must say that if the thread is 19 paragraphs long I usually lose interest after the second paragraph, unless the plot is REALLY engrossing.

Shifty

I read and enjoy these threads, if I have something to add I do, but not always. Keep posting, I enjoy them.

miss kenton

Although our choice of bikes, our styles and motivations for riding, and our abilities as cyclists vary, we are still all cyclists. What sets us apart may be our locations. I am always interested in seeing photos of other places. I find many of those locations quite intriguing, some I'd like to visit. I appreciate the effort posters put in to their photo essays and especially when they include photos of themselves. I don't always post after viewing, usually because I don't have anything to add, not because I didn't find the photos worth viewing.

miss kenton

^^^The succinct version of what I said!

DnvrFox

But, the interesting (and a bit discouraging thing) is that many "ride threads" are not even viewed - not opened - and you can judge that by the "views" count., which is often quite low in relation to more "exciting - I guess" threads.

There is no way I can, nor do I want, to get folks to open threads in which they have no interest. No way one can do that. The question is - is it worth the effort to take the picture, adjust the size of the picture as necessary, enhance the pic and post it to a web site somewhere (in my case, my own web site) and then write a thread and place the photo links in the thread, if hardly anyone is interested in viewing it??

big john

What Ron said. Some people have the ability to convey the fun or the feeling of the ride and reading it is entertaining.

kr32

I will go with this.

I like picture threads. I know it takes a lot to post them but keep on.

NOS88

Denver, you don't count miles, but you seem to be counting "views". I would argue that if just a handful of people open and enjoy, it's worthwhile. Maybe you're using the wrong metric. It was seeing some of the photos on this forum that first convinced me to become a member of Bike Forums and start posting. I was impressed with people who could stop and smell the roses, something I was seeking when getting back to cycling. Should I have seen nothing but mileage, averag speed, race results, etc. I would most likely have moved on.

dahut

You said probe.... hehehe

DnvrFox

You got me on that one!! Good point. Its not the quantity of viewers, but the quality . I will just assume that folks who view my "simple ride threads" are of the highest quality.

Thanks.

martianone

Yes, my favorite ride threads are a pair of J&G touring shorts, a linen shirt from Land's End, a pair of Chrome slip on shoes and a Wald cap. Wait a min - yes simple threads - all the pics gobble up my satellite bandwidth allowance, especially when people repost the pics with comments. KISS.

drmweaver2

Shrug. I view threads based on title - there's your metric. Pics may keep me viewing, but the title is what gets me INTO the thread and ups the view count.

DnvrFox

Well, this title

Do you enjoy simple "ride threads?"


evidently captured your interest. Why?

ro-monster

I love to see pictures of the different places people ride. I usually open ride threads that sound as if they have pictures of interesting destinations -- the ones with pictures of Malaysia that samosaurus posts in the Folding Bikes forum, for example. The ones that sound like they're focused on speed, mileage, and pictures of people's jerseys, I ignore. Most of the time I don't post in the threads because I don't really have anything useful to say. I never thought about the OP wanting to know if their pictures were appreciated, though.

Denver, I really liked the mountain bike ride pictures you posted recently. I found myself wishing we had trails like that here. Most of what's available to me is way too technical for my paltry dirt skills. In fact, I wish all those bike facilities had existed when I lived in Denver (I grew up there).

LarryMelman

May I suggest that if you really are worried about how many views your threads get... if you honestly care whether others find your posts interesting... and getting discouraged (your word) about view counts... then perhaps you are attaching way too much importance and meaning to this place.

There are probably far better and more worthwhile ways for you to help others through pictures and ride descriptions. If I was looking for info about rides in your area, a dedicated site or a blog would be very valuable. Everything would be collected in one place. But hunting through BF? Probably not.

BluesDawg

High maintenance.

surgeonstone

Naked is good sometimes. Mostly not.

DnvrFox

Well, you are probably right about that. I do place a high value on this place, having been in on the "birth" - if you will.

I guess I feel at times re: "simple ride threads" a bit like someone who spends a lot of time making a cake - which that person thinks is pretty good - and then serves it and no one even tastes it or comments or says, "Hey, great cake."

A blog - well, my wife has one and it is a LOT of work - "high maintenance" as BD says.

In conclusion, I think I will continue to post my "simple ride threads" - because I really enjoy putting the pictures out there - and I will just not worry about whether or not anyone views, reads or comments. In the whole essence of things in life, it is really not that important.

Besides, I give the links to my wife, son, daughter-in-law, and sister, and THEY always enjoy them.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I really appeciate your thoughts.

jdon

A lot has to do with the title for me. If I see, "katy trail", "my first ride in 30 years", "comfort bike" , "gear ratios" etc in the title, I won't even open it. I just have no interest or have read it over and over again. People tend to read subjects they are interested in, not every post or every thread. I also have posters that I can't be bothered reading. Ride posts, especially with pics are always on my read list.. well, except for Katy Trail.

Retro Grouch 

Since you ask, I'm pretty much jdon's polar opposite.

I generally don't open ride posts, especially with pics, well except for Katy Trail since I live right here. Gear Ratios - I'm there.

A good descriptive title means a lot. I don't open threads with titles that I don't think are going to interest me. I'm happy for people like jdon who like to read ride posts with or without pictures. We just have different interests.

lphilpot

My approach to a thread which, although I may have found interesting but had nothing substantive to contribute, was to simply read, enjoy and move on. That's probably a mistake on my part. My first encounter with online 'fora' of any kind was USENET (in the days of not-infrequently metered Internet access), so in that sometimes over-zealous environment I learned early on not to contribute to the "Me too!" post count. It's a habit that's stuck with me, even inappropriately as it the case may be here.

Maybe I need to respond more often even when I have nothing to say.

But I do in particular enjoy 'ride threads' with photos. They get me beyond my daily world, which is always a good thing.

kr32

As I keep reading this thread I realize that i read pretty much every thread no matter what it is.
Takes only a few minutes and some I like and some well no big deal.
Back to the OP....If he likes to post pictures well post them and enjoy doing that and not the response, I see he has pretty much agreed to that anyway though so all is good. He will enjoy posting and we will enjoy looking.
Fox I liked your comparison with the cake.
A little off topic but when I was younger, read that much younger, I liked to build gas powered model airplanes. Didn't enjoy flying them that much even tough I did but the building was the fun. Sort of maybe the same as posting picture threads?

DnvrFox

I hate to be a wet blanket, but isn't that the case with just about 99% of all posts on all forums?

Let's face it - we just like to hear (read?) ourselves talk.

If we only posted when we really had something to say, these pages would be mostly blank!!

drmweaver2

It was a straight-forward title that my simple mind could grasp. It has potential for a good discussion and I have an appreciation for the author's previous threads/posts.