Another Type of Century

Today the website passed 100,000 pageviews. Given that I started this blog just as a personal journal, a way to document my progress during a fitness challenge, that’s an insane number. I never expected it to get this big. The vast majority of this traffic came in the last year, approximately 90,000 views.

To celebrate this milestone, I thought I would spend some time talking about what people read here, where they come from, and what they do. In other words, I’m going to give you website stats, which you’ll probably find incredibly captivating or mind-numbingly boring.

Most Popular Ride Pages

1. Assault on Mount Mitchell – 1,888 views

This is the ride that got the blog started, and it’s the one I plan (hope) to complete every year. This is my A ride, and I’m glad that so many other riders find value in my experience.

2. Assault on the Carolinas – 1,112 views

This is still one of my favorite rides, and they were nice enough to link to me recently from their website.

3. Bridge to Bridge – 1,027 views

Yet another one of my favorite rides, albeit in a cruel and masochistic way. They have also linked to me from their website.

4. Hot Doggett – 909 views

It seems like forever ago that I did this ride, and is one of my first articles to gain some popularity. I’m not sure whether it was the thinly veiled self deprecating humor in part one, or helping someone else in part two. Whatever it was, a lot of people read it.

5. Blue Ridge Breakaway – 609 views

This was my Ride of the Year for 2011, which resulted in a little bit of local press attention. It was a terrific ride and it grew in size this year. Hopefully I helped some with that.

Most Popular Non-Ride Pages

1. North Carolina Climbs – 1,554 views

The climbs section has become a large attraction of the site. I’ve put a lot of work into it, so this is something I’m proud of. Hopefully this area will continue to grow. North Carolina is naturally larger because they are in the heart of the Blue Ridge with some tremendous climbs.

2. South Carolina Climbs – 898 views

South Carolina also has some terrific climbs, but not nearly as many as North Carolina.

3. Hincapie Gran Fondo Announced – 786 views

This could qualify as a ride page, but it was more of a news item. I think this one became popular because of some lucky search engine positioning and a lot of interest in the event.

4. Dog Versus Man – 627 views

Honestly, I’m not sure why this one received so many posts. It was an earlier article and slowly but surely the hits have added up. Maybe people found it funny, even if at my expense.

5. Sassafras Mountain, Becky Mountain, and More! – 616 views

I guess you could call this one a ride post too, but it was not an organized event. I’m not sure why it received traction. Maybe because these are some of the tougher, unknown climbs in the area.

Top Referrers – Blogs

1. Bike Noob – 513 referrals

Seriously? I never realized so many people clicked through from there. Maybe it is because I had written a guest article once. I plan to write another soon. Ray may no longer fit the description of a ‘noob,’ but his blog is solid reading for beginners or experts.

2. The Climbing Cyclist – 178 referrals

This guys is a seriously hardcore climber in Australia. He puts me to shame. I was glad to be able to help him find some Carolina roads to ride when he visited stateside.

3. Vicious Cycle Blog – 104 referrals

Most of Gerry’s referrals should come as no surprise. We are teammates on the upcoming Haute Route race. Hopefully I’ve sent him a couple visitors as well.

4. There and Back Again – 76 referrals

In one of the world’s odd ironies, Steve also celebrated his 100,000th pageview on this very day. How cool is that? He’s a witty guy and tells some great stories. I also respect his appreciation for history.

5. Zeke’s Great Smokies Adventures – 56 referrals

Zeke’s a good guy who also tells wonderful tales. I know him best as the guy who helps put together the Blue Ridge Breakaway. He does a phenomenal job and I hope to see him in the Smokies again soon.

Top Referrers – Social Media

1. Facebook – 9,563 referrals

Social media is responsible for many of the traffic increases this year. Facebook was unquestionably the biggest difference. I first created the SteepClimbs Facebook page in the summer. That page is responsible for the majority of these referrals, and is a great way for people to keep up with the site.

2. Twitter – 883 referrals

Twitter is not nearly as ‘sticky’ as Facebook. While I post my blog updates there, they tend to pass quickly. I use Twitter primarily as a way of giving mini-updates, which is what I think it is best for.

3. Strava – 379 referrals

These are pretty much all my friends. I tend to link to my ride reports in the comments section of my Strava links. People click on them sometimes.

4. Google Reader – 176

I have no idea how many subscribe to the site via Google Reader. There must be a few if some people are clicking through. I believe my news feed is full text, so people probably only click when they are following links in an article.

Thanks for reading! I hope the second 100,000 views are just as enjoyable and interesting as the first.