We are back now from our spin around southern Vancouver Island with our grandchildren, which can be seen HERE . so now we will enter and have a look at the statistics from By the Books. This page deals with the Hit Count. The website unfortunately only provides the most rudimentary look at how many people are reading the blog. In fact, it only shows the total number of page loads, since the beginning. There is no information on which pages are being looked at, on which days, where the viewers are from, how they were referred to the page, what other pages they looked at, etc. etc. There is just this one number: total hits. Even so, we live for the total hits. After all, why put in all the effort (and cost - internet time, equipment, hours) of creating the blog if no one is reading it!

So we record the total hits each day, to at least get an idea of how much interest there is on a current basis. Then, of course, we dream up theories about why the daily hit count is going up or down. Do we need more drama? - take a dive off the bike, get thrown out of a wild camp? Do we need more spice - pretty girls in dirndls? - Do we need bigger churches? Bluer rivers?

This time out, the total hit count was at about 13,000 by the time we actually started pedalling. This comes from people reading about the preliminary planning. From there, the daily hit counts look like this:

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The average is about 850 per day, but the hits started out higher, and drifted lower, dropping sharply once the pedalling was done. Here is what the chart tells us:

• People like to follow a trip that is currently in progress. Even though there are lots of printed travel books, where obviously the trip is over, with blogs it is best to follow along as the events are happening. So once the trip ends, the hits drop.
• People may discover a blog that is in progress. Then they will backtrack to catch up, creating a bulge in hits.
• For a trip that runs into Summer, people who started following may have to drop away as they launch their own Summer activities.
• The time of day when a blog update is posted is important. People may look for an update when they have a moment - like after supper. But if the blog is from another time zone, posts may not happen at a convenient time.

The current total hits for this blog are about 95,000. We hope the count is creeping toward 100,000. 100,000 is kind of the gold standard for us. We have exceeded it only three times before. Aside from all the other factors, the key to a high total hit count is a long period of pedalling. People who cycle for a year or two can get 300,000 hits. But on a three month or so trip, 100,000 is a good goal.

So, keep checking back (and creating hits!). The next fascinating Statistics chapter will reveal the truth of our daily distances. This will then be followed by a blockbuster expose of trip costs!