Arleigh Jenkins

Excuse my grammar, sent from my mobile phone.

Make sure to add me on Twitter @arsbars or @bikeshopgirlcom

[gallery link="file" order="DESC"] I guess I should begin with I wasn't in Charlotte North Carolina proper fighting the crowds for Black Friday. I should also mention that at 9pm the night before I had no intentions to be at Walmart at 12:30am, inline at Target until 4am or Dick's at 5am.

Goals for Black Friday

A true experience Black Friday shopper says to have a list, rank your items by need and shop in that order.   List?  What list?  I had an idea at each store what I wanted but thankfully our kids and family aren't die hard needy punks that would throw a tantrum nor do they ask for crazy things during the Christmas holiday.  Football jerseys and lacrosse balls?  We can totally do that!

What was I Thinking?

Late Thanksgiving night I looked up some ads online for Walmart, Target and others in the area (these people are not worthy of links, and I'm sure you know how to find these fine venues.)   I also looked up Squidoo's recommendations for "tween's" which supposedly where our 9 and 10 year old boys fall. At 12:01am Walmart was opening for Toys, Home Goods and other basics.  Really? That's what I needed!   I looked up games, did some research on deals and made a very vague list.  I left the house at 12:20am and pulled into Walmart 10 minutes later to what looked like a concert parking lot.  I have NEVER seen so many cars at Walmart.  I don't think Walmart has seen so many cars at Walmart!   I walk in calmly, knowing that probably the most important thing at this venue was Kim's two crockpots.   Well, they happened to be literally 5 feet from walking in the door!  Grabbing the last of both "door buster" deals I felt very proud.  "This wasn't so bad" I said to myself, as I safely put Kim's crockpots in my shopping cart. Thankfully Walmart treated Black Friday as a strategic mission.  Placing hot items and toys around the large aisle's with large balloons for pricing over top.  Security guards were also scattered around the must have items, for the toys protection of course.   I picked up several amazing deals on big ticket item toys, let's just say I bought 3/4 of the kids Christmas gifts there and Kim's two crock pots for <$200.  You'll have to wait till Christmas to know what we bought!

Hard Choices

After leaving Walmart at 1:15am I had a hard choice in front of me.   Target didn't open until 4am, and it was 1:15am.   I feared that if I went home that I would go to sleep and sleep away great deals.   Then I would procrastinate and not buy gifts until the week before Christmas! I went to Target.  I wasn't prepared to wait in line for 2.5 hours.  I had capri's, no bra and no coffee.  Oh yeh, there also wasn't a coffee brewer anywhere to be found.    So I stood, in line, from 1:30am until 4am, freezing my ass off.   I met nice people, we chatted, I was probably delirious.  I didn't want anything special that required me to "run" into Target.  But I did because we were in the first 100 people and I didn't want to get run over by some red neck looking for a flat screen TV hidden in the kids section.   I was also treated to a Caramel Brulee Latte from a friend, so thank you Jill! From Target I went Dick's Sporting Goods.   Dick's tempted me with sweet looking kayak's out front for 50% off.  I live on the water, a kayak would be nice, but maybe I'll research for next years Black Friday event.

I Survived Black Friday

I got home at 6:20am, after leaving at 12:15am.  My car was packed, all we need is stocking stuffers for the kids, gifts for immediate family and I'm very excited to have most of it done already!   Looking back I wish these stores harnessed the internet,  check in on Facebook Places for a special coupon, or to get inline for that HDTV!    Maybe next year... I know I was the only person to check in at Target this morning at 3am.

The Numbers and Economics Don't Lie

You can predict, forecast or .  I worked in retail half my life to know this, but it isn't concrete.  What is concrete is the amount of people in line on a Friday at 4am to shop for the great deals.  To make their dollars stretch.   If anything this experience once a year is a good way to witness how the economy is turning and the moods of shoppers going forward. I didn't reread this, this whole post probably makes no sense what so ever.

As I sit down moments before Thanksgiving dinner at our house, which is for the first time ever, I wanted to write down a quick list of things I'm very thankful for this year.

1. Life. As cheesy as this seems, after my bike accident back in October, I am very thankful to be here and healthy.
2. Family.  Over the past year I have become closer to family and trying to sort out the details or drama.
3. Friends. The true friends came to the surface back in October.  This is both offline and online.  The one's that wrote me encouraging emails, checked back in on me frequently and stopped by the house to say hi.
4. Work. As I reflect on the past 6 months, I am very pleased with the move I made back into marketing.   Surrounded by greatness will only make you great.
5. My Readers and Followers.  Either here on Arsbars.com, over at BikeShopGirl.com, on Twitter, or Facebook.   My connections have only become stronger and I am thankful for the support and friendships.

Thank you, each of you, for what you have added to my life.

It was a stupid idea, I knew that within 30 feet of entering the trail head. Night riding on the most root strewn trail, the night after a huge wind storm blew threw the area which left roughly 2 inches of wet leaves to hide those evil roots.

It was a Stupid Idea Night Riding Last Night

I could feel it, my lights weren't picking up depth with the colorful leaves thrown across the trail. They weren't picking up the roots I knew that were around that corner. I had to ride. I had to. I needed it, my soul needed it and I needed to feel again in away that riding at night can only give. Cautiously I rode on. The trail is around 3 miles long and I felt confident in my navigating skills. I had ridden in the pouring rain without site before, this would be fine. I would be fine. I would feel again. Pushing myself carefully around the turns. Testing my brain and memory skills from riding the trail a few nights earlier. Oh shit moments. Back tire spinning in place stuck on a root that I hadn't seen under the golden leaves. Smile with happiness as I glide through the creek bed. I've almost completely one lap on the trail, I knew I could do another. This wasn't as bad as I thought. Dabbing. Why did I second guess myself there? I know this trail. I know how it feels, I know where the roots that grab your tires are, I know what to avoid. With one last section left to clear, I eased up and slowed down a tick. The night was beautiful. It felt great to be out, in the middle of November in spandex. Feeling at peace from a crazy day. The rooty berm was ahead. I picked my way threw.

My Rear Jammed and I Crashed

Laying there, I looked to see what my wheel had stopped on. I saw nothing, I didn't see a reason for the sudden stop of momentum. What just happened? Thankfully the golden pile of leaves (that probably had a golden shower from a dog or two) caught my fall. I was fine, but I was baffled as I didn't see anything that would have stopped my . I laid, and thought, and breathed. Silence. My helmet light shined off the trees over head. In that moment I believed something stopped me. Something grabbed my tire at that moment, right when I would fall on a pile of leaves. I was meant to be laying here in this golden pile of leaves to reflect and find peace.

This is Why I Ride

Going fast is fun. Being faster than your friends is nice. The moments when you stop and look at where you have come from, or maybe that large hill you still have to climb. I'm happy to be on the bike, and happier to share these moments with people that care.

Physically, the recovery from my accident has been pretty straight forward. My mom and lady friend (wife in lesbian terms) took care of me in every way possible for the 48 hours immediately following the accident. My legs, left hip and lower back all didn't want to work well for me. The drugs helped curb the pain but not being able to walk or even go to the bathroom on my own was the most difficult part for those few days after. To date, the bruises are starting to fade and granted three weeks after I still have an amazing lump on my left leg from the top tube of my bike. My lower back and hip gets sore after a long day at work or driving. But, those are my only physical complaints.

Mentally I have Been a Wreck

It would be easy to say, great I got hit by a car.. now get back on the horse and ride off in the sunset. That's what I would have done 6 years ago (that is what I did 6 years ago) but things are different in my life, as well as internally.

• I have a family that needs me
• Life isn't as easy to pass by
• The "unbreakable" feeling I had most of my youth is gone
• This accident has made me painfully naked
• I have moved on from CommuteByBike.com

Leaves are Turning Over

It is fall after all, and its my favorite time of year. The leaves on the trees are beautiful colors, there is cyclocross bike races, beautiful chill mornings and my birthday is right around the corner. Keeping all those things in mind I've been trying to take steps forward.

• Purchased a car. As dirty as it originally felt, I'm very excited about the daily driver (this car will have its own post) and being able to get to the MTB trail on my own time
• The gym is my friend. I've been starting to go to the gym in the morning before work. It sets a great tone for work and hopefully we give me the strength and weight loss I need for further motivation. Hell, I may go again after work.
• Forcing communication and interaction. The accident made me realize, as did the reminder from friends, I have become a lock box as of lately. A hermit within my own mind. Something inside of me, even before the the accident, has been keeping my emotions safe inside without sharing any feelings or thoughts.
• More mountain biking. Simple as that, and as happy as it makes me.

Trying to Put the Pieces Together

I'm weeding out Facebook for all the non-friends I have added. I'm calling or writing all the friends I haven't contacted. I'm trying to connect with my distant family again. I'm slowly riding, but riding. All of it is off road and I am grateful for being able to return to my MTB roots. I hope to get my lady on the bike more. I hope to take more photos, and write more words. I hope to get this all out so I can start feeling again.

This month's meeting of Search Engine Marketing CLT is based on "How and Why You Should Buy Domain Names for SEO."  For some reason this stirred up a flame inside of my SEO heart.

Since 2001

I've been collecting domains, normally .com's and when the .me came out a few years ago I went a little bit crazy.   Over the years I've actually made a little side cash by selling specialized domain names, which was very nice when you used to be able to buy them for a couple dollars a year. For the past few years domain names have become part of the SEO algorithm for search engine ranking.  SEO Moz took 72 SEO "experts" and a keyword in the domain name is ranked #3 of importance.

Keyword Use in the Root Domain Name (e.g. keyword.com) 60% high importance

Two Sides of the Domain Buying Coin

Daily I deal with clients that are upset that their brand name or a version of their name or their catch phrase is taken.  On some counts, we can do something about it but on most there isn't anything we can do.  I can't tell my client "You are shit out of luck buddy, why didn't you buy that 10 years ago?" so we brainstorm ideas, talk buy out of .com's and hope that we can change the catch phrase. If you have a budget, buy, buy, buy.  404 redirect them to your main site until you need them.  Now, I'm not saying squat, I am saying keep and use. Brainstorm. If you are a company that is either a. large or b. creative.  Brainstorm marketing pitches, campaigns and thoughts that involve your brand name. Breathe.  Make sure all of your domains are spelled correctly and they are in fact what you want.

Do Domain Names Really Matter for SEO?

My short answer is yes. And my long answer is..well no. Quickly I went to three of my more favorite websites that had odd names, I looked up their domain authority. ThinkVitamin.com = 77 TeamDicky.com = 80 Mashable.com = 90 If you are creative, make your website creative.  Don't make the website so hard that you can't remember the name but make it original like you. If you aren't creative and you want to fit in, or rank high quickly based on SEO and not what is inside.  Do it, especially if you don't utilize blogging or some sort of consistent updating process to rank your page higher.

End of It All

I work with SEO everyday.  There are two ways to write, buy or run your website.  For robots or your readers.   Finding a middle ground is important as is knowing the goal of what you are creating.  Are you a car dealer trying to be top of all the car dealers in your area, well have car and possibly the city in your domain.  If you are a writer and trying to catch peoples interest on Twitter and Facebook? Be interesting with your domain.

There is much to say, but there never seems enough time to say it or type it or share it.  Every time I sit down to post a longer article or a full thought, it gets stalled and I only have time to share it with the Twitter world. Twitter is only 140 characters so thoughts are able to be short! Last night I went riding at North Meck, or North Root as some folks will call it.   It is s a local 3.5 mile loop, one of the few that can be ridden either direction and at night!   It was perfect testing ground for my recently modded 23 lb Karate Monkey (another post for tomorrow.)   If I can ride this trail comfortably rigid then I'll be able to ride any of the local trails or semi-local trails. After checking out the cyclocross scene, and eating a chocolate chip waffle with whip creme, Dean "Butterbean" came out of the woodwork and we went to the parking lot to put our lights on.

Within 12.4333 pedal strokes, I was reminded of multiple things.

1. I love single speed mountain biking.  Absolutely love it.  If I have a choice going forward, this is my choice.  Need to work on my lower back strength and core stability.. but its worth it.
2. I love night riding.  It is my favorite part of mountain biking by far and I hope to count in the dozens how many night rides I get this fall/winter/spring
3. The funky handlebar style that On-One Mary Bars, Origin8 (currently running) Space Bar, or Misfit FuBar (currently on my fixie) are so comfortable, especially combined with Ergon grips. Riding riding a fully rigid never felt so good.

Thanks to the overcast skies and sprinkling of rain on and off for the next 24 hours, as predicted by Weather.com, I don't believe I'll be able to night ride tonight or tomorrow.   That's okay, I have other things to do.