Join me for the 2012 WordCount Blogathon!

It's that time of year again.

May 2012 represents the 5th year of Michelle Rafter's 

WordCount Blogathon. Here's sample of this year's badge:

It's also my 5th year participating. We started getting 

our badges three years ago, and they've added an extra 

ounce of fun to the month-long event.

If you haven't been around long enough, let me 

share with you that the annual May Blogathon

offers a whole new dimension to BIKE WITH JACKIE.

I use the 31 days of daily blogging to focus 

on a theme. Since I've recently gotten the sense

knocked back into me, I'm choosing the "bike"

as my theme this May. So I'll be blogging about

all things bike-related. It'll help me stay focused

on the bike, and it'll give you a greater 

appreciation for what those two wheels really mean. 

Expect to see photos of bike imagery I have collected

over the years. Expect to read about other bike blogs,

maybe a few interviews and guest posts. Expect to find 

out what the bike means to the folks I follow on Twitter. 

And when Haiku Day rolls around, you can expect 

to read more Baiku, instead.

It'll be a fun month. We'll keep it upbeat, and 

I'll toss in some inspiration for you as well. You'll 

also be introduced to a whole slew of blogs you 

might not have visited otherwise.  

To find out what exactly this Blogathon is, click on 

the link above. It'll take you to the registration

page, where, if there's still time, you can sign up. 

Also, Michelle invited me to guest post about the event

last week, and she ran the post yesterday. Visit her site 

to find out why I keep signing up for the challenge.

And be sure to keep coming back here to read

all the about the bike. Lance Armstrong may say in 

his book that it's not about the bike. But I say, 

yeah, it really is. 

See you in May when you'll find out what I mean. 

Talk about inspiring--100 bloggers!

C'mon, you have to be inspired when 100 bloggers--and more--raise their hands to participate in the third annual WordCount Blogathon. I know I am.

Joining us all this year are new bloggers and old ones, writers who focus on parenting or health, those who talk politics, and many others who write about issues that probably affect your lives. You'll meet them today at BIKE WITH JACKIE. For the next month, I hope you'll come back and read what we all have to say. Bookmark the blogs you really like, explore the ones you've never heard of, and post comments on the posts that really make you think.

For your convenience, I've listed all participants' names below and added links that will take you directly to their blog sites--one of them is mine. You're already here, and here are the rest:

Rebecca I. Allen - 356 No More, A journey from couch to fit

Anjuli - bhulbhulaiyan, a complicated entanglement of zigzag pathways

Joan Lambert Bailey - PopcornHomestead, Gardening, place and my life in Tokyo

Karen Bannan - Natural as Possible Mom, Because natural isn't always possible — or easy

t.a. barnhart - Left Coast Foodie, Damn, that's good: a foodie blog by someone who knows what he's doing

June Bell - Enough is enough! Advice and support

Athena l. Borozon - The Desert Rat Dialogues

Jane Boursaw - Film Gecko, Cool movie news and reviews

Alisa Bowman - Project Happily Ever After, Marriage advice from a recovering divorce daydreamer

Carson Brackney - Carson Brackney, Consultant, Copywriter, Content Provider, Factotum

Sheena Brockington – Greenhouse Advertising, Cultivating ideas for small businesses

Danielle Buffardi - Horrible Sanity, Going into the mind of a mother and freelancer

Beverly Burmeier - Going on Adventures, Travel stories from near and far

Danielle Carter – Live and Love Life VA, Helping you do more of what you love, and less of what you don't!

Fiona Chan - Candy Prison, A typical teenager

Bernard Chung - Green Tea World, It's more than just a cup of green tea here

Caroline Clemmons - A Writer's Life, Writing tips, interviews and miscellaneous ramblings

Shelley Clunie - ShelCluzo’s Blog, Healthy, wealthy and wise at 62

Christianne Cook – A Day in My Mind, The world through my eyes

Sue Dickman – Life Divided, Food, garden, books . . . and India

Jackie Dishner – BIKE WITH JACKIE, Using my special brand of BIKE to teach you how to turn obstacles into opportunities

Tracy Doerr – Tracy Doerr, A chronicle of ideas and things that inspire me

Ron S. Doyle – Blog Salad, All the blog that's fit to eat.

Dana DuGan – Chick with a View, It's good to live on the edge. The view is better.

Dan Eldridge – Labor Party, A Young Pioneers Media blog for Creative and Alternative Entrepreneurs

Heather Faesy – Blame it on the Full Moon, My kids, writing and reading

R. Jill Fink – My Opera, Musings about writing, food, weight loss and other hilarious things

Jennifer Fink – Blogging Bout Boys, All about boys -- raising them, educating them, learning with them

Damaris Fish – Damaris Fish on Genealogy, Researching my family history and helping others with theirs

Dylan Fogle – Discordianzen, The map is not the territory

Katie Foote – Littlefoote’s Lab, A chronicle of what the unemployed girl in NoPo is up to.

AndreaGenevieve – Andrea Genevieve, Where social medium, technology and higher education meet

Alexandra Grabbe – Chezsven's Blog, Life as a green innkeeper on Outer Cape Cod

Elyse Grau – My Garden to Table, Growing what you eat, eating what you grow

Wendy Korn Heppt – Budget Style on a Shoestring, Budget savvy fashion, beauty and related news and ideas

Katie Hinderer – Write Beyond the Cubicle, A freelance writer’s thoughts on the industry

Amanda Hirsch – Tastee Pudding, In the search for creative life, the proof is in the Pudding

Lisa Jaffe Hubbell – Eat, Read and Be Harried, Making it through life one book at a time

Nancy Mann Jackson – Growing Food and Kids, Gardening, harvesting, cooking and preserving with kids in tow

Robert Janelle – Without an Apostrophe,

Elizabeth King Humphrey – The Write Elizabeth, Writing. Creativity. Play. Life.

Walter L. Johnson II – Georgia News Beat, An inside look at what’s happening in the state of Georgia

B.J. Keeton – Professor Beej, Pop culture commentary with an academic slant

Amy Kocur – AmyLizK, Maryland/ DC Metro area arts and analysis

Courtney Koschel – Finding My Muse: A New Writer’s Journey

Sara Lancaster – No.2PenBlog, Resource for my clients and others interested in marketing communications

Bill Lascher – Lascher at Large, A contemplative, pondered and unrushed thought banquet

Mary Dixon Lebeau – In the Boom Boom Room, Remember staying out until the street lights came on?

Pooja Lohana – Brown-eyed Mystic, On writing and more!

Sarah E. Ludwig – Parenting by Trial and Error, The learning curve in raising kids

Jenny Lynes – Welcome to the Good Life, A student environmentalist exploring responsible, cheap, and fun living

Harry Marks – Curious Rat, Chewing at the tech industry's wires...nom nom nom...

Joanne Mason – English Idioms, What they mean, how we use them, where they came from

Kim McNeill – Kim’s Play Place, An active parent trying to make sure my kids are educated

Teresa Mears – MiamiOntheCheap, Discounts, deals and free events in Miami

Rose Medlock – RFM, Rose Flores Medlock

Heather Minton – Stumbling into Grace, The adventure of following God and figuring it out in Portland http://stumblingintograce-hlm.blogspot.com/

Kathy Murray – Out and Employed, News, career advice and job resources for ex-offenders

Alexis Neely – Life, Business and the Pursuit of Truth, A blog about the intersection

Charles Newbery – Pine Tree Paradise, The life of a work-at-home writer and father of three

Eric Novinson – Costing a Green Future, A green business blog

Tracy O'Connor – I Hate My Message Board, Humor, crankiness, a museum of snack foods and the odd motivational piece

Andrea Parker – Autism Fundraising Guide, For parents of children with autism

Lilac Penafiel – What Have You Learned Today, Life lessons learned everyday...

Tara Phillips – Two Hands and a Road Map

Jennie Phipps – WalletPop, AOL's personal finance blog

Ed Pilolla – Ed Pilolla, What the f*** is love?

Sue Poremba – I Breathe, Therefore I Write

Kate Reilly – Polka Dot Suitcase, Family fun through creative living

Meredith Resnick – The Writer’s [Inner] Journey, Bestselling authors, professional creatives and emerging voices in quirky dialogue about how they write and why it works

Vanessa Richardson – Way Out West Texas, City girl from California moves to Way Out West Texas, what will happen?

Rebecca Robinson – Rebecca Robinson, Updates on freelance projects, reflections on journalism innovation in Portland and beyond, and brainstorms from the wee hours

Carey Rossi – Thank You Everything, Appreciate the little things

Natasha Rogue – The Writing Blues, Little tips on how I find motivation to get past the difficulties of writing life and the road to publication

Andrea M. Rotondo – Luxury Cruise Bible, Your source for unbiased luxury cruise reviews

Melissa Sais – Digital Mom, Raising kids in a digital world

Lisa Samalonis – Single Parent Savings

Sami – Stonerpreneur, Stoner antics as they relate to my business and personal growth

Dina Santorelli – Making Baby Grand, And I thought giving birth to real babies was hard...

Lacey Savage – Tips and WIPS, Talking about writing fiction

Lilian Schaer – Food and Farming Canada, A blog about the farming side of food

Matthew Smith – Smidgen PC, Big news about tiny PCs

Michelle Smith - Law Office of Michelle R. Smith, Because it’s your life, your family and your choice

Stephanie Suesan Smith – Stephanie Suesan Smith PhD, Information Central

Claire Splan – An Alameda Garden, Gardening issues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond

Margarita Tartakovsky – Self-ish, {Sorta} Sage Advice on Being a Better You

Thinkingtoohard – Thinking too hard, This is where I empty my head

Blake Thompson – Black Thompson daht Net, “I'm just saying..."

Jodi Torpey – Western Gardeners, Your online guide to gardening in the West

Paul Tullis – Grim Tidings- True/Slant, My rants about politics & policy

Brandi-Ann Uyemura – Brandi-Ann Uyemura, Rather be freelancing: tips for the beginning writer

Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand, My adventures in freelance writing, and other stuff

Rachel Vidoni – East Coast Musings, A humorous look at kids, family and life

Jen Walker – My Morning Chocolate, Writing, experiments, culture and adventure in food

Katie Jett Walls – One per Week, 52 posts on things that matter to me

Sarah Webb – Webb of Science, Connecting science and life

Rebecca Weber – Newstilt SAfrica

Susan Weiner – Investment Writing, For investment and wealth managers who want to communicate more effectively with clients and prospects

Rashida Williams – Really Rashida, Urban lit author blogging about my life and times

Jennifer Willis – Jennifer Willis, Thoughts on religion, sustainability, media and culture

And the woman who started it all...drumroll, please:

Michelle Rafter - WordCount, freelancing in the digital age

And there's a few late starters...

Teresa Bitler - Forty Firsts, Forty new things to try in your/her 4oth year

Christa Avampato - Christa in New York, Curating a Creative Life

Ben Bradley - Ben’s (Not Quite) First Ever Presence on the Interweb, Blog of an aspiring human being

Diane Calhoun – Violet is My Color, Life just happens, deal with it

Joy Choquette - One Year. 156 Fears. Life Changing. One woman tackles her fears

Cocotte - Leaping into Life, Uncommon stories to nurture body, mind & soul

Cindy Elsberry - Doodle9, Paddling down the stream…of consciousness

Heather Frendo - Thrifty Knee Socks

Su-sieee! Mac – This and That. Here and There. Now, Sometimes Then., Rambling about anything and everything that interests me

Kristie Sloan – mkBeautyZone, Skin care and makeup information training and products

Jan Udlock - Imperfect Mom

Beth VanHoose – Writing in Sand, My adventures in freelance writing, and other stuff

Time to celebrate

Just a quick post today to say the Blogathon has ended. To my followers and regular readers, thanks so much for visiting us in May. We had a great time! To my fellow blogathoners, congratulations!

I'll be leaving the full list of participants up for the next month or two. It's on the right-hand side of this page, under the heading, May Blogathon 2009. Scroll down and then click on any of those names to visit the sites. There are a lot of us to explore, but it could be worth the effort, and I hope you'll give it a go.

If you're new today and unfamiliar with what's been happening here, we vowed to post once a day for the Month of May. A few of us managed to make that happen. Others were just getting started with new blogs and were able to gain a new momentum they either hadn't had before or didn't know was possible. It's been a fun exercise.

Now it's time to celebrate. We're having a Twitter wrap-up party this morning. If you want to join us, follow us at #MayBlog2, beginning at around 8:30 a.m., PST, today.

We'll resume regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

See you then!

Welcome new people into your fold

When we're in recovery, in transition, or any kind of healing mode, we often retreat from other people. Either we don't feel like being around people, or we don't want to contaminate them with a foul mood.

But this time is the best time to welcome new people into your fold, or to connect with those who want to help you succeed. It's part of growing as a human being. It means you're able to connect with others on a personal level, to know when to ask for help, and to accept what's offered to you in the spirit in which it's given.

We'll do that here this week when Katie Hinderer (pictured above),whom I've only "met" because of the Blogathon, serves as my very first guest blogger. She'll pop in on Thursday, May 21 to share with us her thoughts about what it takes to overcome the judgement that often follows the freelancer who leaves the full time job to become self-employed. People don't often take you seriously. And if you've ever felt as though you weren't taken seriously about anything in life, you'll relate to Hinderer's thoughts.

If you'd like to know more about my guest blogger, who also happens to be in the midst of writing her first book--or so I hear--please visit her at Write Beyond the Cubicle. Be sure to visit us both on May 21, when the two of us switch blogs for a day. Hinderer will be here, and I'll be at hers, with a post about how you can use my special brand of BIKE to overcome rejection. Don't we all need a lesson in that?

Join us in the fun--It's Another May Blogathon!

The fun begins today!

Online friend and fellow freelancer Michelle Rafter has initiated the second annual Freelance Success Blogathon. (She calls it the WordCount Blogathon, as that's the name of her blog, and she's the founder. I refer to it after the site where all the writers congregate, and where it all began. At any rate, for the next month, those of us who belong to this professional writers' site we lovingly refer to as FLX will be blogging daily, or at least be making the attempt to do so. And since I've been in limbo for the past month, it's perfect timing for me to get back on track here at BIKE WITH JACKIE. I've been having way too much fun as @bikelady on Twitter.

According to Michelle's list, we have about 29 people participating (I think there are more.), including some non-FLX freelancers who signed up through WordCount. She says there's always room for more. If you care to join us, let me know, and I'll pass your name, your blog's name, and the URL along to the rest of the gang.

If there any typos, we'll try to correct them as we move forward. Michelle did her best to compile the list. And note: This is my first official post for the May Blogathon.

Here's how it works, as I recall. Each one of us on the list below posts the names and URL's of our blogs on each site. Then we attempt to blog every day during the month of May. During this time, we also attempt to visit each other's blogs, read the posts, and post comments. If you join us, you'll likely get pulled into the energy.

With bloggers who write about anything and everything (good/bad parenting, recipes with yummy pictures, writing about writing, books that travelers read, self-help and spiritually empowering topics, creativity and crafts, etc.), it should be a fun month. Be sure to check in, visit the other blogs below, and tell me what you think.

Here's who will be joining us:

Vera Marie Badertscher - Travelers Library - Books and movies that influence travel.
Heather Boerner - Serenity for the Self Employed - Advice for the self-employed among us.
Jane Boursaw - Film Gecko - May Movie Madness and other film-related stuff.
Danielle Buffardi - Horrible Sanity - Random thoughts of a mother and freelance writer.
Sona Charaipotra - Sona Charaipotra on Entertainment and Travel and Food.
Rosie Colombraro - Trust the Universe - There is always a Plan B.
Sue Dickman - Life Divided - Food, gardening, travel, books and more.
Jackie Dishner - BIKE WITH JACKIE - Improve life with BIKE, the spiritual navigation tool.
Kelly Estes - Big Government in Your Wallet - A political blog
Jennifer L.W. Fink - 'Bout Boys - With 4 boys between 11 and 3, this writer knows her subject.
Sydne George - I'll Have What She's Cooking - Good eats.
Debra Gordon- Wine on Tuesdays - About wine and the drinking thereof.
Nancy Hall - Floating Ink - How to fit making art into your every day life.
Heather Holliday - Zazou Marketing - Putting your best words forward.
Elizabeth Humphrey - The Write Elizabeth - Introducing creativity into daily life.
Leah Ingram - Suddenly Frugal - Tips for living well frugally.
JoAnn Jagroop - This Dame Cooks - Recipes from Alaska to the South Pacific.
Lisa Mann - Sonoma on the Cheap - One of a series of "On the Cheap" travel blogs.
Amy Rauch Neilson - Amy on Amy - She launches officially this month.
Jennifer Netherby - Jennifer's Writing Blog - Musings of a freelance writer.
Sarah E. Ludwig - Parenting by Trial and Error - A real parent's blog about parenting.
Kate Reilly - Polka Dot Suitcase - Finding fun in everyday life.
Melissa Sais - Digital Mom - Raising kids in a digital world.
Brette Sember - Martha and Me - One Martha Stewart makeover every day.
Jodi Torpey - Western Gardeners - Jodi's gardening blog.
Sarah Webb - Webb of Science - Where science meets life.
Kathy Summers - Eco Pregnancy and Baby and Health Writing Hints.
Joy Manning - What I Weigh Today - A weight loss success blog.
Michelle Rafter - WordCount - A really helpful writer's blog.

Till tomorrow, happy blogging, everyone!