The fact that you’ve made it here shows that you love bikes and are looking for something different to the other magazines and journals out there. That’s good because that’s what The Ride has been created to be.
Born, as all good things are, out of a conversation over Mexican food and Pacifico beers, The Ride is an all encompassing read. We know that most people who share our obsession with bikes don’t want to be pigeon-holed as roadies, freeriders, track racers, BMXers, XC riders or even commuters. They are just riders. So we wanted to create something for them, and also for us. Something that crosses both cycling and international borders.
The idea was to create a journal of personal stories. Bikes have changed people’s lives in so many ways and we wanted to gather a small selection of these tales. We didn’t want to give reviews or race reports, we wanted to get under the skin and expose the passion that flows through riders veins.
Once the seed was sown we spread the word to people from all across the globe. Initially we wondered if it was just us who wanted to see such a journal; evidently we were wrong. From all kinds of riders we began to get favourable responses. People asking why this hasn’t been done before and how they could join us? A snowball effect took place and what was planned to be 80 pages soon grew into the beautiful monster sized journal we have finally ended up with (148 pages with only 7 of them used for advertising; loads less than a regular mag).
As well as the incredible writing we also wanted the magazine to be equally strong visually. Artists, illustrators, photographers were all approached and they have helped give The Ride the stunning visual style it has.
We are not in this to make money, just to give something back to the world of cycling. And to help give back a little more we’re donating profits from the journal to Re-cycle; a very good cause who send reconditioned bikes to Africa to help give families life-transforming transport.
As for issue two; having created something we are so proud of it seems a shame to stop at one, especially as we know we have barely touched the tip of the ice-berg when it comes to stories to be told. Just let us catch our breath before we start again. If you’d like to contribute or tell us what you think of issue 1, drop us a line.
