25 Years of RBR Weekly Newsletters

By Lars Hundley

This month marks 25 years of Road Bike Rider. Ed Pavelka and Fred Matheny sent the first newsletter in July 2001, following their earlier work at Bicycling Magazine, and it has gone out just about every single week since. Over 1,200 issues! John Marsh published it for the better part of a decade after Ed and Fred moved on, and I took the handoff from him in early 2018, with issue No. 798.

I’ll tell you one thing that hasn’t changed in all that time. Jim Langley showed up in issue No. 9, back in September 2001, and he’s still answering your tech questions in this one. His weekly Tech Talk column has run without a break since 2003. Nobody in cycling media has a streak like that, which is fitting for a guy who once rode 10,269 days in a row. That’s over 28 years without missing a single daily ride. (And you’ve probably noticed that most weeks his column shows up as the most popular article from the week before!)

Long before any of this, I was just another weekly reader. I dug through my old emails recently and found RBR newsletters going back to at least 2013, and I’m pretty sure I was reading for years before that. I was the kind of fan who read every issue the morning it landed. If you had told me back then that I’d end up the publisher someday, I never would have believed it.

So I’d love to know: how long have you been reading? Leave a comment and tell us the year you subscribed and something RBR changed about your riding or taught you. I’m especially curious whether anyone has been reading since issue No. 1?

Twenty-five years down, and I’ll see you next week!

Similar Posts

22 Comments

  1. I honestly don’t know when I started but it was a long time ago. I’ve been cycling since the mid 70’s. Enjoy your weekly email.

  2. Oldest issue I see in my email is #206 from August 2005. I stumbled upon RBR a month or two after I bought my first road bike in 2005 and read everything to get up to speed on my new sport.

    1. I’m about on the same time-frame as Brandon. Around 2005. Thanks to Lars for keeping RBR as relevant as always.

  3. I’ve been reading since issue 1! I guess that makes me old? Thank you for continuing what Fred and Ed started!

  4. I started in 2006 when I bought my first proper road bike after trying my first group ride on my son’s Huffy and failing miserably! I still read every issue. I’m not a racer but I learned a lot from John Hughes about training as I tried to improve. RBR has been an inspiration and a blessing. There’s always something new to learn (or laugh about) and I am deeply grateful to the entire team. I always recommend it to people I ride with. Thanks for all that you do.

  5. I have been reading since Issue 1. I had followed Ed and Fred in their years with Bicycling Magazine – and learned a lot from them. So it was great news for me to hear that they were starting a newsletter and I jumped right in. Jim is a treasure. Keep up the good work – the newsletter continues to be a great resource,

  6. I have been receiving and reading RBR for at.least 20 years,could be close to 25 I’m not sure. I love RBR and received much valuable information over the years.
    Jerry Brick

  8. I started reading when Jim published his first article (#9) in Sep. 2001, as he’d mentioned to me that he was going to start writing for Ed & Fred. It’s been worth every read since.

  9. I’ve been reading since the Ed and Fred era, and riding roads (now bike paths) since 1973 with over 125,000+ miles covered. I’m 77 and still riding 3000-3500 a year on a Creo, a great bike for aging riders. Keep up the good work at RBR!

  10. Believe I’ve been here from the beginning. Really enjoy reading the tech & tricks articles.

  11. Bought Tom Kellogg bike in PA in 91 and lived 20 miles from Velodrome and started reading as soon as it was online. Been a fund of information. Fell and broke ulna, radius, and hip when I turned 81 and since retired. Fond memories of all the wisdom shared. Still follow the great swell of e-bikes for exercise and as just a non exercise convenience

  12. I have been a subscriber since back in the days of Uncle Al. I no longer ride a bike but I still enjoy the newsletter and pass it along to my cyclist husband,

  13. I have been a RBR reader since November 2002. But I known most of the writers long before this site. I been reading cycling magazines (anything and everything) since the later summer of 1986. My Dad told me a American had won it! I road my bike to the local drug store almost daily to see when the latest issues of Bicycling Magazine would arrive so I could read all about Lemond’s win!

    It didn’t arrive until sometime in August! A full 3 weeks after the race was over.

  14. I’m a more recent convert, but really enjoy RBR. Thank you for continuing the tradition and kudos to all those who have been contributing for decades (and riding for years without missing a day – wow, awesome!)

  15. I remember reading Bicycling magazine back in the days when Fred and Ed were regular writers (I got into cycling in 1984). I’ve been reading RBR for at least 20 years. I find the newsletter gives me great perspectives on what other riders are experiencing. I also get handy advice on dealing with mechanicals, and tips on riding better. Not every issue has something for me, to be honest, but most of them do. Keep up the good work!

  17. Can’t say for sure I read the first, but, if not pretty close. Thanks for picking up the baton, Lars

    Steve

  18. Started with RBR in 2011. It has been with me and the morning coffee ever since.

  19. Jim Langley is the king of RBR continuity, not to mention the king of riding streaks, but let’s not forget Alan Ardizone, AKA Uncle Al.. He was RBR’s tech guru in our formative years, and he was as popular as Jimbo is today.

    Back then, Al was the owner and ace wrench of Cascade Bicycles in Montrose, the top shop on Colorad0’s western slope and Fred’s hometown, too. Knowledgeable and opinionated, the Unc attracted a strong following that helped pump up RBR’s subscription list. Fred and I owe a ton to his efforts and, of course, to all that Jim has contributed following Al’s reign.

    RBR might not have succeeded without those guys. As the newsletter reaches 25, here’s a chance to say thanks to two great mechanics who have helped thousands of RBR readers understand and benefit from our sport’s technology.

    And now, as Uncle Al was wont to say, “Clean your bike!”

  20. I’ve been reading long enough that I was able to buy Fred Matheny’s book on training in paperback before it went digital.

  21. Yes since the first couple of months, spotted a link somewhere.
    and I’d always subscribed to Bicycling from Australia and knew Ed and Fred’s writing’s so i jumped straight on.
    Jim Langley – yes a legend of endurance in both riding and writing.
    And read the emails eagerly – usually at work after first logon 🙂
    paid for many pdf’s as gems of cycling insight from so many knowledgeable authors at RBR, looking forward to the next “anniversary of awesomeness “

Comments are closed.