Just Another Issue – Like the 749 Others Since 2001

750 and Counting

By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher

When you’re doing any activity every single week on the same schedule year after year, the numbers just start to blur. But every once in a while along the way, a nice round number jumps out at you.

It really doesn’t seem like it was more than six years ago that we published Issue No. 500, but it was (October 2011). And 2001, the year RBR came into existence, seems like eons ago.

I decided to mark today’s big number not with a special issue, but just with a note of thanks – and let this week’s RBR Newsletter be just another issue, like the 749 others that came before it.

As I wrote in my Editor’s Note leading off that 500th issue, our reason for being had not changed one whit between 1 and 500. And it remains the same to this day:

RoadBikeRider is a newsletter and website 100% devoted to road cycling, to providing expert advice, tips and shared knowledge to road cycling enthusiasts – from beginner to experienced rider – to help you become better cyclists and enjoy our sport even more.

RBR provided a home – a community, really – for recreational roadies around the world to call our own, to learn and grow together. I joined that community as a reader early on, eagerly anticipating each weekly issue (and have been the ringleader since 2011). I knew that next issue would be chock full of useful, how-to information, tidbits, reminders, and great advice.

Many of the best things I’ve learned…

Many of the best things I’ve learned about how to improve my road cycling have come from RBR. And it’s still happening today, all these years later. (I hope every single RBR reader can say the same thing!) That’s because you’re never too experienced to learn something new, or to be reminded of something you learned way back but had forgotten, or to benefit from the latest tech, training or nutrition advice from a working coach or other expert. 

Yes, our sport continually evolves, just as RBR does. Yet, 16 years down the road, our mission remains unchanged from Day 1. And it won’t change as we look ahead to the next milepost at Issue No. 1,000.

We love the sport. There’s absolutely nothing better than riding on the road. We’re pretty sure you feel the same way. That’s why we thoroughly enjoy the weekly conversation we have with you through RBR Newsletter and on RoadBikeRider.com. And why we’re excited to continue supporting the road cycling community into the future.

Whether you’ve been a reader for a short time, or you go all the way back to the beginning, I just want to say THANK YOU! (And an equally big THANK YOU to all of our contributors!) Please keep reading, please keep supporting us, and please tell every last one of your road cycling friends that they should, too!

Because even after 750 issues, we’re still the best how-to resource out there – but to many riders we’re still a secret. Let’s change that before Issue No. 1,000 rolls around!

Roll On Safely!

—John

P.S. It’s an interesting coincidence that as RBR’s latest “big number” rolled up today, a big number in my marriage (25) hit yesterday; as this email pings your inbox and the issue posts to the site, I’ll already be on an anniversary trip with my wife. So if you happen to email me about anything re: this issue, I won’t be able to respond till next week.