Support of Cycling: What Do You Value?

By John Marsh, Editor & Publisher

Last month in the mail, I received my annual renewal letter from the League of American Bicyclists.

I’ve been a member for several years, and I just renewed for another year for $40.

I appreciate what the League does in terms of its nationwide cycling advocacy, its various safety and training programs and education efforts, and its lobbying on behalf of cycling at the federal level.

In short, I SUPPORT the League, because the League supports cycling. It’s that simple.

I really don’t feel that I get anything tangible in return – beyond the satisfaction of knowing I’m providing a few dollarsto help the organization do what it does for me and my fellow cyclists.

It would be super easy for me to simply take for granted what the League does without supporting it financially.

But I VALUE what the League does, and I know it takes money to run an organization of any size. I do not mind spending a bit of money to support – and pay for – that value.

Do You Value RBR?

Which begs the question: Do you value RBR?

I am a 1-man operation (with the help of a few amazing regular contributors), and work extremely hard to deliver the weekly RBR Newsletter to my fellow roadies. My singular hope is that it delivers some level of value to you.

Even if you get something worthwhile out of one or two articles a week, I would feel great about that. Same thing if you can find valuable info among our more than 3,000 how-to articles on the site.

Over the years, a good many of you have written me directly to say some version of “RBR is a fantastic resource for recreational road riders; keep up the great work!”

I can’t tell you how good that makes me feel. But it’s simply not enough.

Just like the League of American Bicyclists, it takes money to run RBR: to pay for web hosting and maintenance, to pay an email company to deliver weekly emails to you, to pay contributors or edit and publish their eArticles and eBooks to try to earn a little bit for their work, and to pay myself at least a pittance for the countless hours I pour into it.

Yes, we do make a tiny amount of money through advertising (please support those good folks, too!) – but the vast majority of our sustaining revenue comes from Premium Memberships and, to a far lesser degree, eBookstore sales (please support our authors, too!).

I – and the regular voices that come to you each week – are certainly not in it for the money. We’re doing our little bit to support cycling in the best way that we can. But we can’t do that without you.

Which is why I’m asking you today, as I do from time to time, to Please Support RBR Financially!

If you VALUE RBR, please SUPPORT what we do for you.

Join, or Renew, Today as a Premium Member!

And my heartfelt thanks to all past and current Members!

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 Don’t Forget to Log In!

If you have a site account, please first LOG IN before either joining as a new Premium Member or renewing an existing (or expired) Membership. Also, log in to check the status of your Membership. You’ll be able to clearly see on your Account page whether your Membership is current or not. And if you need any assistance, just let me know.

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Great New Giveaways!

As I mentioned in last week’s issue, RBR has a couple of great prizes to give away to some lucky Premium Members. It’s something we do as often as we can. Here’s what we’ve got for you right now:

• 1 free USA Cycling RIDE PLUS Membership (value: $150; click the link to read about this great new cycling roadside assistance program from USA Cycling) 
• 5 20% Off Coupons for a MELD Body-Customized Road Bike Saddle (value: $50 – $65 each; click the link to read my recent review of the MELD Custom Saddle)

All current Premium Members as of Sept. 30, 2017, are eligible for the drawing for these terrific prizes; drawing will take place Oct. 1, and winners will be announced in the Oct. 5 issue of RBR Newsletter.

And A Bonus “Bigfoot” Prize

This one is open ONLY to Premium Members who wear at least a 45.5 shoe. Here’s why: We have a brand new pair of gorgeous white Fizik R1B Uomo Road Shoes (click the link to read our review). But they’re huge: size 45. As these shoes run about .5 to a full size bigger than normal, only those of you who wear a 45.5 need apply. But if you are a bigfoot – and a current Premium Member – please use the Contact Us form to let me know you’d like to be included in this drawing. We want these beautiful shoes to go to a good home!