Is YOUR Trip Necessary?

Snakebite told me to pass this along. When Snakebite talks, people listen. He's sort of the modern day E.F. Hutton.

Must. Start. Blogging. Again

Sometimes I just need inspiration to continue doing what I'm doing on this blog. To be honest, inspiration has been lacking lately. Then something comes along and you realize that maybe you do make a difference to people out there on the internets.

The gang over at Environmental Science Degrees gave me a shout out on a post for "55 bicycle sites to go green and get fit". Point taken. People do pay attention and I have an obligation to continue on my motivational path. Thanks for the kick in the pants.

Mowin' It Old School

I was talking to my Mom last week asking her if she still had the old Reel Mower around. She said it was still out in the shed and I could have it if I wanted it. Oh yeah, I wanted it.

What I am even more amazed is that it needs VERY LITTLE work done to it. I was all excited and mowed the front yard with it without doing a thing to it. It probably needs a little lubing up and the blades could be sharpened a little, but it works great!

Bicycling Magazine in Digital Format - Part 2

This is a follow-up to the previous post/rant about Bicycling Magazine not wanting to respond to me about plans about a full digital edition. Today, I received the following from their online editor:

Hi Kevin.

I think we have been in touch before but Im not sure so I'll start from scratch. Thinking and Going Green is very important to us here at Rodale and especially at Bicycling, a mode of transportation and recreation that is green in every sense of the word.

Currently, our magazine is not delivered electronically and I am still unsure when that is in the works. With the push of media towards the digital realm, something tells me sooner than later. However, we do republish almost all of our magazine content on our website Bicycling.com. Maybe reading our content on the web would be a suitable alternative in the mean time.

Please keep in touch and thank you again for the suggestions and feedback.

David

While I'm still not sure how soon it will potentially happen, it was nice to receive an email from not-just-somebody at Rodale, but the online editor. I was pretty impressed that he took the time to email me back. When I responded and thanked him for his time, he emailed yet again saying that he appreciates all feedback, especially well articulated email. Thus proving he probably never reads my blog!

Bicycling Magazine in Digital Format

*WARNING - The following message is a personal advocacy rant - Reading this rant may infuriate you, make you impale yourself with sharp objects, or just make you think I'm crazy. Well, crazier than normal...

I have attempted to contact Rodale Press, the publishing company of Bicycling Magazine, Runners World, Men's Health, etc., on five different occasions both by phone and by email to get a straight answer as to a time line as to when they might go digital with their magazines. After all, I figured that a company that is into health and the great outdoors would be quick to adopt a way to reduce waste by not having to print all those magazines.

Sure, you can recycle a magazine, but what percentage of all their magazines actually make it to a recycling center? I would hope a great percentage, but the reality probably isn't as rosy as I'd like it to be.

So many of my tech (IT) magazines are in digital format and I absolutely love it. Not to mention that you can save them and refer back to them without having to have a special room in your house devoted to them!

My initial phone call to Bicycling Magazine was less than impressive. When I asked if they were going to put their magazine in Digital Format, I received a bland "no" answer. When I asked if they were planning on it in the future, I receive a bland "not to my knowledge". I pried a little further: "So, you're telling me that a magazine that promotes cycling and a natural way of life, isn't planning on a digital format to your magazine to try to reduce recycling and use of natural resources"? It was a bit longer pause, possibly due to the fact that he was contemplating if I was psychotic or not, I received a bit firmer; "Sir, as far as I know there are no intentions in the future to release Bicycling Magazine in a digital format". I thanked him for his answers but also told him that I was disappointed, so I tried the second angle: Email!

At this point, I've sent four emails that have gone unanswered in the last month or so. I'm VERY disappointed in the lack of answers. Since I can't seem to get an answer from them, I'm going to my personal sounding board in hopes of garnering support. I figured if I have enough people who like Digital Magazines and Bicycling Magazine to help make a push for this, maybe there will be enough strength in numbers to change their mind.

For those of you who think I'm crazy, well, I'm used to that too. You have to be a little crazy to stand up for what you believe in sometimes. Oh yeah, for those who are seriously interested in rattling some cages:

Bicycling Magazine Customer Service: BKEcustserv@rodale.com 800-666-2806
Bicycling Magazine Editor: bicycling@rodale.com
All Customer Service for Rodale: http://www.rodale.com/1,6597,8-116,00.html
All Editor Contacts: http://www.rodale.com/1,6597,8-115,00.html