Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. But different.
Words: Benji
Well, not new to the pages of Singletrack Magazine. But new to writing this opening ‘message from the editor’ page. After 25 years of being Big Chief Wordsmith, Chipps Chippendale has left the building. Definitely not-retired. So you’ve now got me. Sorry about that. I’ll do my best.
What shall I pontificate about on this here magazine page then? Seeing as the vague stated theme of this issue is ‘New vs Old’, I shall type some words about that.
There will be a few of you for whom this issue will be your first copy of Singletrack Magazine. So thanks for joining us and giving us some of your hard-earned. You are what’s known as a ‘new subscriber’.
Despite what the digital world may parrot at you, magazines are doing okay. Not all. But more than you may think. The magazine titles that haven’t fallen by the wayside have a couple of things in common. Passion and aesthetic.
Passion resonates out of the pages of a good magazine. It’s arresting. It’s engaging. It’s immersive. If you have enough passion about something you have no trouble coming up with creative ideas about the something. And getting those ideas turned into printed reality further stokes the passion. It’s a very virtuous circle.
Aesthetics are vital too. Aesthetics and tactility. There is no point in producing a magazine that’s essentially a website that’s been printed out (on really weedy paper stock). Graphic design and quality photography can help tell the tale. Set the tone. Emote all of the feels.
Enough about magazines. You’re holding one right now. You don’t need me banging on about it. What about ‘New vs Old’ in the world of mountain biking? Is it always a case of only new riders doing new types of mountain biking and only old riders doing old types of mountain biking?
What do I mean by ‘new’ or ‘old’ types of mountain biking? Boiling it down to the very basics, I mean kids doing jumps and sessioning tracks in the woods near home. That’s the ‘new’. Compared to middle aged mortgage-payers criss-crossing the open fells. That’s the ‘old’.
The thing is, none of this is new. It was always thus. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this situation. The kids aren’t ‘missing out’ on proper mountain biking. They’ll find it eventually. Like we all did. And us Oldsters are probably best off not trying to compete with the yoof on their terrain (if we’re not practised in such antics). It won’t end well. We’ll either end up knocking their jumps over in sulky protest or knocking ourselves out.
There will always be outliers though. There are kids crossing fells and old gets getting air. The church of mountain biking is incredibly broad. Which may present a problem for marketing departments trying to target a demographic, but the wide spectrum of the who/what/where/when/why of mountain biking is its greatest strength.
On a mountain bike you can pretty much ride anything. Do anything. Be anything. Mountain biking is the best Thing there is. Hope you enjoy the mag!
— Benji
