About the Ride: Last Lap

You’re not supposed to call last lap. It’s bad luck, an invitation to the gods of mechanicals and injuries. So call this two more, skip the last. But either way, no matter how you cut it, this is the last piece from my byline to go live on these pages.

This is a last lap, and a thank you. First, to mountain biking. It’s pretty great that we get to spend any portion of our day playing with these fantastic contraptions in the hills. I count myself immeasurably fortunate to get to ride my bike most days, let alone write about bikes for money.

Second to you, the audience that has endured my ramblings about bikes. I hope I’ve been somewhat helpful, or at least entertaining. Without readers, there’s no point in writing about bikes, and every interaction I’ve had with readers has left me so grateful for this group of folks that cares about Bike Mag.

To every media contact, PR rep, and brand person, thank you so much for trusting us to cover your products, helping us understand what you’re doing, and keeping us in the loop with everything that you’re up to. This is an industry full of excellent people. It’s been such a privilege to work with so many of you and I hope to continue those relationships.

Finally, and most importantly, contributors. Thank you all for working through my edits and letting me read your work before the general public. That’s been one of the biggest highlights of this job. I’ve run an internal series for my team called “Friday Feels” where I call out my favorite stories of the week, and this is a great excuse to do that with an audience.

Thank you to all the writers and photographers who shared their columns, trip reports, and photo galleries with us. I really appreciate all your work.

Julia Tellman cranked out so many concise, clear launch articles, along with delightful opinion pieces and useful reviews. She’s also responsible for keeping my copy somewhat clean.

Writing with (at?) Andrew Major is such a hoot. We differ on so many topics, but he’s smart, kind, and brings such creative prose and an indefatigable love of bikes to every conversation. I enjoyed every Conflict, Tilting at Windmills, Secondhand Postillions, and one-off article we managed to run. He’s also way faster on his single-speed, rigid, 29+ bike than he has any right to be. Go read his blog , it’s great.

Ariel Kazunas excels at putting words in the right order in a way that brings human stories to life. She’s so damn good at it. Her “The Future is Bright” series always makes my day, her event coverage is consistently excellent, and I just love getting to the end of her pieces and feeling like I read an article with heft.

Deven McCoy is a workhorse and does a great job of blending visual creativity with consistency. I loved having the secret weapon of an illustrator on staff, and his “Cycling is Not Suffering” piece is still the fastest I’ve ever responded “YES!” to a pitch.

Dylan, the social media lord, manages to bring a good attitude, lift everyone’s spirits, and keep our social channels looking good, while also cranking out sweet tie-dye projects and rad trails.

What’s next? We’ll see. I’m headed off in search of a land with more art, and poetry, and pretty photos of mountain bikers printed on paper. I’ll keep posting doodles and musings on my Instagram , if that’s something you’re into. But for now, I’m going to close this computer and pull my bike out of the garage. Take a pedal, maybe session some jumps as the sun sets, and race the last light home on a party lap with my favorite people. After all, it’s always about the ride.