Magazine Picks
Winter, the off-season, I have an ambiguous relation with her. As much as I like the magic of a cold, snowy ride, it’s hardly what we get over here in Flanders these days. I remember snowy winters as a kid, throwing snowballs at passing cars’ windows, but that was a couple of decades ago and climate-change has affected the way we ride a lot. The last couple of years I spend too much time on the trainer indoors and whenever I take the bike out, it feels like I have to spend half an hour cleaning it afterwards. But actually, all the rain and mud come with a huge benefit too. It gives you time. Time to do all the other things you miss out while you’re busy cycling and exploring. One of these things is reading. I like booksand magazines and in winter I just have more time for that. Reading equals contemplation and inspiration, it fuels my dreams and kickstarts my plans.
This winter had me reading some great magazines. No, they’re not those standard off the shelf publications that you will find at your local newsstand which tend to bore me as they are merely anything more than (re-)written press releases from cycling companies . I’d call them carefully crafted and curated pieces of art that inspire through their writings, images, stories and their general lack of advertising and marketing content. Some people would even call them coffee-table magazines, but that just sounds too pretentious and superficial to me. What connects these magazines is their approach to cycling. They are about you and your way of cycling, not about preppy races, bling bikes or the last thing you absolutely don’t need to buy for your bike. They’re about “me and you and everyone we know” to quote Miranda Julys 2005 cult-movie title.
Far Ride Magazine
Far Ride is probably the longest running magazine in this review and was founded in South-Korea by Sogon Yoon in 2014. One thing that is really nice about this magazine is that because of its origin, it regulary has some stories taking place in Asia where cycling is really huge, but tends to be overlooked largely in European and North-American publications. The magazine also presents a nice balance between covering classical cycling topics like events, bikepacking trips and more creative (cycling) culture related topics. The last issue features an interesting interview with Taylor Phinney on his art projects and has a nice recipe section with some great trail cooking ideas. Each issue also features an exploration of a metropolitan city. Featured in issue 12 is a 25-page article on Mexico City filled with nice tips on where to eat and drink, get your bicycle fixed, rent a bike, get some good coffee and where to ride. The city guide to Berlin published a couple of issues ago turned out really useful when I went to the city two years ago.
Sidetracked
Unlike the other featured magazines, Sidetracked is not a cycling magazine. It would be better to describe it as an adventure magazine, however it always features a couple of articles on cycling too. For me it’s a great inspiring read that makes me realize that adventurous souls all share the same wild spirit and ongoing quest for the exploration of natural places and the great outdoors. Be it on a bike, in a kajak, climbing a big wall in Meteora or exploring the jungle in Sumatra. Cyclingwise, issue 19 has an inspiring article on bikepacking in New Zeeland and a bikepacking trip with XC-mountainbike star Emily Batty crossing the epic geographic center of Iceland.
Bikepacking Journal
Probably my favourite magazine of the bunch. The Bikepacking Journal isn’t actually available for the general public, it is the members-only publication of bikepacking.com. The publication has its roots in an online-magazine called Bunyan-Vélo that was started by Lucas Winzenburg. Together with Logan Watts from bikepacking.com Lucas decided to let his magazine evolve into the Bickepacking Journal. For those interested, you can still download past issues on the Bunyan Velo website. Each issue of the Bickepacking Journal is packed with inspiring articles of journeys all over the globe paired with some inspiring photography. Issue 5 has a capturing article of a bikepacking trip gone totally wrong on the Alpamayo trail in Peru, an inspiring read on the Baja-Divide and a humbling article on seeking adventure close to home during the pandemic. Each year bickepacking.com members get two issues. Even if you are only getting your membership because of the magazine, you’re supporting a great project that has a lot of value for all of us out there riding bicycles through lush forests, rolling hills and breathtaking mountain passes.
Dropped
The new kid on the block. Coming out of the United Kingdom the first issue was released in the summer of 2020. Contentwise I would say it is on par with Far Ride magazine as it covers a broad spectrum of cycling related topics but moreover it is a carbon neutral magazine. Not only because of the format (it’s a bit more compact than your typical magazine) which I like, it does stand out as a magazine of its own and it certainly deserves our attention. Articles have good scopes, are good reads and make you want to go out and ride your bike, be it in the Spanish Pyrenees, the Altiplano or the Dutch flatlands. Photography is well curated. Definitely worth your cash because of the inspiring content.
By now you’ve probably realized that independent print is actually not dead yet and has a future within our community. Especially a future in documenting what we do and what we experience on our bikes. These magazines are treasures, the ones you will show to your non-cycling friends and the ones that will remain on your bookshelf forever and will continue to inspire you each time you wipe the dust off their beautiful covers and scroll through their captivating pages.
Words: Philippe Michiels