I'm pleased to announce that I've just received a press release from Bicycling magazine. While I ordinarily just delete press releases from Bicycling, this one was actually about me, so I proceeded to skim it:
BICYCLING MAGAZINE DEBUTS TWO
NEW FEATURE COLUMNS
--“Road Rights” and “The Bike Snob” will appear in the Bicycling’s
May issue, on newsstands April 7th --
Emmaus, PA: March 19, 2009 — Bicycling announced today it will debut two new feature columns. “Road Rights,” authored by lawyer and two-time Olympic cyclist, Bob Mionske, will cover legal issues relating to cycling, while “The Bike Snob,” penned by influential blogger, BikeSnobNYC, will serve as a take-no-prisoners commentary on cycling culture. Both columns will be unveiled in the magazine’s May issue, available on newsstands April 7th. --“Road Rights” and “The Bike Snob” will appear in the Bicycling’s
May issue, on newsstands April 7th --
“For Bicycling, ‘Road Rights’ signals the deepening of our commitment to the coverage of road conditions for cyclists, with the ultimate goal of affecting positive change in the form of safer streets and greater mutual respect between cyclists and motorists,” says Loren Mooney, Bicycling’s editor in chief.
“Road rights and safety are critical issues for any cyclist, from the rank beginner up to the pro-racer, and no one has more expertise on these subjects than Bob Mionske,” Mooney added. Mionske’s practice specializes in cycling law and his 2007 book, Bicycling and The Law, is the first book written about legal issues for cyclists since The Road Rights and Liabilities of Wheelmen was published in 1895. Mionske’s new column will appear regularly in Bicycling magazine and bi-monthly on Bicycling.com.
To this point, Bicycling was just named a 2009 National Magazine Award finalist in the Public Interest category for its investigative piece, Broken, which examines America’s failure to keep its road safe for cyclists, and makes a case against a biased legal system. Ultimately, this story helped to spark grassroots pro-cycling safety movements across the country and heightened the focus on the issue within the cycling community.
“The Bike Snob” allows for Bicycling to add BikeSnobNYC to the magazine’s enviable roster of writers. His style punditry on the world of cycling has been sought by publications such as The New York Times and The New York Observer. His first book on cycling culture is forthcoming from Chronicle Books.
“After months of begging,’” says Mooney, “BikeSnobNYC finally agreed to bring his unparalleled wit and sense of style to the readers of Bicycling.”
Overall, I was disappointed with the press release, mostly because of all the fluff about that lawyer guy. Also, after complaining about the word "biking" yesterday, I was irritated to find that my blog is "penned"--especially since I type with a pencil. Worst of all, it appears I'm going to be very busy in the coming days, though I should be able to pawn most of it off on the helper monkey.
Still, I'm excited about the column, and as a person who loves to write I'm grateful to be able to do more of it. I'm also very grateful there are people who enjoy this blog. By the way, if you're one of those people who's critical of Bicycling, I think they at least deserve some credit here. After all, I'm known for being a sarcastic bike blogger, so the fact that they're letting me write a cooking column that's not only completely sincere but also includes no cycling content whatsoever is a bold and daring decision on their part.
--BSNYC/RTMS
