Events: Our Tenth Anniversary!
Somewhere between the Adirondack Mountains and the beaches of Rehoboth, we quietly crossed a milestone. It was June of 2015 when we started this cycling website project, and here we are a decade later still producing content. There have been tepid ups, massive downs, and a changing landscape since that office visit in Dublin, PA, when the site was officially launched. We have never lost our vision to provide unfiltered content involving cycling, style, coffee, and shaving. But we have had to alter our navigation.
The site creakybottombracket.com was started as a road cycling site to provide a clubhouse feel. It’s a clubhouse where everyone, regardless of status, is welcome. As people who have worked in the cycling industry for nearly two decades, there have been too many times where companies pushed a product we didn’t really believe in: from gummy inserts that absorb cobbled vibration to bike companies producing cycling kits, we wanted to reach the cycling scene with raw beliefs. We can espouse industry data in the shop while maintaining a cover writing for the site.
To this day, we believe steel is real, but super bikes are still sexy. We miss the old Red Hook Crits as well as the Univest Pro/Am Grand Prix. Both of those races were in existence when we started the site. Ten years ago, our first race report was from the last Tour of the Battenkill. This past spring, we raced in the reboot - Battenkill Race. That article was preceded by our first ever post - a review on Veloflex Masters, tires we still dream about to this day. It was the Veloflex tires that got us thinking: what if we told people about these handmade Italian tires? Shortly after it was posted on the ancient Wordpress page, people clicked on the link. If there was a super steel bike sporting Veloflex Masters, we would certainly report on it.
In recent years, we have taken to reviewing old articles. Doing so has highlighted a concerning trend. So many businesses we have promoted have closed. Whether it was Lebelle Shave Soaps, a Pennsylvania wet shave soap supplier, PONGO London sock company, the Sufferfest, or La Passione, dozens of content-related companies have moved on. Even cyclists have moved on. One in particular, ridingthecatskills.com, has packed up and moved on. Handlebar Mustache sold the business, moved to Pennsylvania, only to move again. Even our beloved Betty sold her Java Joint drive through coffee business in Trexlertown.
We have also experienced some of the lowest of lows. Ten years ago, we lost Dan Wilson, a cyclist struck and killed by an intoxicated driver who crossed the center of the road. In almost cyclic fashion, a fellow cyclist was struck last week by an intoxicated river who crossed the center line nearly ten years to the day in nearly the same location. The difference is Dan Wilson did not survive; the recent rider has reported being on the mend after a week in the ICU. While we promote road cycling, it is always in our thoughts the inherent dangers that accompany our hobby. Either of those cyclists could have been any of our readers, as evidenced by the reflective comments left on the old Wordpress site. We think we are invincible until we are proven wrong, usually by someone else’s recklessness. When an event like that happens, we still throw a leg over the bike and head out.
Ten years ago we raced a mechanical shifting pinchy brake bike before everything changed. Ten years ago, people were losing their minds over disc brakes (thanks #crossiscoming). Even today, people still lose their mind over disc brakes. Now there are electronic shifting bikes and power meters standard. Ten years ago, people went for a ride and looked around because that was the only option. Now cyclists are melted to their head unit, refusing to enjoy a ride outside of zone two because … Ten years ago, we raced. Crit races were appealing for their danger. Now we hope for everyone to continue social distancing. Dive into a turn all you want, but keep six feet from all of us. We have work tomorrow. A lot changes in a decade.
Speaking of a changing landscape, ten years ago no one regurgitated “gravel bike” wherever cyclists went. While we think the label “gravel bike” is stupid, the bike has infiltrated the clubhouse. We even brought one into the service course as an anti-superbike presence. While they annoy people, gravel bikes have their place. These fat tire road bikes can go more places than a road bike. Our angst toward them is reflected in how we treat our gravel bikes, yet they return for more punishment. How can anyone argue with a bike that wants to remain under you even when you’ve tortured it on single track, camping trails, and cyclocross races?
One source of inspiration has slipped under our radar and continued to post all these years. A strong presence, thewashingmachinepost.net has always been our go-to source for days when content feels sparse. Kermesse Sport, a major supporter of ours throughout the years, introduced us to the mustard yellow website whose setup should look familiar on our site. Brian Palmer’s ability as a writer is superb. As he continues to write, we have always hoped to be ranked half as good as Palmer. Just that notion would give us pure joy. Happily, thewashingmachinepost.net continues to publish daily while we have admittedly fallen off in regularity.
Over the past decade, our little website has reported on dozens of events. From Kermesse Sport’s Hell of Hunterdon to Anthem Sports Tours’ Battenkill Race, we have lined up for numerous community events. Our goal was to stay away from the “race report” that saturates the content. Instead, we focused on the course and community. We took the drive to Lime Rock Park just to race on the iconic motorsports raceway. We botched it, accidentally pulling ourselves from the race, but it was neat to be at a race track where local drivers tried their luck in decades past. We want people to want to find races. Industrial parks are the base; destination races are more invigorating.
Closer to the site’s opening we had people come up to us and say, “I read your content!” than our later years. Though life has changed, the bike has stayed the same: ready to ride, regardless what kind of bike it is. And those moments when articles have not been posted, it’s likely because a choice was made: ride or write. It’s a goal to return to writing regularly like Brian Palmer does for thewashingmachinepost.net. It’s a goal to race the Lime Rock crit race again. And it’s a goal to continue to add new miles to our wandrer app. This is how you get into the clubhouse - you make cycling goals. Like the site proclaims, let the bike change your life. Here’s to ten more years!
