Hey Shawn,
I was seriously looking to replace the Cycle World subscription, which started as a birthday gift from the wife back in '78, and has continued ever since. Personally, I like Roadrunner, then Motorcyclist as well.
I only remained on with CW because of Peter Egans great, insightful columns, and of course Kevin Cameron's always totally interesting technical pieces. Sadly, the mag was beginning to transform into a chopper adoring monthly, and even the ads began to mimic this direction. The "Letters to the Editor" section had become a playground for the various editors to ridicule and gang up on anyone who disagreed with, or criticised their respective writings. I was shocked at times at how low a level this fell to. I've seen other, lesser mags use this tactic, and this is where I believe the CW staffers got the idea, but these were the smaller "Ham Fisted Chopper Builder Monthly" style mags, with significantly less readership or expectations of meaningful content. More "Boobs" than any "Brain" stimulant. Get a girlfriend... get a job!
Could this have been part and parcel to why Edwards was suddenly(?) relieved of his position? Of course we'll never know, but can only speculate, so forget it. Edwards was also a very active participant on the website forum, which was (and certainly remains) one of the worst. What can be said for a gang of lifetime 24/7 posters displaying individual total post counts of like +10,000 or so? These poor, apparently lonely guys are the type to point out spelling errors, or the fact (?) that the '79 model had 57 spokes, while the '78 model only had 56, or other such painfully insignificant drivel. Pass. Certainly we would like to invite more members to our great Forum, and would encourage meaningful posting and participation, but 10,000 posts a year? That's just plain sad. Get a life please!! When - if at all - do these guys find the time to ride?
As you pointed out Shawn, the "tough guy" mentality is a very wierd phenomina... but maybe not so. In a world where anyone can dress up on Saturday morning with a colorful doo-rag, cool shades, leather this and that, skulls and crossbones everywhere, and a one day pass on shaving - then suddenly transform from a 9 to 5 Accounts Payable Clerk into Mr. Baddass!! That be known, anything's possible. In a previously participated website Forum I noted two separate, and recent polls. One on the average age of posters, which ended up at 41, then another right after asking how many years the members have been riding, which resulted in 36! Somebody is full of it! Reality Check please! Or maybe there ARE a lot of five year olds out there riding... hmm.
Well, take that a step further where total anonimity is achieved... the Internet! These types can now be anyone, and hide behind the "Keyboard and Monitor" of reality, suddenly becoming any fictional character (or lack of...) possible. The ultimate playground for weinies.
Harley bashing will always be there. Part of it is the ol' "Tall Poppy" thing, part jealousy, a few may have been ridiculed, ignored or have had sand kicked in their face by a Harley owner, others may see a segment of HD owners as a negative influence on the sport. Who cares? Hopefully, folks take it with a grain of salt, and for the good-natured fun it should be. Fact is, almost any brand name supporter is just as prejeduced as HD owners are... it's only natural.
In the end, the positive perspective on all of what is currently evolving can be seen as:
A.) Cycle World is getting back to it's roots, and shaking off a bad virus of negativity.
B.) The Economic downturn has helped significantly to seperate the wheat from the chaffe. Many part-time psuedo riders have been forced to turn in their low mileage, shiney bikes. Only the strong survive.
and... C.) The removal of such types from the riding world also transfers positively to Websites, as the misled wannabe Tough's dwindle, and more and more real enthusiast have more time - and opportunity - to participate without the drivel and negativity to deal with. Less wasted time!
All in all, it's a win/win.
Ride safe!
Bob
