The emergence of a new style of cycling ‘magazine’ has caused waves of excitement around the community.  Not just for its content and format, but for the writers behind it. 

2r is a new multi-media magazine about cycling available to download monthly and looks to feature some very interesting and inspiring writers as well as beautiful photo essays and in-depth written articles.

2r is a monthly “magazine” about the hidden side of pro cycling; the untold stories, riders before they were stars, the politics that shape this sport. – 2r

It seems Gerard Vroomen has had quite a bit to play in this ‘magazine’ coming to fruition and recently posted basic details of the release on his blog. So too has the superb blogger @inrng who highlighted the inaugural edition on his page, which sparked a very interesting debate between people with two main issues.

The first being the inclusion of legendary cycling commentator and all round wind-up merchant, Paul Kimmage who is set to dig deeper into the endless drama of cycling every month. I’ve long been a fan of Kimmage and think his knowledge of cycling and the inner workings of teams and of course doping is superb and fully support him sharing this knowledge with the public in order to broaden their minds.

The second major talking point is one I do certainly have a problem with and that’s that currently 2r is only available on iPad running iOS 6. I don’t have an iPad… which meant it was going to make writing this review particularly difficult! I contacted some of the writers and to be honest they seemed as bemused as I did as to why the current target audience was so small. All current reviews of 2r state that they will soon be releasing it for other platforms, but this is still no good for you reading this review! It seems like a wonderful concept for a magazine and I’m really looking forward to reading it and in truth I was seriously annoyed when I realised I couldn’t view it.

However, Mr Vroomen tells us that “In issue 1, Paul interviews LeMond about his relationships with Hinault, Fignon and Armstrong. In the 44(!) page interview, they also cover races being sold, cocaine, and awkward dinners (with the chef of Renault and Lance). Boonen revisits his worst loss, Gesink draws his first bike and Nuyens contemplates retirement. To top it off, Cavendish thinks about what he would do as the UCI president. Plus the most beautiful photos from l’Équipe and Sirotti.”

So if you have already read the new 2r, or have been inspired to go and check it out following this completely flawed review (let’s not sugar coat this!) then please do comment below and let us know what you think.  How do you feel about the concept, the writers, it’s availability etc….and maybe you could write the next review after I get fired!

Stevie

Please note, the comments and thoughts expressed here are my own and in no way represent those of LovingTheBike.com, it’s affiliates or sponsors – Stevie

If you keep your ear to the Twitter flavoured ground you will no doubt have heard about the Paul Kimmage Defence Fund;  which has been started and is being championed across the internet. This is not an article about the rights and wrongs of doping, or an attempt to decipher the thousands of pages of writing dedicated to the doping (or potential doping) of athletes. Whatever your thoughts on some of the particular athletes involved in this ‘scandal’ are, I would hope everyone would agree that a fair enquiry should be held and for that, equal resources are necessary.

Essentially, award-winning author and journalist Paul Kimmage is being sued by Pat McQuaid and Hein Verbruggen after his 1990 book, “Rough Ride” detailed a systematic doping culture within the professional peloton as well as Kimmage’s own comments to L’Equipe regarding the positive test of Floyd Landis and the UCI’s alleged cover up of a positive test for Lance Armstrong during the Tour de Suisse in 2001.

The ‘Paul Kimmage Defence Fund’ was started by bloggers Andy Shen of NYVelocity.com and Lesli Cohen of Cyclismas.com and as of Monday the 1st of October had collected over $47,000 from 1477 contributors. There has also been a significant number of journalists who have put their name to a petition in support of Kimmage which was signed at the UCI Road World Championships in Valkenburg last week.

There is a plethora of information and stories about there about this subject and although I have read a great deal of them, I do not profess to be an expert on the matter.  If you head to the nyvelocity.com page dedicated to the fund you will find a huge list of articles on the subject.

I believe there is no smoke without fire, and this is no longer one man’s fight against the UCI. I don’t have all the hidden information and am not pointing the finger at any riders in particular, this is about Paul Kimmage and trying to assure the man has an adequate defence against the McQuaid, Verbruggen and the UCI.  If you wish to, you can make a donation to the defence fund via the nyvelocity.com page.

Stevie