We see excellent traffic on that page and it seems to be a great draw for our site and a source of info-tainment for people. I do have some questions about what you guys think of the content if I may:
Do you guys like 800-1000 word stories about something that happened at a race, preparing for a race or something to that effect? A narrative that describes a scene?
Would you rather read an *opinion piece *about topics such as doping in endurance sports, gender issues in triathlon, rules, race production, etc.
Do you like reading inpsirational/motivational stuff in this setting?
We have a ton of editorial ideas at any given time and sometimes the ones that generate the most traffic frankly surprise us. Let me know what you think…
I love your tech center stuff. Like how to box your bike, what to look for on your bike before your A race, the different saddles etc. Stuff that you see every day, that we may not.
Do you like reading inpsirational/motivational stuff in this setting?
NO! I thought that was NBC’s job
Seriously though the informational stuff and product tests are great.
I wish your pages would have come up when i googled a topic. I was searching bike packing and looked millions of places until someone from here pointed me to your web.
I’ll second the tech articles. I also enjoy the race reports from big events. Even overviews of events, gives me a chance to experirence races I may never get to go to.
From a Michigan centric point of view I like reading about local races and the triathlon community in general. Race reports, featured races, Tri Club review
Something that would be interesting is to have a Bikesport Triathlete of the Month. Similar to Triathletes Gatoraid athlete of the month. Take a look and credit local athletes like Eric Fernando, he has done a ton for the local tri scene and seems to be getting faster rather than older, 2nd ov’all @ Steelhead with 4:14!
Michigan triathlon clubs are getting stronger all the time following the trend of increasing sport popularity. My tri club FAST is close to passing 250 members.
I first stumbled on to your site a couple of years ago while researching for a new bike purchase (I actually first found Slowtwitch from a link on your site). The reviews and tech pieces are what first caught my attention but I’ve gone back over time and read all of them. While they are all well done, not surprisiningly, I did not find every single one of the articles equally interesting and I’m sure no one else does either. However, there are at least a couple from each gendre (tech review, how-to, personal story, essay, opinion piece, etc) which I greatly enjoyed. You are pretty good at making a wide range of topics interesting. Keep mixing them up.
Agreed. The strength of your writing lies not only in the your knowledge, but in the breadth of subject matter. I always walk away from your editorials with something new to consider, be it regarding the geometry of a new bike, how a winter jacket should fit, or the role of teachers outside our classroom lives.
The beauty of Op-Ed pieces is that one may not always agree with what’s being said, but if it’s presented in a thought-provoking and intelligent manner, it’s a good read.
Bottom line: Don’t change what you’re doing. It’s all good.
I like the bike tech and maintenance articles–I send people to the “How To Pack Your Bike” article all the time. Well not all the time, but at least once every few months.
Do continue to write editorials on doping and ethics in sport.
I fall somewhere between Gav and mfreeman, it is the breadth of your subject matter that draws me in to read each editorial. I would like to see an interview of Eric F from someone that knows him as you do, but think that a triathlete of the month may be a little too local (although that is only an issue on the www) and be lacking in interest for the majority of readers as the Gatorade one can be.
I particularly enjoy your more introspective pieces such as “the fat kid” (for reasons you appreciate) and other editorials that relate to our sport more tangentally.
All I can say is that I hope you continue to write them and share.
Tom-
I personally like having the variety of lots of different topics. The only change that I would request would be to add the date that the editorial was posted on the list of editorials. It’s often tough to tell whether I have read a particular editorial or not, and a date would help.
Thanks,
litherland
There is already an overabundance of the tech and training stuff–even if yours may be of higher quality. I look to the opinion pieces, especially re: the issues you mentioned such as doping, gender issues and, don’t forget, ageism in triathlon. Whether in agreement or not, it’s good to read and think about a variety of viewpoints.
As an ultra distance multi-sport athlete I think it would be nice to have a regular section pertaining to all things ultra. This would really set you apart from just about every other tri site.
As a multi-sport coach I think it would be nice to have a regular piece that takes an honest look at the latest trends/theories in tri training–sort of a critique of the hype. So much information is fed to triathletes in such an oversimplified form that it’s often rendered meaningless in actual training (assuming it was correct info in the first place!).
I think someone else used the word “edgy.” Yes! We already have enough mush. (Now I’m actually going to go to your site and see what’s there. Haven’t been to it before…) —Lauren
Loved your shark encounter editorial. I sent a too close encounter story of my own to your feedback address. It would be fun to hear others’ race related creature encounters. I recently read about a guy doing that ultra run in the Brazilian rain-forest who put out his hand to grab a branch and grabbed a scorpion instead. End of race for him!
