Sound RIDER! 2023

Moving Ahead

All the Best of 2022 lists have been posted, most 2023 models are filling up the showrooms, the shortages we experienced during the pandemic will soon be a thing of the past, and it's a new year.

It's hard to imagine we're moving into our 25^th year of publication when we get to July, but indeed that's the reality. It's not the first time I've worked in one industry for 25 years. I had a career in the music industry that started in the 1970s and continued, overlapping a few years with media production, right into the early 2000s.

Back in 1999, we set out to build an online magazine that would enrich any rider with the content that it provided. Over the years we added events, an online store, and a podcast. I don't feel much like an old man, but I'm thinking it might be nice to take a little time and pretend a day or two a week I'm retired.

That being said, here's a few ways we'll operate in 2023.

Editorial Content

When the pandemic occurred, we moved to a quarterly publication. We'll continue that with our newsletters. As new stories arise, we'll be sure to publish them to the site as soon as necessary, but the newsletters will only come quarterly. Which should be a nice change compared with how often some publications and retail entities bombard us with email newsletters.

We'll also only be producing a quarterly store newsletter as well, but feel free to shop anytime you need something and want to support what we do.

Over a quarter of a decade, we've amassed a large amount of editorial and much of it is evergreen. Since the chances are you haven't been reading all 25 of those years, we'll be taking existing articles, refreshing them and republishing them here and there when applicable. Our Ride Ideas will also refresh sections of our tours which we ran for 10 years, and we'll re-research sections and reproduce them.

But we're always open to new writers, too. If you have a story you'd like to run, or would like to be a regular contributor, get the conversation started by emailing sreditor@soundrider.com.

The calendar and newsbytes will continue to be updated weekly and monthly on an as-needed basis, so be sure to check in now and then for the scoop on what's happening locally and nationally. Starting in 2021, we started adding worldwide events to the calendar for those who like to keep up on the Dakar's and Bajas, EICMAs, and otherwise.

Bear in mind, if you have an upcoming event you want posted, be sure to submit it in our calendar section. If you want some advance editorial, the sooner you submit that to sreditor@soundrider.com, the more likely it is we can use it. Just remember that the further out you submit it, the better chance it has to make the newsletter.

I'm really pleased we were able to get Danielle O'Connell working with us again. She's hard at work updating the Used and Hot Deal bikes monthly so you can locate your next fun ride locally.

SR Podcast

When we began the podcast 8 years ago, there were a limited number of shows specific to motorcycling. The production quality on most was mediocre at best. But, as Spotify, Apple, Rider, and the other big boys awoke, the market was oversaturated with podcasts. With only 24 hours in a day, everything was diluted. Jen and I decided last fall to take a break for a few months and revisit a need for a Sound RIDER! podcast in the spring. If you want it back, go to our Facebook page and let your voice be heard. All the prior episodes are still available for listening. It was a lot of fun doing the shows and there are tons of tips and tricks throughout each episode.
https://soundrider.com/show/

Events

The annual Café to Café Grand Tour will continue to provide at least 15 café targets to hit over a 215 day period from March through September. 2023 packages will ship February 28^th. Order yours up now and discover the grand roads you didn't know with some of the best places to eat in the Pacific Northwest.
https://soundrider.com/cafetocafe/

Somewhere between the pandemic and the creation of the "Smoke Season," we decided to end our Road Trip and Sasquatch tours. While we may revive them again in the future, there's no reason you can't grab any of the past tours and go enjoy on your own, or with a few friends.
https://store.soundrider.com/collections/self-guided-nw-tours

We said goodbye to the Rally in the Gorge with the last event in 2021. To provide the quality of daily events, food options, maps, etc… it was getting not to be so fun anymore, while barely breaking even due to heightened expenses like insurance and rentals. If you used to enjoy the rallies we did there, the two companion books remain loaded with ride ideas and location information. Grab a guidebook or two, a few friends, and create your own event like we did last summer and will do again this year.
https://store.soundrider.com/collections/regional

Enough of my chatter. Let the 2023 riding plans come together and I hope I see you on the road soon.

Tom Mehren/January 2023