An Ode to Dirt Rag

Saw the news a couple nights ago. Dirt Rag is shutting it's doors. I remember reading this in it's heyday in the nineties listening to the Pixies and riding my 26" hardtail religiously. Sigh...I'm going to cry thinking back to those days.

The best part about this magazine wasn't just about mountain biking. It was about riding bikes and they had quite the serious bike passion. It didn't matter where or what you rode to them. It was a community I felt like I was a part in. Raging douchebags and their lust for breaking Strava KOM's did not belong here.  There were other magazines for those guys.

The short stories sent in by readers were very good. I had flaunted the idea of sending something in but would read a story and knew I had no chance. The small ads in the back pages from boutique frame builders were a favourite. I had fun looking up these small companies and flirted with the idea back then of ordering a frame.

I sincerely hope nobody with Dirt Rag was affected by this too hard financially. The people who run this rag always seemed genuine and real to me.

Thanks Dirt Rag for the years of entertainment.

the tweet that ruined my set off