Happy New Year to all our readers! This post is not just our first for 2016, but it marks the start of our 10th year!
Let’s look back on things I didn’t write about, but were still noteworthy in 2007, when I started IndustryOutsider:
A Superbowl ad cost 2.6 million dollars. Rickrolling was invented. Britney Spears shaved her hair off. Slovenia adopted the Euro. Pair Hilton spent 23 days in jail on DUI charges (I did ask if she would be taking up cycling to get around, since that usually results in a loss of license). Johnny Depp was in a very expensive movie about pirates. A gallon of gas was $3.38. Anna Nicole Smith died. The UK banned smoking in public places.
All that was interesting, but not stuff I shared. If you want to see what I did share, you can. On the lower left sidebar of each page on this site, you’ll see a box that says “Looking for older articles?”, and you can just click the arrow for the drop-down to go all the way back to 2007. But don’t. Because my writing wasn’t so good then. The only thing that can ease the pain of some of my more terrible ramblings was this quote from Lauren Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina Teen USA for 2007: “I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because, uh, some, uh, people out there in our nation don’t have maps and, uh, I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and, uh, the Iraq, everywhere like such as, and, I believe that they should, our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S., uh, or, uh, should help South Africa and should help the Iraq and the Asian countries, so we will be able to build up our future [for our children].” Yeah. Ouch.
Of course, my first post contained this quote: “My goal is to bring you thought-provoking and entertaining content from within the cycling industry, as well as the people we work and ride with every day. Expect to see interviews, product reviews, and comments about the cycling industry in general.” A few things have changed since then. “I” became “We”, as Alex R. (AKA A1, AKA Steak Sauce) Alex D. (AKA A2), Mark, David, Ryan, Carley, Heather, and quite a few guest contributors who all share my enthusiasm for the outdoors joined me in sharing some really great articles. We also changed our focus from just cycling to a lot more outdoor activities, along with travel, nutrition, and even gadgets that you, our readers, might find useful. We Facebooked, Tweeted, Pinned, ‘Gram’d, Stumbled, and Tumbled along the way too. And we never shared anything we wouldn’t want to use ourselves. Good times.
So now that we’ve gotten this post (#1698, for those that are counting) out of the way, it’s time to look forward to our 10th, and best, year ever. We’ll be at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market show next week, getting a headstart on the latest and greatest from your favorite brands, as well as some new products you might not even have heard of. That should give you something to look forward to, besides credit card bills from holiday shopping…
Cheers,
Brian