News ‘go slow’ at bikebiz.co.uk

If this is to come out by the end of August, I’ve got to downtools on the website and bust a gut to get the BikeBizBible to the printers.

I can now come clean and report one of the key reasons for the long delay in publishing this book. It’s a legal reason…

Way back in the mists of time I founded a trade directory called The Cyclists’ Sourcebook. At the time I was editor of Cycle Industry when it was published by Tym Manley and Chris Turner, founders of MBUK. I owned the Sourcebook, they owned Cycle Industry.

Then along came a nice man called Mark Allen. He bought Cycle Industry and in a package deal he got me as the freelance editor (I’ve had my own business for nigh on 12 years) and I sold him the Soucebook.

I used to send this directory out free of charge to the whole trade. Mark Allen put a price tag on. To begin with it was £15, now it’s £20.

When Mark Allen sacked me and took the editorship of Cycle Industry in-house, I was still under contract not to produce a trade directory for a set period after ceasing working for Mark Allen Publishing. In short, if I had published B3 a few months ago, I risked being taken to the cleaners. I’m now out of contract and can do what I like.

BikeBizBible will be bang-up-to-date and free to all. And out sometime in August, with a printed update in February.

Thanks for bearing with me during the period of promises, but non-publication.