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Asphalt & Rubber Turns Four Years Old Today

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Today is a surreal landmark, as it marks our fourth year of publishing Asphalt & Rubber. If you cannot already tell, I am having a hard time believing that four years have gone by since I started this humble motorcycle blog (in the middle of corporate finance class, no less), but A&R continues to thrive despite my best dyslexic efforts.

It astonishes me that our “little” site is visited throughout the world on a daily basis, and that each month more people read A&R than all three of the major US motorcycle print magazines…combined.

Things keep on growing here, and I am deeply grateful now to be publishing the work of David Emmett on A&R, as he continues to be one of the most insightful writers in motorcycle racing, in both the print and online mediums.

This year, I am also very honored to have had regular written and photo contributions from Scott Jones, Daniel Lo, and Jules Cisek this year — their work has helped Asphalt & Rubber earn a reputation for stunning photography, and I hear compliments about their photography virtually every time I meet a loyal A&R reader in person.

Looking back on the last year, I realize that we have done quite a lot. We were first to ride some amazing and unique motorcycles, like the BRD RedShift SM prototype, the Mission Motors Mission R, and the 2012 MotoCzysz E1pc. As usual and whenever possible, we tried to get out from behind the computer screens to get our coverage in person, something that is surprisingly rare in this space.

This year alone, A&R visited four continents (you should see my frequent flier miles), and covered in person a bevy of MotoGP races, the Isle of Man TT, the EICMA show in Milan, not to mention a slew of great events in North America (our base), like the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and World Superbike round at Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

We have some great things planned for the site and for the brand next year, with a few exciting projects already in the works. All of us here at Asphalt & Rubber look forward to bringing you more interesting features and timely news items, and I plan on bringing a few more insightful and intelligent voices into the A&R family within the coming year as well. Stay tuned for all of that.

Something that transcends beyond just the past year, it is clear that the motorcycle industry continues to adapt and shift in these uncertain economic times, and moto-journalism continues to come to terms with an online format as well, but one thing for certain will be constant: Asphalt & Rubber will remain a reader-centric publication — meaning our site will always be free to our readers and independent in its thought and content from others.

I am deeply proud of what we have created here, and of course none of this would be possible without the hard work, encouragement, and support of a very loyal group of people. Many thanks to all of you that have been there these past four years — you really have no idea how much your support has meant. You too Mom.

Lastly and most importantly, thank you to all our readers who make all the work worthwhile. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, friend us on Facebook, or just leave a comment below. See you next year.

Some Photos from the Past Year of Asphalt & Rubber:

Main Photo: © 2012 Ryan Phillips / 360° Photography – All Rights Reserved

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