A two-wheel future?: You don't need us to tell you that the number of young people progressing from scooters and 'peds to larger motorcycles is not encouraging for the future of the sport/leisure/hobby/trade and everything associated with it. There are more practical and financial obstacles than ever in the way of young people discovering what thousands of us already enjoy. The average age of a motorcyclist is now 42yrs, and a conspiracy theorist might surmise that the government would like it to continue upwards until the majority can no longer get a proverbial leg over. Training schools up and down the country, almost all run and staffed by enthusiasts, do their best to enthuse and encourage young people who arrive for the CBT. But is the trade and industry as a whole doing enough? At the Digest we don't think so and we have decided to do something practical to address the situation. With the publication of our first on sale edition in April we will launch our 'On Two Wheels' sponsored training scheme. Each year we will be taking four young people from the CBT through to their test. And we'll also be introducing them to the exciting sporting end of motorcycling by arranging for them to get to a BSB or similar top class race meeting. Young people between 16-20yrs will be invited to write to us and tell us why they want to become a motorcyclist. We will then pick a 'winner', equip them with top quality riding gear, introduce them to a training school, and pay for their theory and practical tests. In return they will share their experiences, thoughts and ideas about motorcycling with the readership through our pages and website. As we're not part of a large organisation or corporate body, we'll be seeking to resource our initiative with the help of clothing and equipment suppliers, training schools, insurance companies, and others in the motorcycle trade who, like us, have an interest in a two wheel future. In return we'll feature their logos and brand whenever we feature the scheme in the magazine and on our web pages. For more information or to become involved with the scheme contact: John Newman 07930 265032 business@theridersdigest.co.uk Next up: We publish our next edition (Issue 137) on March 16th and our features will include riding the BMW G450 Enduro at a real event, and getting views from other riders who are on board the same bike; a radical take on speed issues from our Trainers Tips columnist and riding psychology guru Lois Fast-Lane; while long time contributor Andy Sanson takes us on a journey round some of the dodgiest bikes he's come across down the years. Distribute: Your customers will appreciate taking a free bike mag away with their purchase or service. If you would like copies of our 68 page magazine each month for your dealership, clothing and accessory store, workshop or tyre premises etc, please contact us: 07930 265032 distribution@theridersdigest.co.uk On sale: On April 23rd make sure you're in the vicinity of a W H Smith or other major news retailer to hand over £2.50 for your copy of the new 132 page Digest. More than twice the size and brimming with great writing and pics including a new series 'What's in Your Garage', riding the Buell 1125's, Morini Gran Paso, BMW K1300's. And just for something completely different our off road correspondents, Dave and Milky, swap the plank seats of their enduro bikes for Honda's armchair, the Goldwing. Whatever will they make of all that comfort? It will also include some offbeat travel and tour articles, all the regular columns, and we'll be re-introducing an old Digest favourite, 'Image of the Month' - this time across two pages.
		Contact us:       Editor: Dave Gurman 020 7485 6268 editor@theridersdigest.co.uk Advertising: Matt Paton 01625 614000 m.paton@spacehouse.co.uk Distribution, business : John Newman 07930 265032 business@theridersdigest.co.uk