VANCOUVER, British Columbia (BRAIN)—Momentum Magazine is celebrating its fourth birthday this May/June and the magazine’s staff is getting ready to celebrate.
This spring Momentum is doubling its print run from 25,000 to 50,000 copies and is launching new local editions in both Chicago and San Francisco (Momentum already has a local edition in British Columbia and Toronto). Local editions, extra pages added to the regular national magazine, are a way for Momentum to carry forth its mission of connecting local cycling communities with the global (North American) cycling community. Local editions make for a thicker magazine, and include local stories, events and advertisers, such as local bike stores. It is also a way for Momentum to increase its ground distribution in Chicago and San Francisco from 1,000 to 10,000 copies every issue. Momentum is picked up for free in cafes, retail outlets, libraries, community centers and bike stores, reaching the cyclists and the “bike-curious” alike.
To add to the celebration, Momentum Magazine has also recently been nominated for a 2009 Utne Reader Independent Press Award in the Health and Wellness category. Winners will be announced at a celebration in Boulder, Colorado, during the Magazine Publishers of America’s Independent Magazine Group conference (May 17-19) and published in the July-August issue of Utne Reader.
“We are very excited to be part of North America’s cycling renaissance. This is just the beginning of the social and economic trend toward everyday cycling. While many things seem problematic and uncertain now, we are quite sure that we’re going to see bikes and bike-based businesses flourishing in the years to come.”
Also, Momentum’s Get Listed program has also been gaining popularity. Bike stores outside of Momentum’s 20 free North American cities can buy a subscription (10-100 copies) for their store that they can in turn give out to their customers for free.
“Momentum is a great sales tool for my customers,” said Gene Oberpriller, owner of One on One Bicycle in Minneapolis. “I hand one to every person that walks into my store that is thinking about commuting, or buying a utility bike. Momentum shows my customers that it is normal to ride a bike for transportation. Handing out Momentum’s is an important part of finalizing those sales.”
Momentum has been gaining popularity over the past year and a half and is being recognized as a leading publication for bike culture and transportation cycling in North America. For more information about Momentum or its Get Listed program, visit www.momentumplanet.com.
