Dear Dirt Rider,
I would like to apply for the position of Associate Editor at your magazine. I'm a regular guy of average skill level who keeps his bike cobbled together just long enough to make it through next weekend's ride. As a novice, I feel I can strike a chord with your readers by writing articles from an "everyman's" perspective. You know, the guys that are lucky to ride once a month and are doing it on bikes dating back a decade. Some of the ideas that I can bring to the table as part of your staff are:
• Coverage of East Coast riding areas, like Durhamtown Plantation in Georgia, Coal Creek ORV in Tennessee, and Hatfield-McCoy in West Virginia. I love California and the desert, but as a Southerner, there are plenty of us who read Dirt Rider that want more East Coast coverage.
• Budget build-ups. Although many of the bikes you test are indeed awesome, they're little more than a dream for most of us. How about I write a series of articles about buying a 4 or 5-year-old bike for under $2500 and spending less than $1000 on turning it into a real contender at the local track or trail? No bling-bling graphics kits; just frugal upgrades and repair parts that will give the average spode like me a solid bike to start with.
• More technical articles. Today's dirt bikes are getting more difficult for the average home mechanic to service. Although it may seem that technical articles don't sell magazines the way new bike tests do, the amount of discussion in technical dirt bike forums on the Internet shows that there is a market for this. As an automotive technician, I pride myself on being able to explain to customers what's wrong with their car in language they can understand. With some more experience working on dirt bikes, I can do the same for your readers. No fancy engineering talk, just simple explanations.
• A pit crew worker's perspective while covering a desert or 24-hour race. Riding across vast expanses of desert is foreign to me. I think that writing about this from a beginner's point of view would explain to those back East what the fuss is all about.
• Parking lot diagnosis. We've all been there before. All eyes are on you as your buddies idle their bikes while waiting on you to start yours. But your bike won't start! It ran fine last time?! I'd like to write a story about what you can do and what tools you'll need to get your bike fired up during this stressful situation.
• Essential tools for under $175. Many people buy a $6000 bike and have a minimal selection of cheap tools to work on it. I'd like to write an article showing how to piece together a respectable garage tool kit for under $175. These tools will cover many of the common tasks a rider would be doing to his/her bike.
In conclusion, not only am I fanatical about dirt biking, but I'm also serious about bringing as many new riders into our sport as possible to build our political clout. Whenever a potential dirt bike nut picks up at copy of Dirt Rider off the magazine rack, I'd take pride in being partly responsible for helping them get bitten by the bug. I thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
"Mr. Red"
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