We're Baaack! Vibrant community deserves support

In April of 2005, the Daily Herald launched a weekly section about motorcycles, cleverly called, Motorcycling. This came after several years of running my motorcycle articles and ride reviews in the newspaper's Auto section.

The Daily Herald was the first and only newspaper to have a regular motorcycle writer and separate section to cover the sport of motorcycling. Readers and advertisers loved it, and the Motorcycling section kept growing and thriving.

Then in 2008, the U.S. economy went into a deep recession. The powersports industry was hit harder than most; sales plummeted, and our area lost a lot of dealerships - and it was hard times for the survivors, as well. So sadly, the Motorcycling section didn't survive.

But as you can see, we're back now and restarting the tradition. Our sections will come out once a month through the riding season. We hope to increase the frequency as time goes on. We'll need support from readers and advertisers to make it work again.

And this time around, we also have the benefit of the electronic media world, which means you'll be able to find our stories on the Daily Herald website (www.dailyherald.com), and they will be archived, so folks can research past issues. And you'll be able to share links with friends electronically all over the country. We will have motorcycle ride reviews, product reviews, and hopefully interesting articles by me and guest editors, and all kinds of information about motorcycles.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of our advertisers. So please think about spending your dollars at those places that support this effort and let them know you appreciate their involvement. I'm excited, and I hope you will be, too.

We'd like to hear from you, the readers, with feedback on articles and your thoughts and comments on what you'd like to see in this section. We'll try to publish some of those letters and respond to them. We also encourage you to send us your riding club's information about any upcoming charity rides and events taking place in our area. Email details to motorcycling@dailyherald.com. Also, send us a photo of you on your bike at some lovely place you've visited, and we'll print some of those, as well.

You can send your correspondence to me at KGHawkeye650@aol.com. So let's enjoy this upcoming riding season, as we anxiously await spring.