The Top Stories of 2012

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If the Internet (or perhaps all of human history) has taught us anything, it’s that trends are very important to follow. And there is no more prevalent year-end trend than Top 10 lists. Newspapers give you their most popular stories of the year. Buzzfeed gives you the 40 most influential corgis of 2012 (it was probably difficult to narrow it to 10 influential pups).  And on the final day of 2012, The Bicycle Story gives you its top 10 most read posts of 2012.

The Most Popular Stories of 2012

1) Jacquie Phelan: The Godmother of Women’s Mountain Biking: Given her important role in both mountain bike history and introducing women to mountain biking, it is unsurprising that Jacquie tops the list. If you read just one interview from these 10, make it this one.

2) Tom Hopper: Rapha-Focus’ Master Mechanic: Tom is personal mechanic to America’s best cyclocross racer. Learn about his road to the professional pits and what it takes to succeed at the highest level of the job.

3) Presidents on Bicycles: A collection of photos from Presidents Day 2012 highlighting the long history of our Commanders in Chief riding (or at least posing) on bikes!

4) Ted King: Racing with the PROs, Advocating for Bikes: Ted King is an international pro tour domestique with the Liquigas-Cannondale squad. In addition to being one of the fastest American racers, he’s a proud advocate for cycling and the environment.

5) Steve Garro: Arizona’s Mountain Biking, Trouble Making, Frame Building Legend: Steve is another important figure in mountain bike history. The insightful interview covers the days of riding with his mountain bike crew The Mutants, his frame building, the accident that nearly took his life, and a whole lot more.

6) Colin Reuter: The Cyclocross Obsession Behind Crossresults.com: As the title suggests, Colin founded Cross Results, the awesome and nerdy website that compiles cyclocross race results and stats and basically turns them into a season-long game.

7) My First Bike: Tony Pereira: My First Bike looks at professional frame builders in light of the first bike they ever built. Popular Oregon builder Tony Pereira kicked off the feature with this interview back in March.

8) Max Kullaway: Building Bikes Behind the Big-Name Builders: Max’s history in frame building run deep. He got his start at Merlin, spent nearly a decade at Seven, launched his own company 333 Fabrications, and welds bikes for Davidson and Hampsten.

9) Barry Wicks: Cyclocross, Mountain Bikes, and the Adventures They’ve Brought, Part 1: Barry Wicks is one of the most popular US cyclocross racers thanks in no small part to his approachable, affable personality. Learn about his history in the sport, his new fascination with endurance/adventure mountain bike racing, and his thoughts on the future of American cross.

10) Reveal the Path: Good Adventure Porn, Decent Film: Mountain bikers Matthew Lee and Kurt Refsnider joined filmmakers Mike Dion and Hunter Weeks for a round-the-world bike packing adventure. Though it has its shortcomings, the resulting film is nonetheless entertaining and exciting.

Happy New Year, everyone! Hears to a great 2013 filled with bikes and the people that ride them, build them, advocate for them, race them, and have amazing adventures on them!

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