About
Who and What The Hell is XXC Magazine?
The Who:
XXC Magazine is published by me (Jason Mahokey). I have have been riding mountain bikes for over 15 years and racing them unsuccessfully for about 12. I worked a graphics job in the newspaper industry for about 16 years until an opportunity presented itself to jump off a sinking ship (or at least a ship I wanted to jump off of).
Before the “oh shit!” feeling of leaving a long time job and steady pay check even wore off, I upped the feeling by starting XXC Magazine in 2009.
In my racing and riding I almost always suffer like a dog (see photo) in an attempt to get a mid pack at best finish. I am also the sort that slows down during a race not just to dry heave on the side of the trail, but also to soak in a view and remind myself of why I love racing and riding my bike. I guess that is sort of what XXC Magazine is- A way to show readers that endurance racing is more than just a race or just a long ride. It is the best way I know to share all the things that make our sport so great.
In the fall of 2010 my wife got a new job (one of us has to have a real job I suppose) that had my family and I moving from Southwestern PA to Central Michigan. Here I continue to enjoy the suffering that comes from racing my bike, riding endless miles of dirt and gravel roads, small town life with my wife and son, and fine Michigan brewed craft beer.
The What:
The goal of XXC Magazine is to combine all the things I love about cycling magazines and try to leave out all the stuff I hate. I don’t want to do bike reviews, have more ads than content, talk about the latest and greatest parts, or tell you how to bleed your brakes (especially since I don’t know how to do that myself!). I don’t want all the efforts of a 100+ mile race summed up in a 50 word blurb. What I do want is for XXC Magazine to capture the beauty, pain, and emotion of long rides and races in the dirt with words and photos by the folks who are doing them.
The original plan for XXC Magazine was for it to be an eMag that folks could look at online or download to their computer or iPad. My first love is print though, so when MagCloud.com came along with a way for me to offer the magazine in print without investing thousands of dollars I don’t have in print costs, I jumped at the chance. Issues 5 and up are available in digital and print at MagCloud.com. The costs vary due to page counts, and they aren’t super cheap, but I couldn’t be happier with the end result and I think you’ll dig it too.
XXC Magazine is published 4 to 5 times per year. There are no subscriptions available, mostly due to the fact that since I design and layout the magazine myself and rely on reader contributions for content, I am never really sure of exact publishing dates. I would not feel right taking money from readers without being able to guarantee them when their magazines would be delivered, not to mention due to the nature of the printing there would be no real savings to the reader. I of course would love to offer subscriptions in the future.
The Website:
xxcmag.com is a strange beast. There are a ton of great cycling websites out there to give you up to the minute race results and coverage and xxcmag.com would be foolish to attempt to keep up with them. The main goal of the website is provide readers with access to the magazine, an endurance race schedule, swank gear, and a blog where you will find race reports, news, opinions, video, occasional reviews, photos and general time wasting concerning endurance mountain bike racing.
In the future I would love to get into more video coverage and podcasts, but my main goal will always be to provide you the best digital and print magazine I can, devoted to the greatest sport in the world.
E mail me at at xxcmag@gmail.com with any questions, concerns, or to chat and gab about the mag. To find out more on how you can contribute to XXC Magazine and xxcmag.com click [HERE].
