Ride has a new editor at the helm. Cycling enthusiast Tim Brink, highly regarded in both the cycling fraternity and the publishing industry, steps into the role from 1 October.

Brink returns to his first love after a stint as editor of Automobil, a sister title in the RamsayMedia Custom Publishing stable. Prior to that he was editor of Classic and Performance Car Africa.

Brink’s previous experience includes six years at Bicycling South Africa, during which time he filled the roles of features, technical and online editor as well as marketing manager, before serving as editor. He has also held the position of media manager for the ABSA Cape Epic.

“We’re saying a very sad farewell to Adèle Tait, who has been editor of Ride for the past nine years,” said Robyn Daly, group editor of RamsayMedia Custom Publishing. “She’s been deep in the trenches with her readers and developed a very loyal following. Ride has always been for people who are passionate about South African cycling. Tim will continue in this tradition. He eats and sleeps bicycles; that’s what makes a great niche publication editor. We have high hopes for the brand under his watch.”

Brink said he was keen to add his expertise to the Ride team. “The magazine has built up great momentum under RamsayMedia’s banner, expanding on 15 years of loyal and devoted readership. Ride is the South African cyclist’s perfect partner: intelligent, good-looking and passionate about cycling. With our pool of well-respected contributors, deputy editor Jazz Kuschke and our talented design team, delivering on all three aspects is going to be a fun ride.”

Ride joined the RamsayMedia stable a year ago. It was previously published by the Koekemoer family (of Silhouette Sports Manufacturing), who awarded the contract to the media house because of the company’s suite of expertise, including newsstand marketing, subscriptions fulfilment, adsales, eventing and content and digital opportunities such as video, mobile, social media and interactive digital editions.

Since then magazine has seen a redesign and its frequency increased from 10 to 12 issues a year, while the brand has been introduced to new audiences through the addition of a blog site, weekly webletter and social media.