Forget the tote bag — our membership gives you cool cycling stuff that you actually want. And lots of it.

We’re all familiar with the membership model in independent media. You, the customer, open your wallet to support your favorite newspaper or public radio station, and in return your outlet of choice sends you a branded coffee mug or a canvas handbag.

For years we here at VeloNews have brainstormed ideas for our own membership program. Like magazines and newspapers across the globe, we have seen advertising dollars in our industry siphoned off by Facebook and Google. Print subscribers continue to pay for the magazine, but the lion’s share of our reporting is published for free online.

We work hard, and we give our work away to you for free. Like all publications, we know we need to adapt if we want to continue doing what we love.

Now, the crux of our membership discussions has been figuring out what cool stuff we can offer you, the passionate cyclist, to make you feel as though your support of our journalism work was worth the investment. A handbag doesn’t cut it. Access to the same free stories that everyone else can read online doesn’t cut it either.

So, what have we come up with for our membership? It’s a lot.

Let me introduce you to Active Pass, the new membership program from VeloNews and Pocket Outdoor Media. Active Pass provides you, the passionate cyclist, with a wide array of experiences, coaching guidance, industry pro deals, and exclusive content to fuel your passion for cycling.

Included in the $99 annual subscription is an entry into the Roll Massif Elephant Rock sportive, a year’s subscription to the online coaching platform Today’s Plan, two cycling books from VeloPress, an annual subscription to VeloNews print magazine (or a subscription to one of our sister publications), pro deals from cycling industry partners, and exclusive daily content on VeloNews.com from the editors of VeloNews to help you stay up on the sport you love.

Did you get all of that?

To be clear, we aren’t taking away anything from the current free content on VeloNews.com — we are simply adding to it for Active Pass members.

I want to break down some basic dollars and cents behind Active Pass. Registration for the Oct. 11 Elephant Rock sportive alone costs $115. An annual subscription to Today’s Plan, which includes thousands of workouts and daily training guidance, is valued at $150. VeloPress publishes dozens of books, including classics like Joe Friel’s “The Cyclist’s Training Bible” and new favorites like Peter Sagan’s “My World.” A subscription to VeloNews magazine is $39. Shaving some dollars off the purchase of your next Giordana kit or Skratch Labs hydration mix will pad your wallet.

According to my back-of-the-napkin math, we’re at $350 in value, not including the exclusive daily content. In my opinion it’s a great deal.

And it’s a deal that’s not entirely done. We will be adding to Active Pass in the coming months with other perks and products. We have an extremely exciting project involving the VeloNews magazine archives that I can’t wait to share with you. We plan to open up semi-regular access for members to talk cycling with myself, Andrew Hood, and other members of the editorial team. And we’re open to hearing from you about what you want in a cycling membership. After all, you are the most important ones in this project.

The changing landscape of media has forced all publications, VeloNews included, to adapt. Your membership dollars will ensure that we at VeloNews can continue to bring you the breaking news, rider profiles, coaching columns, gear reviews, and in-depth racing analysis that fuels your love for the sport. Media is changing and we are too, and we hope that you will join us on the ride.

Thank you,

Fred Dreier