Richard Fries Leaves Bike Culture, Joins Pedro's

WILMINGTON, MA (BRAIN)—Richard Fries will step down as publisher of Bike Culture, the magazine he helped start, for a position at Pedro's as sports marketing and communications manager.

The Ride Corporation, publishers of Bike Culture magazine, announced that Fries will remain involved with the magazine, serving in an unpaid capacity as senior editor.

Fries' wife, Deb Fries, will take over as publisher. A cofounder of Bike Culture, she has overseen the art direction, production and business end of the magazine for several years.

"Although I will still have a voice in the magazine, it's time for this media company to develop its young staff to manage day-to-day affairs," said Fries, 45, who helped found the magazine in 1993 as The Ride.

"I've taken a long pull. We've got the speed up on this magazine; subscriptions are at an all-time high, the website has strong traffic, and we have a good stable of advertisers. This is a great time for younger staff to get more involved," Fries added.

Fries will start at his new position at Pedro's immediately.

“We are very lucky to get Richard and to bring him onto our team. Richard brings such an incredible catalogue of experience to Pedro’s; from racing at the elite level in Europe as a young man to his entrepreneurial talents honed while running a small business to his obviously solid media experience. He will surely fortify our brand,” said Chris Zigmont, Pedro’s general manager.

The addition of Fries is a critical part in the continuation of a restructuring program at Pedro’s, with more team enhancements to be announced in the coming weeks.