Behind IrishCycle.com: Given that IrishCycle.com is reader-funded journalism, I like to keep you lot in the loop…
Views and visitors
It’s only June, and the number of page visits and website visitors on IrishCycle.com has already exceeded the 2022 total figures. This jump in numbers is hard to totally explain, but it mainly seems to be down to how Google displays articles to people.
Paid subscribers who keep IrishCycle.com going
IrishCycle.com has also just hit 330 paid monthly subscribers for the first time.
It’s part of the open reader-funded model that only a small percentage of readers will end up subscribing. But if you see the value of keeping this website and its journalism open, please consider subscribing today.
IrishCycle.com’s reaches loads of people — such as councilors, officials and communities debating the issues of how their streets are changing — and hopefully IrishCycle’s journalism is useful to them and has a positive impact. But most of these people won’t subscribe, so, IrishCycle needs people like you to do so.
Updated (almost) daily
From cyclists being told to dismount at barriers beside a €215 million upgrade to a Cork motorway junction to data showing 68% of motorists in the core of Dublin City Centre are just passing through, new articles are posted almost daily to IrishCycle.com.
Even where articles aren’t posted daily, it’s made up for with 2-3 articles on many days.
Check out the News and Comment & Analysis section pages to make sure you haven’t missed anything lately.
The first article from a freelance journalist
IrishCycle.com has previously paid to re-publish a few court reports relating to cycling issues, but last week this website published its first commissioned article by a freelance journalist. Claudia Dalby reported on the question ‘Is it possible to roll out quick-build cycle paths that are more pleasing to the eye?’.
As with all costs of running IrishCycle.com, this journalism is being paid for by readers who subscribe monthly.
Thinking about subscribing on this is especially important as the numbers are still around 20 subscribers the threshold for freelance articles — it’s really not something abstract, more subscribers are needed to allow IrishCycle.com to grow.
You can now subscribe without using Ko-fi
A small number of readers complained about Ko-Fi’s system being creator-focused rather than subscriber-centric and that the system was not as clear as it could be. You can now subscribe without Ko-Fi at IrishCycle.com/subscribe/
Customer Portal for subscribers
A new feature for subscribers is the easier-to-use Customer Portal — this allows you to check on your subscription status, update your payment details, or change your subscription plan.
There’s no passwords involved, just enter the email addresse you used to sign up and the system will send you a login link.
Good news, Ko-Fi users can also use the Customer Portal.
Update your plan?
If you’re already subscribed, especially at some of the older levels less than €5, you might please consider increasing that to €5 or maybe more? Thank you if you can — please click onto the Customer Portal and click on “update plan”.
And, if not, thank you for subscribing at any level, it’s much appreciated.
Yearly subscriptions
Previously a number of readers asked about paying yearly, but IrishCycle.com was unable to offer auto-renewing yearly subscriptions via Ko-Fi. It is now possible. Just visit IrishCycle.com/subscribe/ and sign up to a yearly plan, or, if you’re already subscribed, click onto the Customer Portal, click on “update plan”, and then switch to yearly.
Design tweaks
Many people might not notice most of the changes but there’s been a few design tweaks to IrishCycle.com. These are mostly minor enough but please let me know if you like them or not or if there were any unintended impacts. A few static pages have also been updated.
Cycle-infrapedia from IrishCycle.com
I’m still not sure of the name, but the first few items have been added and updated to the Cycle-infrapedia from IrishCycle.com (working title).
The Cycle-infrapedia — the Cycling-infrastructure-pedia — is designed as an easy way to reference using links for readers to find out more details. Especially to allow newer readers to understand different types of infrastructure and various concepts which might not be explained in full in each article. It is a work in progress.
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Questions, comments, complaints?
Please comment below, DM me on Twitter or email cian.ginty@gmail.com.
Thank you to all readers readers and especially subscribers and those who help in other ways such as sharing articles on social media and sending me tips for possible articles.
Thank you,
Cian Ginty
Editor, IrishCycle.com
...That's the end of the article. Keep scrolling if you want to the comments, but IrishCycle.com *NEEDS* readers like you to keep it that way. It only requires a small percentage of readers to give a bit each month or every year to keep IrishCycle.com's journalism open to all. Thank you.