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ADB Magazine Celebrates 35 years

Submitted by on April 3, 2010

The fabulous Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine is celebrating 35 year in print. Founded by dirt bike addict Geoff Eldridge in 1975, the magazine has been a hugely influential in the off road motorcycling industry in Australia. The May 2010 issue features a 100 page “mini mag” with excerpts and images from the first issue to present day.

As a kid growing up riding dirt bikes from the age of five, ADB was everything to me. A whole magazine dedicated to the sport I loved, I couldn’t have wished for more! I would pore over pictures of my heroes and consume every word of it. When I was about 12, I was asked to be a junior ADB test rider and amongst other things I got to ride and rate the first ever Kawasaki KX60 that landed in Australia. Pretty heady stuff for a kid.

In 1993 the dirt biking community was shocked when we learned that founder and editor Geoff Eldridge was killed after hitting a “lost” 4WD whilst competing in an Enduro in America.

Personally I was stunned as I knew Geoff as a teenager and being young and naive I thought his lifestyle was pretty mega, riding bikes all day long and publishing his own mag. However I was rather terrified of him. Back in 1983, he called up my Dad and asked if I would like to be in a shoot for a Suzuki ad. Of course I said yes. After the shoot I was standing near a light box looking at some Polaroids and negs. From out of nowhere Geoff yelled at the top of his voice. ” Don’t you bloody well touch those!”

Thankfully the mag survived and has continued to grow and I learned that Geoff liked to yell a lot and it wasn’t just me. ADB is still a great mag and offer readers a good mix of features, technical articles, bike tests and doesn’t pull any punches. I suggest you subscribe today.

Long live ADB!

For those of you who did not not Geoff, here is a great piece about him.

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