You’ve probably heard of Peter Jones. You may even have a strong opinion about him. He’s been a journalist in the U.S. motorcycle industry for more than two decades. Jones has offered his unique take on the two-wheeled world as a columnist or contributor at Cycle World, Motorcyclist, Cycle News and RoadRUNNER, among others, and he was a staff editor at Sport Rider in the late ’90s. And starting with the March 2021 issue, Jones has been writing “The Moto Life” column in Rider.
Peter Jones is a renaissance man. He road raced in the WERA National Endurance Series and is a former owner of the Team Swine Dudes/Pearls Suzuki race team, which won championships in multiple classes. He set a 202.247 mph land speed record on a production-based, normally-aspirated motorcycle at Maxton AFB. And he wrote and presented a paper at the 2011 North American Sartre Society conference, applying Jean Paul Sartre’s philosophical concepts to how racers intellectually manage the risks of road racing.
Jones has released a new book, “The Bad Editor: Collected Columns and Untold Tales of Bad Behavior.” He tells the story of a motojournalist’s life from the perspective of 30 collected columns and 19 new tales of bad behavior.
The collected columns first appeared, in slightly different forms, in Sport Rider, Motorcyclist, American Roadracing and Motorcycle Street & Strip. The 19 “Untold Tales of Bad Behavior” are original to this book, written to be irreverent entertainment for motorcycle enthusiasts. No names are named, no brands are identified and no world problems are solved. These tales are written as humorous inside stories of bad behavior by the author, his cohorts, his enemies, and, yes, some corporations.
If you’ve ever asked “What really happens at motorcycle press launches?” then this book is for you.
The Bad Editor is available now from Amazon.com in print ($18.55) or Kindle eBook ($7.99). Sample chapters and news of book signings can be found at thebadeditor.com.
