Hey everyone, I'm Chris Hall. This is the downtime podcast and today's intro is a little bit

different, so please listen in. Over the last few years, a lot of people have been getting in touch

to ask if I have Patreon as a way for them to support the podcast. And up until now, the answer has been

no. It seems that a lot of people appreciate the value that the podcast brings to them and they want to do something in return, but buying a t-shirt doesn't appeal to them. Maybe they don't need a new t-shirt or they don't want to ship products around the world. Either way, I completely understand where they're coming from. Until recently, I'd looked at Patreon as another thing where I need to offer value. But from chatting to

some of you who've asked for it, it's clear that you feel I'm already providing heaps of value

with the podcast and you just want to say thanks and do something to help and you don't need anything

more from me as a result. That makes the concept of having Patreon way more feasible for me,

as at this stage, I just don't have the capacity to offer listeners

more than I already do. This year is a tricky year for everyone, as the cost of living has

clearly risen massively, and that's impacting the bike industry pretty hard right now. That

knocks on to me, and it's definitely harder for me to make a living out of the podcast this year.

I guess I should say that

the podcast is my full-time job. It's how I earn my living and put food on the table. So right now,

it really makes sense for me to open up a way for those of you who find value in the podcast

to be able to give something back. So Patreon is finally here. For anyone not familiar with Patreon,

it basically enables you to set up a regular

monthly donation to the podcast. Now, I fully appreciate that not everyone is going to be in a

position to contribute, even if you do find value in the podcast, and that's completely fine.

The great thing is that some people will want to contribute, and overall it's going to help

the podcast continue. There are three different levels that you can support at. The first of those is just three pounds a month. That's less than one pound an episode and less than the cost of one cup of takeaway coffee a month. If enough people contribute at that level, then it's really going to help me keep this podcast going. If you want to put in a little more, then there's a five pound a month level and a 10 pound a month level. If enough people contribute at those levels, then it's really going to start helping me step things up a bit. I'd love to bring someone in to handle the video and the social media side of things and to take some of the load off of me so that I can focus on creating more, create content, which ultimately benefits you, the listeners. So if you get value from the podcast, I don't know, maybe you've learned something that's helped you're riding or your fitness, maybe it's got you stoked to go riding or to come back from an injury, or maybe it's just something to pass the time when you can't be riding your bike, then why not do a little something in return and sign

up to my Patreon over at patreon.com for slash downtime podcast. That's Patreon, spelled P-A-T-R-E-O-N. I'll stick links to

that in the show notes for this episode and I've put a banner at the bottom of my website homepage over

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