Responding to numerous reader complaints, VeloNews publisher Andy Pemberton announced Tuesday that the site will be abandoning its new design after a four-month trial period, starting some time after April 1.

“To fully comply with the many, many emails we're received on this issue - most typed in capitals and without punctuation - we will revert to the site as it was presented originally, in 1996,” Pemberton said.

Outgoing web developer Kevin Hankens said he was not at all bitter about the seven months of 70-hour weeks he spent developing the new site design.

“I'm looking forward to riding my bike and spending more time with the family,” Hankens said in a statement approved by his lawyer and released after he was escorted from the company's Boulder, Colorado, headquarters.

The earlier/new design features a cutting-edge “frames” format that will load quickly with the 14.4kbps dial-up modems and Netscape browsers that research shows are favored by most of the readers who complained about the new design.

In Hankens' absence, VeloNews.com editor-at-large Patrick O'Grady has been charged with resurrecting the 1996 site design, which departing web editor Steve Frothingham had foolishly hidden behind a box of unopened 7-speed STI shifters in the company warehouse. Frothingham, who is said to be spending more time with his family, was apparently unaware that O'Grady had been searching for the box since 1995. The original site's code is stored on 14, 5 1/2-inch floppy disks that O'Grady plans to access with his new Mac Classic II desktop computer.

“It’ll take some time, to get all of this loaded, but we’re going to flip the switch as soon as we get rid of all of that new fangled code that Hankens loaded on to the servers,” O’Grady said. “What the hell is a MYSQL, anyway?”

O'Grady and senior online editor Charles Pelkey say they plan some cutting edge articles for the coming season, as soon as O'Grady types in the 8-page European spring race preview/history that John Wilcockson faxed in from Belgium last week.

“The great thing about the Information Superhighway is there is no limit to the length of articles, and it's so timely,” Pelkey said. “Why, once I receive the package of 20 black and white photos that John Air-mailed from Belgium and scan them in, we'll have this spring classic preview story ‘online’ and ready to go as soon as April 14th! That’s weeks before NBC broadcasts the Paris-Roubaix spring classic (which is April 13th).

“We intend to become the Information SuperBikepath, if I might be allowed to coin such a witticism,” Pelkey added. “We expect to be able to add at least one new story almost every day. The magazine sure can’t claim that sort of immediacy.”

O'Grady said he was planning to experiment with adding an animated GIF graphic of a little man pedaling a bike to the top of the page. He also is considering a “scrolling marquee” with headlines. And he may add a “chat room” to the site to take advantage of the Internet's “interactive” capabilities.

O'Grady, a proud “ink-stained-wretch” newspaper veteran, said he was reluctant to forgo the many career opportunities in the fast-growing newspaper business, but that he looks forward to a somewhat quieter lifestyle in the sleepy little niche of specialty online journalism.

“I view this redesign and management shake-up as a victory for the traditions of great journalism,” O’Grady said. “I know this web thingy doesn’t have the impact of ink on paper, but Pelkey and I respect the hard-nosed approach real newspaper men bring to their work. We think we can bring that to the Internet, too. Now, get off of my lawn.”

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