Matthew Butterman

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Beautiful Precision is my goal...

Robust and effective communication through the written word is my passion! The name of my copywriting venture, Verba Optima, is translated from Latin as "best words", and my goal as a writer is to choose words that convey my client's message with beautiful precision. 

The majority of my portfolio is comprised of stories written for Handbuilt Bicycle Guide, the website that I am part-owner and News Editor for. Other areas of interest, and topics of recent articles, include music and fine arts, health and fitness, cybersecurity and cryptocurrency technologies.

No topic is off the table for me, and I relish the opportunity to learn and to expand my horizons as a writer while in pursuit of my clients' goals.

Mountain Weekly News •

Easy Mountain Bike Gear Upgrades

No doubt about it – mountain biking is a gear-intensive sport. Whether you’re a full-on tech nerd, or just a rider who appreciates accessories that make a ride more enjoyable, there’s a product on the market to solve every possible problem that can crop up in the backcountry. One of the best things about mountain bike gear is that manufacturers are constantly putting new ideas and enhanced engineering into product development, and we consumers get to partake of the fruits of their labor...
Philly Bike Expo News •

Chandi Titanium Bicycles will launch brand at 2022 Philly Bike Expo – 2022 Philly Bike Expo

Chandi (pronounced “candy”) Titanium Bicycles is the latest boutique titanium bicycle brand from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Volunteer State has been a center for titanium ore mining and metal production for some time now, and with carbon fiber composite materials also being produced in the state, Tennessee is becoming for bicycles what Michigan is to the auto industry.
Forbes •

Council Post: How To Make Your Construction Company Greener

My excavation company, Carolina Dozer, clears land for development or redevelopment, either for commercial or residential uses. I’m also an ardent environmentalist who is committed to operating my business and living my life in sustainable ways. How do I reconcile the two seemingly opposite aims, running my business profitably and helping to save the planet? I do this by reducing waste and lowering my business’s carbon footprint as much as possible. The way I see it, development is inevitable, b
Mountain Weekly News •

Top 10 Hardtail Mountain Bikes for 2022

You really can’t go wrong with a hardtail mountain bike for all-around versatility and lighter weight. Whether it’s plying city streets and hopping curbs on the way to class, riding gravel trails with the family on weekends, or shredding rocky singletrack, a hardtail can handle it all. Hardtails are the mainstay of most bike manufacturers’ line-ups, but each brand has its idiosyncrasies, highlights, and drawbacks, so it’s worth doing your research and test riding many models...
Philly Bike Expo •

Wayne Bingham’s Mel Pinto tribute bike – 2021 Philly Bike Expo

The USA lost one of its chief proponents of bicycling with the passing earlier this year of Mel Pinto (1924-2021). Pinto was a Sephardic Jew whose family lived in North Africa and who spoke many different languages, including Spanish, French, Italian and English. During an encounter with American troops in Morocco during WWII while he was fleeing Nazi invaders, Pinto’s polyglot tendencies became very useful to the U.S. Army, and he ended up working for them.
UpFlip •

How to Start a Bank: The Complete 7 Step Guide (2021)

It’s likely no surprise to learn that one of the most profitable businesses around is banking. The United States alone has the largest financial marketplace, and according to a report by SelectUSA., the financial services industry (which includes banks, investment services firms and insurers) represents 7.4 percent, or 1.5 trillion dollars, of the U.S. gross domestic product. For those who are willing to scale significant barriers to entry, the rewards for opening a bank are great.
Medium •

Il Regalo (The Gift)

“In cycling or in life one can never be assured of victory, of the inevitability of triumph, or of the steadfast and pure motives of a gift.” Signore Sandro Bono was on an off-year in 1988. Married to an American grad student at the University of Maryland, the Italian cyclocross specialist took up residence in a foreign land, away from quality espresso and parmigiano-reggiano, and reduced to that most American of cycling pursuits: the criterium.

Cinelli USA: Tradition Reinvented

If you’ve been around cycling for 30 plus years like me, then you know the Cinelli brand as one of the stalwarts of the industry. Back in the 1980s when I cut my teeth as a junior racer, Cinelli handlebars and stems, with their proprietary 26.4mm clamp diameter, were standard equipment for racing cyclists. Cinelli Supercorsa framesets, in striking cobalt blue and Ferrari red paint schemes accented with chrome lugs, were coveted for their high aesthetics and performance, and to this day they comm
Philly Bike Expo •

Rivendell Bicycle Works: Bucking trends since 1994

There’s a famous adage in the bicycle industry, confirmed by a good dose of reality: if you want to make a million dollars, start out with 2 million. Conventional wisdom holds that to maintain profits, you must meet the specific demands of the marketplace, be flexible with these shifting demands and, if possible, do it for lower cost than your competitors. Or, put another way, you must chase trends. Rivendell Bicycle Works proprietor Grant Petersen began his enterprise in 1994 with $89,000 in
Philly Bike Expo News •

da Vinci Tandems: Technical Masterpieces

If you take the name of a famous Italian Renaissance artist and armchair engineer/visionary way ahead of his time for your bicycle company, you’d better be able to back up your own technical wizardry and product aesthetics. Da Vinci Tandems hits the mark on both counts. Da Vinci focuses solely on tandem bicycles and their claim to innovation is their patented Independent Coasting System. The ICS lets a rider coast independently of their partner, which is a huge advantage for tandem cycling.
BikeRide.com •

The Ride: Richmond World's Course

It started back in 1983 with a memorable role in that year’s Tour of America. This was a one-off event that ran from Virginia Beach to Washington, D.C. over four stages of racing through the mostly-flat coastal regions of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was organized by the Societe du Tour de France under the direction of the late Felix Levitan. Despite some brilliant racing courtesy of top European teams and stars like Phil Anderson, the event was not a financial success...
PezCycling News •

No Fools at the Fools Classic!

Those that follow the Spring Classics may recognize the nickname La Doyenne, which refers to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. La Doyenne literally translates as “the old lady”; the reference being that LBL is the oldest spring classic, having first run in 1892. This translation is somewhat disrespectful in comparison to the nuanced meaning of the term; translating it as “the Elder” would give further credence to its longevity and show respect for the race of attrition that it is.
PezCycling News •

Hunterdon: The Hell Cyclists Love

Admit it - you’ve done this too: You’re riding along in the early spring, gilet zipped up against the chilly air, imagining you’re in full pursuit of Peter Sagan, or Tom Boonen, or Sean Kelly, or Roger De Vlaeminck in the closing kilometers of one of the Spring Classics, the Monuments of cycling.Most of us have never raced in Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders, but New Jersey’s Hell of Hunterdon ride will get you about as close to those grueling experiences as anything this side...
Diabetes Daily •

Sleeping Better With Type 2 Diabetes

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to good health for any population, but for those with a chronic health condition like type 2 diabetes, it takes on added importance. Fortunately, the steps you take to better manage your type 2 diabetes will also help you sleep better at night. Here are a few ways to help ensure a good night’s rest. We’ve all been guilty of putting other concerns before getting a good night’s sleep: work or school demands, family and travel being just a few things that...
Diabetes Daily •

Wake Up! Diabetes and Caffeine

For people with diabetes, there are some advantages and some disadvantages to consuming caffeine. As with the general population at large, individual reactions to caffeine vary widely. When used in moderation and within safe limits (generally accepted as no more than 400 mg daily), caffeine is acceptable for people with diabetes. Caffeine is the drug of choice for millions of people worldwide. The average adult in the U.S. drinks two 8 oz cups of coffee per day, which contain approximately 280...
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