Latest Posts

Op-Ed

TCI Friday

John Rezell
Overcast mornings with a pinch of dew on the ground, just enough to soak through sliver thin running shorts, withstand the test of time. Small talk typically recounting the previous evening’s…
Page One

Zombies Among Us

Emlyn Lewis
The bike industry is full of brands with long, storied histories. Dig beneath the surface though, and you'll find that few of them are run by their founders, offer designs from the people who put…
Talk

Paceline Podcast 369

Emlyn Lewis
Are trail running and mountain biking the same thing? Well, no, but maybe also yes. Patrick watches his son careen off a cliff toward a creek, and we sift through some recent pro race results. That…
Page One

Video – The Underdog Story

Emlyn Lewis
Here's a nice, little feel-good story about a rag-tag bunch of bike racers with a mission, trying to establish themselves on a level they're maybe not all the way ready for, but who cares? Project…
Page One

How to Get Better at Bikes

Emlyn Lewis
A friend asked me this question, tongue firmly planted in cheek, and then I decided to take it seriously and talked about it on last week's Paceline. In the interim, I've been thinking about it more,…
Talk

Revolting 123

Robot and Stevil
Pep Talks from Chronic Depressives. When you’ve been through some hard times, you learn things that might be useful to other people. At the very least, you come to understand the value of a…

Featured Posts

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Part of Me

Pat Navin
In my dream, I am riding up a steep climb on a narrow road winding through redwoods, barely able to turn the pedals. But I am happy. Ecstatic, really. I am one with my bike, an extension of my body,…
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To Love and To Be In Love

Emlyn Lewis
I met my wife on a college camping trip in 1992. At the time I was trying not to spend the week drunk beyond imagining. A friend convinced me to sign up for this trip through the community service…
Op-Ed

The Perfect Sport

Padraig
I've been a cyclist most of my life. My life has had little permanence, but cycling has been as close to permanent as anything short of my parents. Cycling didn't care whether I rode or not. My bike…
Op-Ed

The Corrections

Emlyn Lewis
A thing I wrote years ago for Red Kite Prayer. On this Monday, when the words are all stuck in between my ears, refusing to find my fingertips, a good reminder that sometimes it helps not to try so…
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Crash Therapy

Maureen Gaffney
The conversation in my head while riding Bull Run last weekend in Moab was dawdling along something like this:  “I’m riding really well. I’m gonna try to keep it mellow, keep from redlining cause…
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Letter from the Editors

The Independents
The year draws to a close, whether you're done with it or not, and 2022 was a banger here at TCI. Readership grew throughout the year. More people listened to our podcasts. Subscribers subscribed,…
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Lost and Unlost

Julie Snyder
Crater Lake. The Pacific Coast. Ghost towns in the high desert. That's cool, but how can you do so much riding alone? This question is usually followed by a comment like "you're so courageous." I…
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The Shirt Off Our Backs

Emlyn Lewis
A call to commerce! An unsubtle, attention-grabbing shout out! A gentle plea. Please witness the arrival of the brand-new, classic Cycling Independent Black t-shirt. Excuse the smirking…
Page One

Letter from the Editors

Emlyn Lewis
Hello Friends, Just us, checking in from the end of summer (unless you're one of our Southern Hemisphere readers...we're not trying to be hemispherist). It's been a busy time for us, Padraig…
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Just To Be Alive

Fez Aswat
I know just enough about bikes to know that I don’t know s#*$ about bikes. And I don’t want the mountain of what I don’t know to ruin the truth of what I do know … which is I f*@%ing love riding my…
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The Crash Samaritan

Julie Snyder
You open your eyes. Disoriented. Dirty. Details are sharp but nonsensical. Rising dust motes. The tick of a spinning freewheel. A dog with five white whiskers licking your arm. The smell of Christmas…
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Non-Zero Sum Gains

Emlyn Lewis
I have been thinking an awful lot about cycling advocacy and inclusivity. Why? Because I dream of a self-powered world, one in which all citizens glide around on a bicycle of one flavor or another. I…
Op-Ed

A Year of Shelter

Padraig
Life changed for us 365 days ago. I doubt you or anyone you know would have been willing to guess that the life you're living today was even possible. It was certainly beyond my imagination, and I…
Op-Ed

What We Would Say

Padraig
I chose cycling because it's the only time I don't feel like a klutz.I chose cycling because I can't stick the ball. I chose cycling because I didn't play team sports.I chose cycling because I'm…
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We Need You On This Ride

The Independents
I'll be brief. Our primary goal at The Cycling Independent is to make our community as large as we possibly can. Part of that is selfish. We can't continue without your financial support. This is…
Op-Ed

Editor’s Letter

Mike Cushionbury
Right now you might be thinking, "How can this be an editor’s letter on a website? This isn't print!" You very well should be thinking that because we’re not just another website with a bunch of…
Page One

New York to Provincetown

Richard Fries
A single day can feel like a month. Processing a massive ride afterwards is like staring at a Salvador Dali painting. Fifty miles dissolves into a blurry moment. Turns out it took a village…
Talk

Paceline Podcast 369

Emlyn Lewis
Are trail running and mountain biking the same thing? Well, no, but maybe also yes. Patrick watches his son careen off a cliff toward a creek, and we sift through some recent pro race results. That…

Page One

Page One

Zombies Among Us

Emlyn Lewis
The bike industry is full of brands with long, storied histories. Dig beneath the surface though, and you'll find that few of them are run by their founders, offer designs from the people who put…
Page One

Video – The Underdog Story

Emlyn Lewis
Here's a nice, little feel-good story about a rag-tag bunch of bike racers with a mission, trying to establish themselves on a level they're maybe not all the way ready for, but who cares? Project…

Op-Ed

Op-Ed

TCI Friday

John Rezell
Overcast mornings with a pinch of dew on the ground, just enough to soak through sliver thin running shorts, withstand the test of time. Small talk typically recounting the previous evening’s…
Op-Ed

TCI Friday

John Rezell
As a kid was there anything as fun and fulfilling as riding around with no hands on the handlebars? In the earliest days of riding it provided the best way to freak out your parents: Always a…
Op-Ed

TCI Friday

Emlyn Lewis
Here is my premise: We all belong to a union of bike riding people. And no matter what kind of bike we ride, we benefit from the work of an advocacy group trying to make our riding lives better. That…

Classified

Talk

Talk

Paceline Podcast 369

Emlyn Lewis
Are trail running and mountain biking the same thing? Well, no, but maybe also yes. Patrick watches his son careen off a cliff toward a creek, and we sift through some recent pro race results. That…
Talk

Revolting 123

Robot and Stevil
Pep Talks from Chronic Depressives. When you’ve been through some hard times, you learn things that might be useful to other people. At the very least, you come to understand the value of a…
Talk

Paceline Podcast 368

Padraig
This week John takes on the question: "How do you get better at bikes?" It's probably simpler than you think. Patrick discusses his experience at a new gravel event called the Rust Bucket.

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