Latest Posts

Page One

Basic Forensics

Emlyn Lewis
She noticed the blood. She was changing the sheets, and she said to me, "Where are you bleeding from?" And I said, "What?" because I was unaware that I had been bleeding at all. A reddish-brown…
Talk

Revolting 153

Robot and Stevil
The Epistemological Challenges of 21st Century Consciousness. One of the problems of being alive right now is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know what’s true, to even know what you…
Page One

Video – L’Eroica 2024

Emlyn Lewis
This is cosplay for cyclists. It's LARPing. And some part of me definitely wants to make a sarcastic joke, but actually, these people seem to be having a very fine time. I'll just STFU and let them…
Op-Ed

TCI Friday – Attention Deficit

Emlyn Lewis
It says something about my engagement in the cycling biz and the power of osmotic information gathering, that I know anything at all about the newest bikes and tech hitting the market, because I kid…
Talk

Paceline Podcast 392

Emlyn Lewis
This week we're talking about all the fantastic, surprising and unexpected places the bike has taken us over the years. It might not be where you think. All that and pair of Paceline Picks, and…

Featured Posts

Page One

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,…
Page One

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…
Page One

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…
Page One

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,…
Page One

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…
Page One

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…
Page One

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…
Page One

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…
Page One

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…
Page One

Basic Forensics

Emlyn Lewis
She noticed the blood. She was changing the sheets, and she said to me, "Where are you bleeding from?" And I said, "What?" because I was unaware that I had been bleeding at all. A reddish-brown…

Page One

Page One

Basic Forensics

Emlyn Lewis
She noticed the blood. She was changing the sheets, and she said to me, "Where are you bleeding from?" And I said, "What?" because I was unaware that I had been bleeding at all. A reddish-brown…

Op-Ed

Op-Ed

TCI Friday – Attention Deficit

Emlyn Lewis
It says something about my engagement in the cycling biz and the power of osmotic information gathering, that I know anything at all about the newest bikes and tech hitting the market, because I kid…
Op-Ed

The Return

Padraig
When we take up cycling, be it as a kid, a teen or as an adult, the draw of the bike is going—seeing new places, encountering new terrain, feeling the changing land through the bike. For most of my…
Op-Ed

i wash my …

Conner Burns
I am working on an article about washing the bike and waxing my chain. It brought a memory to me from my past. It is not bike related… but think it might make you laugh, so here it goes. Background.…

Classified

Talk

Talk

Revolting 153

Robot and Stevil
The Epistemological Challenges of 21st Century Consciousness. One of the problems of being alive right now is that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to know what’s true, to even know what you…
Talk

Paceline Podcast 392

Emlyn Lewis
This week we're talking about all the fantastic, surprising and unexpected places the bike has taken us over the years. It might not be where you think. All that and pair of Paceline Picks, and…
Talk

Revolting 152

Robot and Stevil
Looking for a Good Cult to Join. Humans will believe just about anything. You wonder how people join UFO-worshipping, death cults, but is any of that so far from the stuff everyday people are…

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