Cycling is more than just a sport—it’s a way of life, a passion that connects people through adventure, endurance, and the freedom of the open road. Whether you’re a seasoned cyclist or just beginning your journey, the Cycling Independent is here to bring you insights, stories, and the latest updates from the cycling world. Stay inspired, explore new trails, and embrace the cycling lifestyle.
Latest Posts Page One Op-Ed Classified Talk
Revolting 238
Getting to the Point. Guys, guys, guys, listen. We know we have a hard time getting to the point and sticking to the point and staying on schedule and remembering to breathe, but we have some…
Paceline Podcast 474
This week Lori and Patrick talk to Justin Reiter of Zirkel Optics. Several details makes Zirkel different from typical cycling eyewear options. First, they are sustainably produced. Second, their…
How to Clean the Yellow Jersey
With the Tour de France underway and thoughts of the yellow jersey reaching Paris, I was surprised by a discovery as I was cleaning things out subsequent to driving home from Memphis with stacks of…
Ebullition/Doubt 39: Are You Still Racing?
“You act like you don’t know anything about football—just to seem cool—even though you played it for years,” my wife quips when I say something snarky regarding a bowl game that is on at the…
Revolting 237
Eating Crumpets with Emily Post. You know, you wouldn’t think a couple of guys like us thinks much about etiquette, but au contraire, we’re dedicated to getting along with most of the folks who are…
Updated: Paceline Podcast 473
For the first time ever, Patrick and Lori were able to record from the same location—Patrick visited Lori at her home in rural Utah as he drove home from Memphis. The thing is, two mics in close…
Applied Cycling
Scientists like to draw a distinction between the theory of science and its practical application, and with good reason. There's a meaningful difference between believing your car gets good enough…
Hey, Just Ride: Goodbye Lefty
Weaving in and out of an ancient forest of Juniper trees I’m transported to a magical, mystical place where time gets recorded in the gnarly nooks and crannies of these twisted trunks that have…
Featured Posts
Llamas, Donkeys and Sage
The Wuanita loop in Saguache (“Saw–watch”) County, Colorado was my third bikepack, but my first without the handholding provided by a 2021 “Bikepacking 101 Course” offered by Rim Tours in Moab, or a…
Part of Me
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,…
How to Clean the Yellow Jersey
With the Tour de France underway and thoughts of the yellow jersey reaching Paris, I was surprised by a discovery as I was cleaning things out subsequent to driving home from Memphis with stacks of…
Page One
Paceline Podcast 474
This week Lori and Patrick talk to Justin Reiter of Zirkel Optics. Several details makes Zirkel different from typical cycling eyewear options. First, they are sustainably produced. Second, their…
How to Clean the Yellow Jersey
With the Tour de France underway and thoughts of the yellow jersey reaching Paris, I was surprised by a discovery as I was cleaning things out subsequent to driving home from Memphis with stacks of…
Op-Ed
Hot Take: Bikes Are Too Good Now
I just wanted to crack the passenger side window, like one-and-a-half cranks of the old lever that did the job when you could actually "roll down the window." But we don't roll the window down…
Ebullition/Doubt 38: Tense and Nervous and I Can’t Relax
We always parked on the “landside” of Atlantic Avenue, generally at my mom’s friend’s house. This was back when it was still possible to rent a place on the north end of Virginia Beach long before…
Because Bikes: Duty
We rounded a bend that the map said was a sure-fire exit from Monte Carlo to a coastal road that would run to Nice. My group numbered six, maybe seven riders—I no longer recall exactly because…
Classified
A Useful Review: Hunt Enduro V3 Wheels
Let’s begin with an agreed-upon maxim. Wheels can have the most immediately noticeable effect on your bike’s performance. Wheels are often the first big upgrade that riders make for their bike as it…
Robot’s Useless Reviews – 15spd Telepathic
Some of you may be aware that I don't love to write reviews. It's because I'm just not that interested in the technical details of most products, but also because I believe, sincerely, that most of…
A Useful Review: Gibbon Slackboard Plus
You already know this but I'm going to say it so that we have all acknowledged the sizable pachyderm with us:Cycling leaves a lot of our stabilizer muscles weak. It sucks. It doubly sucks because I…
Talk
Revolting 238
Getting to the Point. Guys, guys, guys, listen. We know we have a hard time getting to the point and sticking to the point and staying on schedule and remembering to breathe, but we have some…
Revolting 237
Eating Crumpets with Emily Post. You know, you wouldn’t think a couple of guys like us thinks much about etiquette, but au contraire, we’re dedicated to getting along with most of the folks who are…
Revolting 236
Getting Exactly What We Deserve. We complain a lot about getting old and our bodies falling apart, but we have systematically avoided all the precautionary steps one might take to mitigate the…