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
The Watermelon
I found out the hard way that mid-ride bonks come in more flavors than I would have guessed. I've had ones that snuck up on me, arriving in between two efforts. One minute I've got full power. Then…
Revolting 225
TV Had Rotted Our Minds Long Before the Internet Came Along. You must see that the Internet is just the Choose Your Own Adventure version of television, and long before the algorithm was developed to…
Paceline Podcast 461
This week Lori and Patrick welcome guest Paul Tolmé, the media relations director for Cascade Bicycle Club. With roughly 10,000 paying members, Cascade is one of the largest, if not the largest…
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…
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…
Revolting 224
A Participation Trophy for Your Trouble. It’s award season, because it’s never not award season when people who already make a lot of money and are crazy famous also want to be told they’re doing a…
Ebullition Doubt 37: Because I Got High
There is never a bad time to reference Afroman. You can read all about him, but suffice it to say the guy now is the most modern example of an American hero we have following his recent court…
Paceline Podcast 460
This week, Lori and Patrick talk with Joel Sehloff, the West Coast head of OE sales for Factor Bicycles. He tells the story of his path through the bike industry, beginning with shop grom in…
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,…
Paceline Podcast 461
This week Lori and Patrick welcome guest Paul Tolmé, the media relations director for Cascade Bicycle Club. With roughly 10,000 paying members, Cascade is one of the largest, if not the largest…
Page One
The Watermelon
I found out the hard way that mid-ride bonks come in more flavors than I would have guessed. I've had ones that snuck up on me, arriving in between two efforts. One minute I've got full power. Then…
An Inside Job
Here we have a missive from friend Bence Balla in Budapest, which is alliterative. He's sharing an experience some of us "hardcore" cyclists have learned over time, that you always think you know how…
Op-Ed
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…
Ebullition Doubt 37: Because I Got High
There is never a bad time to reference Afroman. You can read all about him, but suffice it to say the guy now is the most modern example of an American hero we have following his recent court…
Because Bikes: Grit
Of the many facets in my life that give me reason to feel gratitude, cycling keeps coming up for me. Who I was as a young person—deeply neurodivergent, madly intelligent and epically…
Classified
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…
A Useful Review: Stephen Kotler’s The Art of Impossible
When I go through times of personal turmoil, I reach for self-help books the way some folks reach for whiskey. I’ll initiate a gratitude practice or take up box breathing or read 21 books on autism…
A Useful Review: Saris Indoor Trainer Thru-Axle Adapter
This is decidedly the wrong time of year to tout a product meant to keep your indoor riding game going, but sometimes stuff doesn't arrive in time for the requisite conditions. In this case, those…
Talk
Revolting 225
TV Had Rotted Our Minds Long Before the Internet Came Along. You must see that the Internet is just the Choose Your Own Adventure version of television, and long before the algorithm was developed to…
Paceline Podcast 461
This week Lori and Patrick welcome guest Paul Tolmé, the media relations director for Cascade Bicycle Club. With roughly 10,000 paying members, Cascade is one of the largest, if not the largest…
Revolting 224
A Participation Trophy for Your Trouble. It’s award season, because it’s never not award season when people who already make a lot of money and are crazy famous also want to be told they’re doing a…