Whether you were a reader of Cush’s at Dirt Rag, a devoted follower of Robot’s Friday Group Ride or have been reading my work since Belgium Knee Warmers (or possibly Bicycle Guide), you’re probably curious to know just what sorts of things you’ll see here at The Cycling Independent.
Cush did a great job of answering that question in his Editor’s Letter here.
There is, however, one thing you’re unlikely to see here. We won’t be covering racing in any traditional sense. You won’t find daily Tour de France coverage or blow-by-blow accounts of the Tour of Flanders (even though we love racing and are usually watching and keeping tabs on what’s going on). There are plenty of publications covering that and doing a good job of it. But that’s not really why, and the why is important.
For TCI’s editorial mission, pro racing is not the pinnacle of the sport.
Simply put, your experience is the pinnacle of the sport. After all, we are, each of us, the main character in the story of our lives, so there’s nothing more important in cycling to you than the ride or race you do.
Maybe you’re a cyclist because you just wanted some exercise as you get to and from work. Or maybe it was the first sport that allowed you to feel a sense of grace. Or maybe it’s the best way you’ve found to access wild spaces. It could be all of those things or possibly none of them, but no one keeps riding a bike if they don’t enjoy the experience.
Cycling does something special for us, something other than just physical fitness. In trying to explain to a non-cyclist why I’ve been a cyclist for most of my life, I boiled it down to this:
When I move outside, I am still inside.
The mix of joy and peace that comes from riding is why we are here, it’s what we all share in common. As our tag line says, “If you ride bikes, you’re one of us.”
Glad to see this publication, Happy to support the effort. You write about cycling with knowledge and sensitivity. Thanks !