Author

Emlyn Lewis
Robot fell in love with cycling watching the older neighborhood kids ride wheelies down the street. It was the early '70s, and Evel Knievel was jumping motorcycles over buses. Everything seemed possible. From that moment, the die was cast (iacta alia est).
He studied philosophy in college, of course he did. That's what idealists do, romantics, kids who think there must be a better way. At the same time, bikes were carrying him everywhere, delivering all of life's gifts and surprises. Occasionally he crashed and didn't mind.
This week we delve into the merits of riding alone or in a group, inside or out, with a detour to discuss the challenges of introversion. We also have a PSA for some of the!-->…
Margin Walkers
I wrote this for Red Kite Prayer in 2013, but the song remains the same in 2023.
I was a middle-class kid, as tormented by boredom as by the peer pressure of my preppy!-->!-->!-->…
Robot’s Useless Reviews – Carbs
'Carb' is a truncation of carbohydrate, but also of carburetor. So we'll engage a little creative disambiguation between these things without ever, even once, thinking about!-->…
Solitaire
Because of the nature of my work, I have a lot more flexibility than most of my friends. I can ride in the middle of the day, and certainly during the winter, that's a more!-->…
TCI Friday
You know the deal. I ask the questions. You give the answers, like an interrogation, but without the bad cop.
As I explained on The Paceline this week, Evel Knievel was!-->!-->!-->…
Video – The Huffmaster Hopper 2023
I'm not generally going to be posting DNF efforts here, but Padraig references the Grasshopper gravel series pretty often on the Paceline, and I found this survey of (most!-->…
In the Teeth
It was one of those classic, New England, omnidirectional headwinds. We'd screamed down the hill to the main drag, my eyes streaming despite my glasses, and my face contorted!-->…
That Place
I couldn't begin to explain to someone who hasn't been there, what is good about that place. It's a benighted place, but a simpler one as well. When you're there, maybe you!-->…
Robot’s Useless Reviews – Quick Release
In the days when you were fixing flats more often, quick release was a real savior. Not only did it save you time, it kept you from having to carry wrenches around with you,!-->…
How to Get Off the Road
This one's for the roadies. I have friends who are dyed-in-the-wool road cyclists. The last few years have seen the numbers in their group rides dropping, and the media!-->…