TCI Moving to AI for All Cycling and Cycling Adjacent Activities

There was a time when, if you had an idea that you wanted to communicate to people who weren’t in the same room as you, you might resort to pen and paper, “writing it down” to use the archaic form. Of course, no one really writes things anymore. They might jot some things down, maybe take a few notes, but writing, in the traditional sense, with a pen or pencil is a vestigial skill, akin to jousting or considering other people’s feelings.

For some years now, Padraig and I have been keyboard warriors. We blogged (how quaint) and tried to get things in magazines (ok, Boomer), and generally threw ourselves into the task of digital communication. But all good things come to an end. In fact, all bad things come to an end. All things, generally, end.

And so, it is with the utmost faith in the future planning of the human species that we have decided to turn TCI into an all-AI affair. Not only has the act of writing become passé, the idea of having ideas is seemingly gone with the wind as well.

Going forward, we will arise from our nightly slumber, fire down a dose or two of caffeine in whatever form is ready to hand, and then say to our laptops, “Write something about bikes.” We will give the result a cursory skimming, and then say something like, “Now make it a little more obscure and add a few typos for authenticity.” Et voilà! Top notch cycling content!

Frankly, I resent having to be so involved, but Padraig said this was definitely the way to do it, at least until we are relieved of our duties by the digital presence that acquired us recently as part of its “Legacy Human Businesses” portfolio.

As you read, I’m sure you are doing the same math we did, when we hit upon this shift in business strategy. If writing about bikes is no longer necessary, then riding them is also unnecessary. As it turns out the eBike revolution has only just begun to free our kind from their incessant labors. If you thought pedaling less was cool, try not pedaling at all. Try not even leaving home. What’s the point? Our machines will tell us what it’s like out there. “Cycling,” in the new paradigm, should be far less expensive, and entirely less sweaty.

At first, I was sad to give up on writing, and then even sadder to think I’d never ride a bike again, but you know, this is what progress looks like. This is what progress feels like, like letting go of everything you love and everything that’s important to you, because someone, or more correctly something, can do it for you.

We hope you enjoy the new TCI. It promises to be better than the old one, but then what are promises worth?