The Ride Journal: Stories & Skills for an Independent Cycling Magazine.
Bikepacking routes, real maintenance know-how and the culture of cycling — no reviews, no race reports, just riders.
Five ways in.
Bikepacking
Routes, setups and trip stories for going further with less.
Maintenance
The know-how that keeps a bike running without a shop visit.
Gear
What we actually pack — and why, told as stories not spec sheets.
Gravel
Riding technique and culture for the space between road and trail.
Journal
Interviews, photo essays and illustration — the original DNA.
The two most useful things we've published.
Culture, in motion.
Slower stories, worth sitting with.
Interviews, photo essays and illustration — the same instinct that got the original Ride Journal covered by design press, now with a pulse again.
The rest of the site exists to answer a question fast: how to fix something, what a route takes, what a piece of gear is actually for. This corner is allowed to move slower — an illustrator's years-long commission, the economics of a not-for-profit print run. It's a smaller, quieter part of the site, and it's not going anywhere.
What we'd actually pack.
Choosing a Bikepacking Frame Bag
Restrap, Rogue Panda, Road Runner — what actually differs once you're loaded and climbing.
Read the story →
Choosing a Touring Bike
What matters more than the spec sheet when the bike is your only way home.
Read the story →
Panniers vs. Bikepacking Bags
Two ways to carry the same load — and what each one costs you on the climbs.
Read the story →The Ride Journal: An Independent Cycling Magazine
The Ride Journal cycling magazine runs on one rule: no paid reviews, no sponsored gear, no race reports written to fill a content calendar. Every guide, story and photo essay gets published because it's genuinely useful or worth reading — not because a brand paid for the placement.
That's what separates a magazine from a listicle mill. The Ride Journal cycling magazine holds itself to the same order of priorities the original print publication built its reputation on: writing and design first, traffic a distant second.
A couple of things people ask
Is The Ride Journal actually independent?
Yes. There are no affiliate links on the site yet, and the gear coverage is editorial picks rather than paid placement — if that ever changes, it'll be disclosed clearly rather than dressed up as an honest review.
Do you review or rank specific bikes?
No spec-sheet reviews and no race reports. The site covers how to do things — maintenance, bikepacking, gravel riding — and the culture around cycling, not head-to-head product comparisons.
How often does new content get published?
New guides and stories are added as they're finished rather than on a fixed schedule — the aim is getting each piece right, not hitting a weekly quota.