Much has been written about AI and how many creators use it to assist in creating content. In my case, The Long Ride is researched with AI assistance, summarized by AI and written and edited by me. The voice, arguments, personal reflections, and editorial judgments are mine.
I use Claude, an AI assistant by Anthropic, as a research and writing partner. I want to be specific about what that means in practice, because ‘I use AI’ without explanation tells you almost nothing useful.
What Claude helps me do:
Research and synthesize peer-reviewed studies, clinical findings, and current scientific literature on the topics I cover. The Long Ride is evidence-based, and the volume of research required to do so honestly across health, ageing, nutrition, and longevity science is substantial. Claude significantly accelerates that process for me and for most creators on Substack.
I draft initial versions of essays that I then extensively edit, rewrite, and personalize. By the time a piece is published, it has gone through multiple rounds of revision — personal reflections added, sections restructured, and language and grammar brought in line with how I think and speak. The draft is a starting point, not a finished product.
Create supporting content, including LinkedIn posts, Substack Notes, and editorial reference documents.
Review drafts for structural consistency, factual accuracy, and alignment with The Long Ride’s voice before publication.
Manage my publication schedule and my Substack account. Keep me focused on the growth strategies that work on Substack.
What Claude does not do:
• Generate my personal reflections, lived experiences, or observations drawn from my own life. Every personal passage — the cancer survival, the cycling, the sale of the business, and the observations about my family is about me personally and uniquely mine.
• Make editorial decisions about what to cover, how to frame an argument, or what conclusion to draw. Those decisions are mine.
• Verify citations independently. Every research citation is reviewed and verified by me before publication.
• Publish anything without my review and approval.
Every piece of research cited in The Long Ride is verified before publication. Every personal passage is mine. Every published essay reflects my understanding of the subject — shaped by my NASM CPT and sports nutrition certification, my experience as a master’s athlete and cancer survivor, and twenty-five years of building and running a business.
I use AI because it speeds up research and improves the writing process. I love to write, love the process, and that’s why I am transparent about it. It aligns with what The Long Ride has always tried to be: evidence-based, personally grounded, and written without the vagueness that makes most health content feel untrustworthy.
If you have questions about my process, you are welcome to ask them in the comments or by replying to any email.
Greg Pallone — The Long Ride — gregpallone.substack.com