Sea Otter 2016. The races, the pros, the gear. So glorious. Months of anticipation, training, and preparation. All of my plans set. But sometimes life–well, death, actually–gets in the way of plans. Just days before my annual pilgrimage to Sea Otter, a close family member passed on. And somehow, all the […]
So there’s a lot of sentiment out there that might tell you that glueless patch kits are merely for temporary flat repair–good for a few miles, but ready to go flat again at any moment. Don’t believe the haters. These little super stickers can serve as a permanent patch on […]
There comes a time in every cyclist’s life when he or she feels drawn to free up a little extra pocket or saddlebag space. That determined, focused refusal to carry unnecessary accessories like tire levers. After all, who needs tire levers to change a flat?! Ridiculous. You don’t need no […]
With the Tour de France in full swing, people are noticing that the riders are all sporting these strange black stick things under their saddles–at least it seems like a popular topic on social media. You might have seen them in the recent Criterium du Dauphine, but now every single […]
Nate: “I’ve been trying to get a couple of tubes into my flat kit, but I can’t seem to get the air out of them enough to get them small. How do I roll a bike tube properly?” This is an often overlooked topic. Plenty of cyclists think it’s a […]
Bri: “I can’t seem to figure out how often to lube my bike chain. It seems like I either hear squeaking or the chain gets so grimy that I can’t clean it out. How and when should I lubricate it?” Great question, Bri! Keeping your chain lubed and free of […]
I’ll let you in on a secret. I used to be a lousy cyclist. I was slow, often unprepared, and I made excuses (*cough* OK, well, maybe I’m still lousy in that regard). But, lucky for me, I rode with some very cool cyclists who helped me along. These days, […]
Recently, a friend of mine (yes, that’s her info on the poster above–had to give her a shout-out!) started getting into the whole essential oils thing. Although at first my endurance-athlete centered brain dismissed her claims of better sleep through Lavender and greater healing through “Thieves” (there’s a backstory, apparently), I […]
What could be better than redlining in the middle of a peloton for a few hours and then digging deeper to sprint toward glory at the end of the day? But you can’t reach the top step of that podium without taking the first step–deciding to race on the road! […]
Reigning Tour de France champ, Chris Froome knows a thing or two about climbing. Now he’s passing on that knowledge to cyclists around the world in his latest interview. Even though Team Sky has had a bit of bad press lately (inhaler-gate anyone?), Froome certainly knows what he’s talking about […]
So you’ve got your new bike all shined up, your spiffy new lycra cycling kit on, and your adrenaline urging you to get out on the road. But do you also have that small twinge of fear that you look like a rookie bike rider? Relax! Don’t let lycra-clad days […]
A commuter bike, beater bike, single speed, hipster fixie–in reality, a cheap build. I scoffed. Yes, I scoffed, at my husband when he suggested we build bikes for commuting around town. What did I need with a lousy 70s bike when I have a super light, high end, really fast […]
Over the weekend, I was stoked to see hundreds of cyclists pedaling down the road during a local century event. Watching all the brave participants, a recurring trend jumped out at me–and kept staring me down as I passed rider after rider on the road: the haphazard, heavy, and sometimes dangerous […]
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