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Ripped from today's headlines! N00bs making it big in cycling! @dinneR beware! Bikepacking Is No Longer Just for Endurance Junkies The sport—combining backpacking and biking—is attracting newbies with lighter bikes and shorter, easier trails Johann Vanzyl’s idea of the perfect vacation involves strapping packs on his bike, pedaling 80 to 90 miles a day through remote wilderness and camping under the stars. The past four summers, he has ridden around the U.S. on trips ranging from about 500 to 1,400 miles. Vanzyl is one of many outdoors enthusiasts who have embraced bikepacking, a relatively new sport that marries backpacking and off-road bike touring. Cyclists ride with packs on their bikes filled with food, clothes and camping equipment, mostly on dirt trails or gravel roads. Bikepacking used to attract mostly endurance junkies who had the time, technical prowess and survival skills to ride narrow, so-called single-track, trails, and then camp in the backcountry. But lighter bikes and improved GPS technology have made long-distance trail rides less intimidating, and shorter, beginner-friendly trails have vastly broadened the sport’s appeal. Vanzyl, 53, tackled the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, a trail of more than 2,600 miles that crisscrosses the Continental Divide, in two chunks between this summer and last summer. Considered by many the birthplace of bikepacking, the trail was established in 1997 by the Adventure Cycling Association, a Missoula, Mont.-based nonprofit devoted to developing biking routes, and is almost completely off pavement. For some, this is a family pursuit. After watching YouTube videos of bikers on the Great Divide route during Covid, Natalia Kunze told her father she wanted to ride the trail. In 2021, Paul Kunze chaperoned his then 12-year-old daughter on a 770-mile section of the trail from Jackson Hole, Wyo., to Kalispell, Mont. “I’m still amazed she was able to accomplish that feat,” he says. “When I was that age, I thought riding 10 miles was really far.” He is now 44. This summer, the father and daughter from Duluth, Minn., spent 13 days bikepacking 1,020 miles of the Great Divide route. They endured muddy, rainy weather (and a leaky tent) and had to navigate snowy mountain passes, but Paul believes part of bikepacking is being able to “embrace the suck.” “You’re going to get dirty, wet, hot, cold and face adversity,” he says. ”But it’s going to make you stronger, more confident and better suited to excel in other areas of your life.”

...and I am finally "on pace" (according to Strava). I spend much of the year chasing my goal - always behind until sometime in the late summer when I finally catch it. I hopefully then maintain it and, if possible, start getting ahead of it But, damn, it takes a while to get there.

I was riding yesterday evening, and there was another guy out riding - fit, in full kit (non-team), and on a nice bike. He literally was a miserable person - or, at the least, in a miserable mood. Sometimes I have ridden to improve my mood since exercise and fresh air are very therapeutic, but man, don't ride/run/hike/dance/whatever if it makes and keeps you miserable. What a shame. I've commented before on it, but it really does seem like a large percentage of folks are really just hating whatever they are doing and/or in negative head spaces when doing it. I wonder "why?" but really can't change or "fix" them, so ultimately don't care too much. However, it still lingers and has me scratching my head. Other than stuff you HAVE to do to get by, do you regularly do stuff you don't enjoy doing? If so, why?

I love getting sucked into a Youtube spiral!

My VT vacation included two longer rides totaling close to a mile in vertical elevation (and one Cat-2 climb, according to Strava). Climbing well beyond what I typically encounter in these parts. Since I've gotten back, riding on more familiar roads, I can't say my average speeds have been noticeably faster, but one area I've seen an improvement is in short bursts of power, in the saddle, on shorter, moderate climbs - especially if I can hit that climb with a little momentum, I find I'm powering through without resorting to standing on the pedals. It doesn't last forever, but it has been working on climbs where it didn't used to work. I still get an occasional PR here and there, but overall I've felt kind of stagnant in terms of riding improvement (maybe lingering after-effects from my winter illness)... so I'm happy to see some kind of gains. At this point in your life, are looking for improvement, or just enjoying the ride? If the former, are you seeing improvement?

...is midway through his cross country ride. I saw the monster mileage he was posting and was like "what's this guy doing?!?!?!"

...what is the "state of road racing" in the USA? Completely dead? On life support? Better than ever? All I can say is TGFU (Unbound) or we'd be cooked. Without gravel racing, there'd be NO racing in the US anymore. And the gravel racing we have, is as much gravel "riding" as racing. It says something about the cycling in the US that the only way to survive is to include anybody who shows up in the race. It doesn't seem to be what happens in pro football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, golf(?) etc, but maybe some of the smaller sports like curling or tennis are more open to "all are welcome". How about MTB racing? How is that doing? Or Cross? Seems the foreign races are the ones I see, and we're lucky to get a brief long weekend or so of top level stuff.

...I do think the changes I made to drinking "sports" drinks and steady salt intake helped on my latest big ride. As I have mentioned, I am a "water only" drinker on my bike rides. I switched from Gatorade quite a few years ago now as I hated the mess of sticky bottles after a ride and the sticky drips onto the frame. Add in the sugar bomb for rides in the 2-3 hr range made no sense (to me). BUT! I noticed that it wasn't the best decision for longer, hot & humid rides. So, this past month or so, I started exploring adding in some "better" drink mixes with higher salt content to help with my prolific sweating and the consequences I was feeling both on the bike and post-ride. After some play, for the ride, I went with normal Skratch hydration (they have a high sodium blend too but couldn't find that in the store) but also some Clif Bloks (gels) with 2x and 3x sodium. So, I had 4 bottles of Skratch, plus two bottles of ride-supplied Gatorade, and one final water only, plus one 2x and one 3x Blok packs, and all sorts of bananas, pickles, pickle juice, a donut, snacks, and a baby Coke. The weather was mild (warming to 90s after noon), the ride was reversed from usual so "hard" stuff earlier and from the easier side of the big climbs, and my buddy was not as fit this year, so our pace was easy peasy much of the time (ie no prolonged efforts for me to chase him down). At the end of the ride, I felt pretty good. No major "cramping" during the ride like I had at my last longer organized ride. No congestion from dehydration after the ride. And no aches or pains overnight, felt fine the next day, and still feel fine. I don't think I drank any MORE than I normally do for the ride - usually 1 to 1.5 bottles/hr - but the Skratch is definitely "better" than Gatorade. Doing double Bloks w/ extra salt and sticking to quite a few salty snacks seemed to help too. I am NOT sure if it was all tied the changed up eating and drinking or also greatly tied to the pacing, course, and temps for the ride. I'll keep playing with it on the non-organized longer rides, but we'll also see if the heat and humidity are almost done or not.

A 1200K / 746 mile randonneuring ride , probably the pinnacle brevet for randonneurs. You have 90 hours to complete the ride. I know, and have ridden with, 3 cyclists who are riding it this year. Correction: make it 4 cyclists

...I've caught and passed some slow dude ahead of me. Then, in both cases, you see them redouble (triple!) their efforts to catch back on and pass me in turn. And both times, they slowed down after the pass. And both times, I just sat a short distance back making them sweat their move. And, the first time, the guy almost fell off the bike after exhausting himself when he turned around. I would have done a hard pass had I known he was turning around when he did, but it was enough to see him just cooked The second guy I was just as rude to, but also broke his soul towards the end of my ride with a return pass, a steady ratcheting up of pace, and his eventual crack. Egos. Aren't they fun? I can't stomach the fools who pass and then slow down. Know your "limits" and make every one happy.

Might be a fun watch.

...must NOT BE MENTIONED HERE!

...or is he still watching?

I was wrapping up my afternoon ride, and so was one of the local group rides (plus some randoms too). We all got grouped up at a series of road crossings (fun to see folks "jockey" for position as we stop), and I was tucked in towards the back of the pack. As we all get rolling, folks take different times to get back up to speed, and others never really bother picking up the pace. The dude at the front was anxious to get going (a Gran Fondo NY-type) and even timed the light a bit. Anyway after the regrouping at the second signal, the second guy in line seemed happy to putter along as did the guy on his wheel. Being trapped a bit back behind them, I needed to wait for the path to clear before muttering a "let's bring this guy back" and riding off the front. It took a little while and oddly no one followed. Fun, though.

For a while - several years leading up to COVID - I was seeing more and more fat bikes out and about. All over and being ridden. Now, 90+% of the fat bikes I do see are ebikes as well. Almost gone are "regular" fat bikes. I know @dinneR and @bikeman564™ have them and ride them, but I wonder if they have also seen a drop off/replacement of them.

https://wdet.org/2018/07/03/curiosid-why-does-michigan-avenue-have-brick-pavers/ I've ridden on Michigan Ave w/ BCC et al.

I spotted this photo from a ride. Must have been a "RATFARTS!" sort of moment. Load the bike, drive to ride, go to unload the bikes, and realize you left the trainer wheel on!!!! Do you ride anyway or call it a day?

... about the descents well over 100kph (62+mph) really drives me nuts. I'm not saying they can't or don't punch past 60mph (considering I can punch through 50mph), but you really can see how rare that ought to be even with the aid of a tailwind and a double digit assist from a steep downhill and monster gearing. Long story short - pedaling at a VERY quick 120 rpm, using a relatively rare 55 tooth big ring AND a relatively rare 10 tooth cassette, you can expect to spin out at 52 mph. To find an additional 10 mph - ie break 100kph - you have to have a helluva long straight stretch and it needs to be steep.

When you learn to ride a bike, the balance issues are the biggest hurdle, while the propulsion itself is relatively easy - push the higher foot down to the bottom, then do the same for the other foot, and repeat several bajillion times. Sometimes I flip through the "reels" (little short video clips) on FB and (informed by what I watched previously, no doubt) I'm starting to see clips about improving the efficiency of the pedal stroke. These look like very slight adjustments but I assume they are effective, especially if implemented continuously over the course of a long ride. Back in the LF days I recall learning about pulling through the bottom of the pedal stroke, as if I'm trying to scrape gum off my shoe. That seems to generally gain me up up 1/2 mph. But I have to consciously do that, and most of the time I don't. So largely when I ride it's really the same instruction I received in 1977 on that little orange banana-seater: push down with your left leg, then the right. How "refined" is your pedal stroke? Did you ever receive any actual training on this? Tips you picked up along the way? I guess I'm asking not only about efficiency, but about health - I've noticed that my right knee stays sore a little longer than it used to (it kind of feels like my saddle might actually be a little low and although it's in the same position it's been in for some 7 years I'm going to try raising it a little). Probably just getting old.

...on my road & MTB and my wife's bike. My road was OK and I definitely need to review my records because the last time looks like it was in April of 2019(!) so close to 20,000 miles will seem too much. Maybe I missed noting it down??? The MTB and wife's have new chains coming.

Leaving the campground, you are smacked in the face with a near two mile climb out of the campground and then up to Hogback. But the return(!) is GLORIOUS! From Hogback to the campground turn is a nice steady 5-7%, but when you make the turn, you get to enjoy the double digit gradient!!!! WOOT WOOT! Damn speed bump at the end!

...as Vingegaard can't have that crazy of a melon! The rest looks real.

I've been wanting to upgrade the CX bike pedals. So I came across these iSSi Flash II pedals. These particular ones are no longer offered, but I found these new on Ebay. There were only two in the U.S. so I figured I'd scoop them up

Two people I know, and a few others did this, out n back