Cardio Goth

Spent the morning trying to keep up with my (much fitter) partner for Rad Race 96 Hours. It's going to hurt.

Celebrating spring in the forest with some aimless exploring (and climbing)

Exploring (and climbing)..

Seconded, this is really good advice. My two cents from having done this a lot over the years: Running and hotel gyms are your best friends There are lots of examples of hotel room and hotel gym workouts out there - use them for inspiration if you don't feel like running every day Remaining disciplined about doing something (walk, run, gym etc) every day is vital, especially when you're tempted to overeat / drink etc Find a goal to motivate yourself (like a race to prepare for) and if you're tempted to have a huge dinner or drink too much, ask yourself "does doing this get me closer or further from my goal?" Intermittent fasting helps, especially if you're in a hotel and can't cook for yourself and have to rely on room service / takeout

Maiden voyage for the Sonder and an absolute belter of a day to welcome it.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I really appreciate the thoughtful replies. The Karate Monkey wasn't a great deal, especially given that I would have intended to upgrade it from the get-go, so I'm now debating whether I would get divorced if I bought a Sonder Broken Road instead

Muddy afternoon out - first day out in a while..

I'm debating buying a 2014 Karate Monkey and was wondering whether anyone had any experience of upgrading one - mainly I was thinking about adding a suspension fork (there are conflicting views on whether the 2014 geometry is optimised for a 100mm or 140mm fork - anyone know?), and what that would entail (new headset?) and upgrading the drivetrain (I guess it could go up to 1x11 on the existing Shimano freehub; but ideally I would want to put GX AXS on it at some point, which would, I guess, entail new a hub at least?). Anyone have any experience with Gnot Boost? Anything else that I should consider? Any horror stories? Advice? Thanks!

To be fair, quite a lot of it was on Alpe du Zwift 🙄

Lots of time indoors and lots of using what little time I had to try to get in some training, but pleased with my commitment in 2022, through a tough year.

Because I just signed up for this (a 600km / 4 day bikepacking race in Sweden): I need these to get out on my bike in -5 degree weather to get some training in: (or at least that's how I justify it all to myself)

Hope F20s are pretty bomber. I had a OneUp Composite seize up in the middle of a bikepacking trip so I don't really trust them anymore.

Cold AF morning ride to clear my head after a long time away from home and the bike.

Yeah, that's the one I have - I got it on special for a pretty decent price but it still wasn't cheap.

I'll add a vote for Evoc - I used the Pro to fly to and from Iceland without a single issue, and the packing process is also really simple and logical.

I've never gotten on with the Ramblers - they don't feel durable at all. Both of the Specialized gravel tyres (Pathfinder Pro / Rhombus Pro) feel way more durable, and I've put a lot of miles on both of them without a single issue.

The Panaracers are good tyres, but not great in mud. If you're willing to sacrifice a bit of rolling resistance and tan walls, the Specialized Rhombus Pro are a pretty aggressive option

Not quite the bike, not exactly ideal circumstances, but good to be back in the WC.

I've got a MAAP winter jersey that I bought on sale. It's a proper good piece of kit - comfy and punches above its weight in terms of warmth - but winter jerseys seem to allow a lot more differentiation in quality, warmth and opinions than summer jerseys.

Better pull those flannel shirts out of the laundry!

Welcome back to the steel on gravel club! Sequoias are awesome. Oh, and don't go with Ramblers - they're the worst, least durable tyres I've used. Rather go with the Cinturatos or size down to 43mm with Gravel King SKs.

I've never lost a bottle out of the plastic Spez Zee Cage but I recently upgraded to titanium King Cages and they're .. pretty sweet, even if they are unjustifiably expensive.

The Giant seems to have issues with cracking near the seatpost clamp (see reviews here: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/revolt-advanced-3), but there aren't a lot of reviews of the Silverback floating around.

A cold, rainy, misty and dark solo gravel grind.