Cycling and Kids, Sometimes in the Cold
I m heading out to Kyrgyzstan today, and I m kind of nervous about it. I am hopefully smarter than I was in 2023, and I think I have addressed the issues that prevented me from finishing back then. My Coros Dura is lightyears ahead of my previous computers in terms of pointing me where I want [ ]
Conventional wisdom says that the added complexity of full suspension (or some say any suspension) will reduce their reliability to the point of making them a poor choice for ultra-endurance racing. There are several components to this, and, like so much conventional wisdom, data may contradict the accepted story. Separating Anecdote from Data First, I [ ]
No matter what I decide about which bike to bring to Silk Road Mountain Race (SRMR) 2026, a few things are pretty firm in my mind One is electronic shifting. But Electronic Shifting is so Unreliable I work in a busy bike shop I see a lot of broken bikes. The most common [ ]
What Kind of bike do you recommend for these events? There are a number of bike options that would all be solid choices for these races. There are few extremely technical sections, but you will benefit from wider tyres, flat bars and mountain bike geometry on the rougher sections and on descents. When it gets [ ]
My recent racing history has a few unfinished courses in it, Rather than lament getting lost, I am actively looking to improve the things that make it more likely to finish. Navigation has been a big challenge for me. I was skilled enough with a map and compass, but the modern world has placed all [ ]
What went wrong on my ITI 2025 ride? Well nothing really. Which is exactly what went wrong Let that sink in. I am not complaining, I had a great time. I met my expectations of myself, and I wasn t tied to a specific outcome anyway. But, I went to be challenged, I went for hardship, [ ]
Here is a video I made of my ITI experience this year, I was less focused on the video than I was on riding, but I surprised myself with how much footage I had
I always say that harsher weather favours riders like me who are on the slower side of slow but have strong cold-weather skills. When everyone is pushing their bikes through deep snow, then everyone is basically going the same speed as me. This was not a year for harsh weather, so I am thrilled to [ ]
Back in 2002, when I first rode the OG bikepacking race, the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350 (ITI), I said I would be back to ride the 1000 (if I had the time off work back in 2002, I would have just continued). The thought of riding in the long race has remained in my head, [ ]
I have been riding a new Surly Moonlander II on snow for a few weeks now (plus another month on dirt) and I have some thoughts. Obviously, Surly pulled some of the design for this bike straight out of my brain, but that doesn t necessarily make the best bike in the world. The Bike First [ ]