Monthly Archives

March 2020

News March 31, 2020

Ah yes, that day each year where people do stupid things and we pretend it’s funny

It’s April somewhere, so Zwift has decided to go retro. Take it as a PSA, it’s not just you… This is our 6th April Fools’ Day on Zwift, and each year the HQ has come up with something fun for the community. Last year we were burning rubber, and the year before that it was Paperboy. 2017 we had big heads, 2016 gave us the old-timey effect, and 2015 we rode big…

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News March 31, 2020

Why is better controversial?

I think we could pretty much bucket every one of the “controversies” outlined in this video into those who don’t want to change, and those who embrace new tech (warts and all). I must fall into that second bucket, because on every single one, I’m solidly in the in-with-the-new crowd: ✅ disc brakes, ✅ road tubeless, ✅e-bikes are OK, ✅gravel bikes,✅indoor training. The video is kind of lame, with BikeRadar being very,…

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News March 31, 2020

Fitbit announces Charge 3 with GPS, er… the Charge 4

There certainly are people who loved the Charge 3, but really, really, really wanted to leave their phone at home when stepping out for a run, hike, cycle. I wasn’t one of these, and frankly I don’t why you would leave the phone at home – it’s your lifeline should anything bad happen while you’re out. Of course, built-in GPS doesn’t solve the real problem with Fitbit. But hey, if GPS and…

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Blog March 30, 2020

Missing the rep

I thought it was just a fluke, but it turns out that it’s every, single, lifting workout where my Garmin watch gets the rep count totally, and completely, wrong. Today was a new low, with zero detected repetitions during my “leg/back day” strength workout. How can it be this bad? With some basic searching out of the way, it doesn’t look like I’m alone in this either. The general consensus is that…

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Featured Review March 29, 2020

Giant Revolt 2 – Project Bike Step Two

Calling “done”, at least for now, with the aluminum Giant Revolt 2 gravel bike. Having kept only the frame, there were a lot of changes getting there. While I forgot to mention it in the video, I was able to get the bike down to 8.995kg with Shimano PD-M540 pedals (no bottle cages or other accessories), which is very competitive with other gravel bikes costing significantly more. Amazing bike.…

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Blog March 26, 2020

Ride the risk

Processing risk is a really hard thing. We all need to determine what our tolerance is for risk, and what we get from riding, being outside, or moving for that matter. Anyone with stairs in their house is at risk for falling down them. If you have a pet, that risk goes up exponentially. Should we relegate ourselves to a single floor? Just stepping outside carries enormous risk. While there are coyotes…

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News March 26, 2020

Connect is down!?! Government overreach, or fat fingers? We may never know the truth!

I was willing to roll with this whole shut-it-all-down thing, until I found out that included Garmin Connect. I can only hope that this is actually an error, Garmin are working [remotely] as quickly as they can, and it’s not part of our government’s attempt to keep us from riding our bikes or running outside. Because I really need a data fix RIGHT NOW!!! “If there are people out there, and unfortunately…

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Blog Featured March 26, 2020

Hey Garmin, Fenix 6 Virtual Run activity needs some work

I feel a little bad complaining about a “found feature”, as in I didn’t buy the Fenix 6 because of Virtual Run support, and until it was there, didn’t even know it was coming. With that out of the way, it’s a neat thing, but WOW does it need some work. Multi-sport activity: Yesterday was leg/back day, with a 10 minute run to warm up before hitting the heavy. So in preparation,…

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Blog Featured March 25, 2020

A mildly dilated right atrium

It’s shallow, I know, but I always look forward to the yearly electrocardiogram (ECG). There’s always that moment when the nurse looks confused, pauses, and then asks if it’s normal for my resting heart rate (RHR) to be below 50BPM. FLEX! Everything was going to plan this year, except that for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the ECG indicated left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). My doctor was largely unconcerned, mentioning something about how…

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