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Andrew Van Til

News

Garmin is nucking futs

I think it’s Great that Garmin decided to make a saddle clamp mount for the Varia radar/tail light. That’s awesome. But, you can buy a third-party version of one of these thing for $12. They want $50! I totally get that the OEM version is always going to cost more. That’s fine, but when I saw the email for the Garmin Seat Rail Mount Kit I thought it was going to be…

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News

Zwift Play Looks Really Cool

If you’re willing to grab a Zwift Play now, you can get it for $99. At some point it will go to $150. If you race, this is a no brainer. If you don’t, still looks cool, but maybe less so. The biggest complication I see is that this requires yet another Bluetooth connection. Which isn’t a problem for most folks, but if you’re using an Apple TV (c’mon Apple…) you’re limited…

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Blog

Is “Training with Torque” any different from “Training with Cadence”?

No. Not unless I’m missing something… As I’m sure you all know, and the author of the article below readily admits, we calculate power (i.e. the metric that matters) by using the incredibly simple formula “cadence * torque = power” in watts. So when Zach gets on his soapbox about Training with Torque, and how it’s all important and stuff, what he’s actually trying to sell is Training with Cadence by a…

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Featured News

Unbound 2023 was a CF, and it’s the organizers fault

I wasn’t at Unbound 2023. Didn’t make it for a few reasons, one of them big, the others relatively small. I do know a lot of other athletically minded MAMILs who made the trip to Emporia last weekend for what should have been an epic and challenging race. That’s not what happened. Instead, in what I can only classify as an act of callous spite, the organizers decided that racers should hike…

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News

Garmin Launches fēnix 7 Pro and epix Pro Outdoor Recreation Watches

There’s not a lot new with the just announced Garmin fēnix 7 Pro and epix Pro smart (ish) fitness watches. Garmin put their newest optical heart rate (OHR) sensor in both (which might enable ECG readings at some point), they put the flashlight that was in the fēnix 7 X in all of them, and… that’s about it. So if you already have a fēnix 7 or epix, there’s not a lot…

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News

Campy is still in business?

Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks that every time Campagnolo pops in the news. Because the second question I ask myself, after acknowledging that the word “bankruptcy” isn’t in the headline, is “Why is Campy still in business?”. They’ve been struggling for relevancy for as long as I’ve paid attention to cycling, and their products seem to pivot around being the most expensive. But, not the best……

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Featured Review

Kern Singh MD / Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush : Lumbar Microdiscectomy

A few months ago I posted about getting lumbar microdiscectomy to deal with an L5/S1 disc herniation. This is a review of my experience. Unfortunately, it did not go well. To be clear, this is not an indictment of this surgical technique. I know people who have had excellent results with the procedure, and there’s a very good chance that I will be lining up again for a second go, but next…

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