go slow [vol. 2]
Mines route drop, bike reviews, getting lost in the Santa Monicas, Italian metal noir
I live in the East Bay and ride road, gravel, and trail. I'm writing this newsletter to share what's happening in the Bay Area cycling scene and beyond. Every two weeks I'll hit your inbox with the best local routes, interesting news, and cool finds.
Go slow 🤙🏼
Route Drop
Route Highlights:
58mi, 4000ft elevation
Beautiful scenic road
Easy navigation + Limited traffic
Downhill nearly the entire way back
The Rainbow Junction pit stop at the turnaround point
The Flow
At the southern reaches of the Bay Area lies Mt. Hamilton and the Sunol and Ohlone Regional Wilderness. Mines road cuts into the heart of this vast space. The route is so simple it belies the incredible diversity of the area. Riding out 29 miles you’ll climb ~3000ft to the Rainbow Junction. Hang out, grab some food, and relax in the middle of nowhere. Then hop back on the saddle for a brief climb before descending into Livermore along winding roads hugging the hills. It gets hot so start early!
My Work
A Review on Bike Reviews 🤓
All bike reviews I read are quite positive and I found myself wondering why. My hunch was all bikes are pretty damn good. My cynic told me something was afoot. So I crunched the numbers on 30 bike reviews to see what it revealed. I also took those bikes and built the best bike possible from the different components. [Analysis]
Local
Levi’s Gran Fondo
In its 16th year it is one the USAs premier races. Levi (namesake) raced professionally in the 2000s and started this ride for charity. While there were 200 professional riders on the premier course (138mi, 14k vertical), there were a number of routes so everyone could ride. Maybe next year.. [Levi’s] [Routes]
Mt. Hough Shuttle 🚠
A new shuttle at Mt Hough gets you access to 17 miles of single track. This reminds me more of snow sports than mountain biking. That kind of access without pedaling for hours uphill on true purpose built mtb trails - pure hedonism. [Shuttles]
Bikepacking the Santa Monicas
This video highlights one of my favorite parts of California; you don’t have to travel far to get lost. Reminds me of the Bay Area Trail which is currently 350 miles and expanding to 500mi. [Santa Monica] [Bay Area Trail]
Racing
La Flèche Wallonne
Another classic (one day race) and here are the last few kilometers as teams position into the final climb and sprint to the finish. Fun to see how different riders and teams go about these moments that can decide the race. [Finish]
Pogacar wins Liege
With 35km to go, Tadej Pogacar turns on the afterburners on the steepest hill and leaves the chasers in the dust. This analysis points to him maintaining 500 watts for 4 minutes 5 hours into the race 🔋. It’s also an excellent breakdown of key moments and strategies teams used. [Race Breakdown]
MTB
Italian Metal Noir
Closest thing I’ve seen to an art piece as a cycling video. Worth the watch because it’s so different and the song rocks. [Inner Roads]
Field test of 4 e-mtbs ⚡️
A solid test between four top brands. What no one tells you is how long e-mtbs last between the battery and the motor. [Quad Test]
32” tires
For the LeBron x Canyon partnership this makes a lot of sense. For all of us that are shorter or don’t have UCI levels of power, perhaps not? [Size Matters]
Cool Stuff
Canyon on Amazon 🤔
You can now buy a $4k bike on Amazon. Curious to see if this lasts and an interesting call from the Canyon team. From first look, it muddles and cheapens the buying experience. Also couldn’t they just drop ship from Amazon and keep it to the Canyon owned web experience? I don’t see the buying experience running through Amazon nor discovery. [Amazon]
Gravel vs All Road
Gravel bikes get a lot of press, but I’m a skeptic unless you live in goldilocks conditions; not too steep grades, not too chunky, and more dirt than pavement on a variety of routes. There is no quiver killer. Each year gravel bikes get a step closer to mountain bikes. Perhaps they’re trying to hint what you should just buy instead. [Pick your poison]
Titanium
Litespeed is making a limited edition bike producing only 20 frames. Another company is using 3D printing to bring titanium to the wind-tunnel optimized world. [Ghisallo] [Aerotanium]