mangochutney

Two 🚲 things:
- Really liking the Shimano SPD pedals at this point. Solid performers.
- My legs are so damn empty and I wanted to go for a 30k road ride tomorrow. Ooof.
→ 17:22, 14 Sep

Went for a gravel ride after dark last night. Mostly downhill but on paths I haven’t ridden before. Challenging and fun. 🚴🏻‍♂️

→ 12:29, 14 Sep

Yesterday’s 40 km 🚲 ride, which was supposed to be relaxed but turned into a bit of a smash fest, has left me completely ravenous yesterday evening and today. I annihilated a 36 cm pizza last night and today I’m incredibly thankful there’s no fast food joint close by.

→ 16:58, 11 Sep

In praise of the local loop

This video popped up in the Radavist feed a few days ago and it really spoke to me.

It was made by the bicycle manufacturer Bombtrack and showcases one person’s local loop, the go-to bike route the person takes when they just want to hop on the bike and ride for a bit to free their head.

I had my own local loop back in Trier, a 22 km route that I knew I could do in just over an hour, that gave me a variety of terrain, a technical climb, a gruelling climb, some very tight and root-y paths, and two fast descents.

Having only moved to the Black Forest (close to Freiburg im Breisgau) a couple of months ago, I don’t yet have that same loop down but I may be close. I found a nice little piece of singletrack last week that perfectly stitches together a flat gravel section with a forest path climb.

I may have to ride this today. 🚲

→ 09:24, 26 Aug

Apropos the previous post.

The dyneema pouch is from a small Italian manufacturer of bike stuff called Studio Pursuit. Really well made and sturdy. Been carrying it a lot, not just on rides. 🚲

→ 17:50, 20 Aug

A face mask. Part of my essential ride kit these days. 🚲

→ 17:49, 20 Aug

The commuter bike is close to its final form. I’m waiting for a used Rotor 3D30 crankset to arrive, which I’ll equip with a 1× spider. The SRAM NX Eagle crankset doesn’t cut it for me. The aero bars are going to stay on; they’re so useful when cycling downtown on the flat. 🚲

→ 10:57, 20 Aug

First ride to St. Märgen

What a fun morning ride.

I’ve been meaning to take the road up to St. Märgen for a while now but was hesitant because it’s quite a long climb. Having tackled the road to the top of the Schauinsland last week, I was sure I’d be able to do this without too much pain.
It turns out that the climb is quite mellow and manageable, which was a welcome surprise. I was properly exhausted at the top, of course, because 16 km at an average gradient of 5% is not nothing but the views from St. Märgen and the area surrounding it, as well as the descent back down into the valley more than made up for it.

→ 13:04, 18 Aug

After both my pairs of HT X2 pedals developed a clicking despite regular maintenance, I’m now going to find out what the fuss about Shimano XT SPD pedals is about. Bought a pair of PD-M8120 and they’re already on the gravel bike.

→ 15:30, 17 Aug

Addendum to the bike rebuild post:
Turns Out™ that even with less carbon involved and the Ultegra brakes being a fair bit chunkier than the Campagnolo ones, the bike shed ~ 240 g. Now, that’s not much considering this rider’s weight but it’s not nothing, either.

→ 14:15, 12 Aug