Category Archives: Cycling

Old La Honda Is On Zwift This Month

There’s a hill that I loved to ride up when I lived in California. The road is Old La Honda in the Santa Cruz mountains west of Palo Alto. Here’s the Strava segment. It’s 2.98mi with 1,255ft elevation gain at … Continue reading

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I Bought a Bike Trainer

For the past 20 years I’ve biked or ran about once a week, usually on the weekend. But recently it’s been harder to make time for it. I think my weekends are busier than they used to be. So I … Continue reading

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Phone Mount vs Dedicated Bike Computer for Road Biking

I don’t know why they’re called computers. “Speedometer” seems like a more useful descriptor. Anyway. From 2003 to 2012 I used a super basic bike computer with just speed, distance, and maybe cadence. Very much like this one: From 2012 … Continue reading

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Two years with a Retrospec Mantra

I commuted a few miles a day for two years on a black Retrospec Mantra single-speed bike. I bought it from Amazon for $256 in October 2014. (more photos) It’s nothing special. Fairly low quality, but appropriately priced. The steel … Continue reading

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Commuter bikes

Popular attributes Around eighteen months ago I replaced my commuter bike and have been bringing it onboard Caltrain and to my office in San Francisco. Since then I’ve kept my eyes out for decent commuter bikes. Popular commuter bike attributes: … Continue reading

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I got a new bike!

Nothing special, just a cheap bike for commuting to and from the train station. I got one of the cheapest ones I could find that I’d be happy with: a Retrospec Mantra. Black frame, red wheels, pink seat and handlebar … Continue reading

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Casual Bike Shoes

I love clipless bike pedals, but the shoes tend to be ugly and uncomfortable. I’ve been looking for something better. Today I tried on some shoes from DZR. I couldn’t quite bring myself to buy any, but I definitely like … Continue reading

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Recent Cycling News

The cycling news over the past week has been insane. I haven’t heard many people talking about it and it seems like it hasn’t gotten much US press coverage. But holy cow. The story starts out slow… People have accused … Continue reading

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