^that's my bike!

Because sometimes you gotta 'be in Rome' I'm taking skate skiing lessons - wearing mostly Kissena kit because #itworks.

I got a "hey Kissena!" today and they even pronounced it right. Made my heart sing a bit, I won't lie.

Thanks for the find Jim!

Fat bikes!

Have been in Boulder for business the past few days, but I managed to fit in some fun: rented a Salsa Woodsmoke and tore up some singletrack at Heil Valley Ranch

Seriously in love with this bike – think it's going to be my new bikepacking weapon of choice

Finally found the local bag of hammer ride here in Duluth!

It seems like a great bunch; very orderly in a paceline and not afraid to hammer. Doesn't hurt that a local Hincape/Citadel kid rides here with his dad.

So funny how the truths of cycling never change:

• we're just gonna ride easy = grab your nuts this is gonna be 100% full on
• like clockwork about an hour into the ride the attacks begin
• people suddenly jockeying for position = 'state line' sprint ahead

Very happy to report I represented the team colors well. 

Full Tilt Boogie turned a lot of heads - but even with 32's on my tires were way thinner than everyone else's. Gravel bikes are a real thing up here.

My daughter Sarah and I just got back from a week on our tandem in southern France.

Don't bother going cause we ate all the croissants.

That looks amazing!

Lisa shredding some trails here in DLH; sponsor appropriate bike and sock-frame-helmet color coordination ❤️

Hey folks, another update from the gravel trials. I've been on & off sick for almost a month so getting back to where I was even a month ago has been a bit of a struggle.

I made it out to my second "Love Ride" yesterday and got my ass thoroughly handed to me. Avg 250 watts for 2.5 hours isn't record breaking but I slept like I was DEAD afterward.

I'm giving full credit to my hot 25 minutes of fame at Orchard Beach for this one

Also cracked the top 10 for some local strava segments. Now I just have to plot my strava carpet bombing attack...

http://tpks.ws/Nhj0O

Anyone have any hot tips for cool rides in Basel or Zurich? Looking to do some road and XC & trail riding while I'm out there.

@BenFinoRadin

My love for cycling started on mountain roads in Switzerland riding with my Italian uncle who was an amateur racer back in the day. 

The Swiss love riding and keep the most immaculate roads and maintain well marked men bike trails all across the country. Several years back I joined a shop ride near Lake Geneva and was floored by the number of guys riding tubulars. My initial thought was that they were investment bankers with too much money and not a lot of sense. While this may have been true the FARM roads we took were better paved and had less debris than the the best roads we ride in and around NYC. No one flatted.

Getting back to your original question, the Swiss tourist office will have a lot of good info. Their site actually lists trails and routes.  http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/cycling.html

Kissena member @Nathaniel Miller lives in Geneva and may have some more specific suggestions

PatrickG said:

@BenFinoRadin



Kissena member @Nathaniel Miller lives in Geneva and may have some more specific suggestions

This 

WHAT?

http://cycling.today/hardest-paved-climb-in-the-world-9-6km-long-and-an-average-gradient-of-18-1/

What I've watched of the descent videos embedded at the bottom of the story don't really do the climb justice. Cycling fans deserve multi-angle video of the climb...on a road bike...in the rain. Hammer Series 2018!

Hey guys! Figured this was an approriate place to work travel/vacation brag.

Work sent me on a 4 week trip so I schlepped the bike along with me to Hawaii and LA. Here's a shot  at the top of Kilauea on the Big Island, the volcano was too active that day and cut the 60 mile ride down to 32 miles thanks to roads closed to volcanic activity and too much sulfur in the air.


A few days later I attempted the Waimea Canyon climb on Kauai, which was supposed to be 20 miles with 6500 ft of gain. I turned around at mile 7, wish I could blame the rain, but really it was the 2500ft of gain in the first 6 miles of the ride that crushed my spirit and quads. However, descending 8% grades in pouring rain is a new skill of mine. Thanks to Redbeard for swapping out my brake pads before the trip. 

I rode the Queen K (bike route for the Ironman World Champ course) every morning like it was Prospect Park, and can honestly say that headwind in Hawaii is very different than our headwind in NY and so can honestly say not bad for a work trip. I return to the Prospect Park drudgery next week!

Spent the last two days climbing around Marin County just north of San Francisco - I didn't realize it was possible for the planet earth to be this pretty. Poor preparation has left me without power or HR which I'm actually pretty pleased with... it's nice to ride bikes for the sake of riding bikes again! A selection of pictures below: :

Scored some pretty sick Belgian bike swag in Brussels

Snuck in a 70mi ride through the Dutch countryside today – super flat, super gorgeous. Really it was just an excuse to eat copious amounts of stroopwafel



  

Nice.  You almost made it home!

If your new town doesn't have a coffee ride, then make one. Some photos from the inaugural...

Hey guys look who I found...!

(also did I mention the fucker took my KOM?)
#bestfriendpranks

(cross post)

hey folks, our Canadian Pal Mike Garrigan has some open spots at a steep discount for Kissenas this September - group price discount for indiviuals.

http://www.okolobike.com/dates/islandmnt2017september

If you follow his Instagram these trips look amazeballs

https://www.instagram.com/okolobike/

Saw a fucking BEAR today. Just stood there in the (dirt) road looking at me.
That is all.

@Jules what kind? 

Big. Black.

I've been outside Breckenridge the last couple days and decided to rent a bike to explore. The shop in town had an Emonda in my size so I took it. 

Colorado has literally hundreds of miles of paved dedicated bike paths that connect most towns. NY really needs to catch up. I made the ride from Breck to Vail and back again. Stunningly gorgeous. They certainly get scenery right out here. Stage 5 of the 2013 USA Pro Challenge was an ITT up the Vail Pass which I tried my hand at. TVG won the stage. According to strava our times were actually quite similar, geologically speaking. You really feel it at over 10,000'. I was also thoroughly impressed with the Emonda, very nimble and willing. Definitely one of my favorite rides in recent memory. 



View from the top of the final climb:

anybody ever done any cycling / rented road bikes / gone on road bike-ish guided tours in Tuscany (around florence / sienna) or in general Liguria region? I'm about to go some serious vacationing and need to get on a bike once or twice while in Italy

Brian Miele said:

anybody ever done any cycling / rented road bikes / gone on road bike-ish guided tours in Tuscany (around florence / sienna) or in general Liguria region? I'm about to go some serious vacationing and need to get on a bike once or twice while in Italy

I used to lead bike tours in Tuscany, Umbria and Pugia.

Hit me up offline and I'll share what I can. jules (dot) roazen at gmail

Woah, how'd you get that job?