If you wonder why your favorite road race has disappeared, blame guys named Gary or consider these other reasons raised by Schmalz

https://nyvelocity.com/articles/schmalz-eventful/

eloy said:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/specialized-rejects-keldermans-giro-ditalia-disc-brake-complaints/

After Bora-Hansgrohe Wilco Kelderman apportioned part of the blame for losing 10 minutes on Stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia to his disc brakes, his bike and wheel sponsors, Specialized and Roval, have rejected his claims. 

This sentence is the winner:

agree, of course, on the lack of standards, which make it virtually impossible to replace wheels anymore. Full bikes or nothing.

Kelderman's claim, that the rotor was so hot that it caused a spoke to break, honestly, makes no sense to me either. If I had to bet, he hit something fairly hard. Specially when you consider the other 160 riders that got through without problem.

PatrickGrehan said:

If you wonder why your favorite road race has disappeared, blame guys named Gary or consider these other reasons raised by Schmalz

https://nyvelocity.com/articles/schmalz-eventful/

I blame Schmalz.  

mugwump said:

PatrickGrehan said:

If you wonder why your favorite road race has disappeared, blame guys named Gary or consider these other reasons raised by Schmalz

https://nyvelocity.com/articles/schmalz-eventful/

I blame Schmalz.  

I can't believe he's writing again. I thought NyVelocity had gone the way of rim brakes and Cat 5 races.

On that note:
https://cxhairs.substack.com/p/jingle-cross-cancelled-for-2022

Jingle Cross Weekend Canceled for 2022

eloy said:

agree, of course, on the lack of standards, which make it virtually impossible to replace wheels anymore. Full bikes or nothing.

Kelderman's claim, that the rotor was so hot that it caused a spoke to break, honestly, makes no sense to me either. If I had to bet, he hit something fairly hard. Specially when you consider the other 160 riders that got through without problem.

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/05/did-keldermans-disc-brakes-break-his-spokes-no-and-heres-why/

eloy said:

On that note:
https://cxhairs.substack.com/p/jingle-cross-cancelled-for-2022

Jingle Cross Weekend Canceled for 2022

Not mentioned explicitly: The new Fayetteville World cup was scheduled on the same weekend.

There goes USAC shooting itself in the dick again.

Outside is slashing staff.

Wonder if BicycleRetailer will cover it?

I had expected that Outside probably had three years to make their model work, as they claimed they were hoping to get something like 75% of their revenue from subscribers by then.  Something must have changed.

Ben Delaney is out.  Which sort of makes sense, as he was nominally their membership director.  But it's odd because he was also writing a ton for them as well

Commentary from Adventure Journal

"Today, Thurston claims 800,000 paid memberships across Outside’s brands, though it’s unclear how much revenue that generates. When Outside memberships launched, they cost $99 a year, but the company swiftly offered discounts. Currently, it costs four dollars a month for “Outside+” and three dollars a month for access to just Outside. However much it brings in, it’s not working: Outside Media has a staff north of 500 people and just laid off, we were told by insiders, between 90 and 100 of them."

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2022/05/thoughts-on-outsides-layoffs-outdoor-media-and-adventure-journal/

Assuming that everyone is paying the cheap rate of $3 a month, that's $2.4 million a month, $28.8 million a year, not including ad revenue (if ad revenue adds another 25%, they're only up to $36 million a year).  Divide that number by 500 staffers, and that means an average of $57,600 year per employee, including benefits, not including office space, equipment, purchases, etc.  

Knocking it down to 400 employees means $72,000 per employee.  Still not great.

However, they allegedly had venture capital lined up behind them.  Which makes me wonder if the backers are already heading for the exits.

I definitely sounds like the easy VC money is starting to pull back. Zwift's zswift departure from the hardware model as another example.

On a more grisly front 

Jules said:

I definitely sounds like the easy VC money is starting to pull back. Zwift's zswift departure from the hardware model as another example.

don't know if people saw it, but Zwift canned Charlie Issendorf in the layoffs.  I was shocked by that.  Though they did also can former local Mike McCarthy when they cut their running division early-ish in the pandemic. 

Jules said:

On a more grisly front 

https://twitter.com/lesknits/status/1527697050288136192?s=21&t=ww8Lzvf7w7zv9yY-2rMZmg

This is only going to get more sordid.

mugwump said:

Jules said:

I definitely sounds like the easy VC money is starting to pull back. Zwift's zswift departure from the hardware model as another example.

don't know if people saw it, but Zwift canned Charlie Issendorf in the layoffs.  I was shocked by that.  Though they did also can former local Mike McCarthy when they cut their running division early-ish in the pandemic. 

I did see that. Less than a year (?) since he moved out to SF for them.

Jules said:

mugwump said:

Jules said:

I definitely sounds like the easy VC money is starting to pull back. Zwift's zswift departure from the hardware model as another example.

don't know if people saw it, but Zwift canned Charlie Issendorf in the layoffs.  I was shocked by that.  Though they did also can former local Mike McCarthy when they cut their running division early-ish in the pandemic. 

I did see that. Less than a year (?) since he moved out to SF for them.

Florida.  And it was this fall, after a year of looking.

I don't understand why this guy doesn't get more press; his Olympic preparation is the Stuff of Legends™

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U3-5T63s2s

5x20 @ 405 watts, five days a week for ten weeks

Be on the lookout for a murder suspect?

https://www.velonews.com/news/federal-agents-say-suspect-in-moriah-wilson-murder-case-fled-to-new-york/

I read this morning that Strickland bought 2 guns , his & hers
WTF? 

I can't believe the NYC cycling scene is going to get attached to this.
I am so fucking done with the gun mania in this country. I'm old enough to remember when Eugene Tackleberry was a caricature. 

Why Are Bikes So Much Fun? Because They’re Not Cars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/27/books/review/two-wheels-good-jody-rosen.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Book Review

 From the start, as Rosen shows, the bicycle has magnetized political opinions. Its cheapness and mobility have aided insurgencies of every kind, whether feminism or socialism, and as a means of travel, it immediately challenged the moneyed holders of horseflesh, a “people’s nag,” or, as a famous ad from the manufacturer Columbia put it, “An Ever-Saddled Horse Which Eats Nothing.” 

“An ever saddled horse which eats nothing” is brilliant but might be amended to 

“An ever saddled horse which eats nothing time, money effort demands sacrifices of flesh, blood and Lycra and insists on Loyalty to the ten thousand gods of bottom bracket standards, at random.”

Why no news on Peter Sagan's Unbound Gravel experience?

Here's his result--https://www.athlinks.com/event/174195/results/Event/1011764/Course/2222599/Bib/4196

mugwump said:

Why no news on Peter Sagan's Unbound Gravel experience?

Here's his result--https://www.athlinks.com/event/174195/results/Event/1011764/Course/2222599/Bib/4196

I've been wondering the same thing

Greg Lemond was diagnosed with leukemia, though fortunately it's treatable. Sending good thoughts his way

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/greg-lemond-diagnosed-with-leukaemia/

gravel in the paper of record this morning, somewhat of a bizarro article.  Not surprising but here is this stat: "According to the NPD Group, a consumer data firm, revenue from sales of cross and gravel bikes increased 109 percent from 2019 to 2021."  Would be interesting to see how that increase compared to all bike sales increase. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/07/sports/cycling/gravel-biking-unbound.html

OMFG

US Pro Road National Championships: Kyle Murphy wins men’s road race with late attack

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/us-pro-road-national-championships-kyle-murphy-wins-mens-road-race-with-late-attack/