The Paceline Cycling Podcast Red Kite Prayer

Selene checks in with some feedback on last week's talk about oval chainrings. Listeners presented us with some angles on oval chainrings we hadn't considered. We get an update on how last weekend's ride for Rebecca Rusch's Giddy Up Challenge. Selene and her husband Dave did the half Everest, which resulted in 130 miles and 17,000 feet of climbing. Ouch. Patrick signed on to his first virtual challenge last week, Breck Epic's Epic in Place. However, he saw that what he's missing is less the racing than the community. Based on a ride a friend did last year, he has suggested a ride where he and a number of sufficiently socially-distanced friends ride every single (legal) trail in Annadel State Park. For the Breck Epic’s virtual challenge, the Epic in Place discount code is: VIPRKP

This week our intrepid duo is back with a look at oval chainrings, an idea that goes back practically as far as the bike itself. The question, of course, is do they really confer any benefit. Well, do they? Selene and Patrick tackle the science and the perception, but also take a look at the technical considerations one confronts if deciding to make the change. We experience anxiety when we are fearful of the future. It's rumination about the fact that we don't know what's around the corner, metaphorically. Patrick discusses how building strong routines around riding can help alleviate anxiety by adding structure and breaking that cycle of rumination. For the Breck Epic's virtual challenge, the Epic in Place discount code is: VIPRKP

With the massive increase in bike sales due to shelter in place requirements, there is a lot of curiosity about how that is playing out in terms of kids bike sales, adult bike sales, ebike sales, trail usage and more. Selene answers a reader question about just what sorts of statistics have been compiled and what that tells us about who is actually on the road or trail. "Vertically compliant but torsionally stiff" has become such a bike review cliche that some people no longer give much thought to how or where a bike should be stiff. This winter Patrick began encountering a surprising and odd phenomenon while descending on gravel bikes. In talking to some experts he came to a surprising conclusion.

We seem to have entered a new phase of our collective shelter in place, we might call it the cranky phase, Selene says. She discusses what she's doing to stay sane, how she views the different takes of other folks she encounters and just who she's willing to ride with. This week bike racing's governing body, the UCI, released the revised 2020 racing calendar. We will just go ahead and say it: It's insane. It's so mind-bogglingly jam-packed that Samuel Beckett couldn't have come up with anything so hopeless. The men face 127 days of racing in just over three months, with a great many events double- and triple-booked. The implications of this calendar and its downstream effects will be fascinating to watch, but we wouldn't want to be pro riders right now.

Ever considered doing Iron Cross? If so, you're not alone. This week, Selene, Iron Cross' winningest racer, addresses a listener question about what sort of preparation is required to do the event. In addition to training, she and Patrick talk bags, bottle cages and tires. It all matters on a day like that. For the past two days Patrick has been attending a trade show, albeit a virtual one. Reveal brought together more than two dozen brands in the cycling and outdoor markets to give the media an update on new products and how they are managing to stay sane while sheltering in place. Patrick also takes on a listener question regarding a leg strength imbalance. He discusses ways to address it as well as the best way to diagnose it for certain and to chart progress as a rider works to correct the imbalance. Correction: in the episode we reported that Rapha will donate $10 from the sale of each Tour for All jersey; in fact they will donate their full margin in addition to the $10. 

We're all looking for fresh ways to deal with being hunkered down in these new lives we lead. Selene takes a look at fatigue and how stress (like that which could be caused by having all your traditional routines upended) can affect recovery as well as things like perceived exertion. She also takes on a reader question about recovery drinks, particularly those that mix protein and carbohydrate and talks about just how effective they are. Because his riding has been curtailed somewhat, Patrick has been in the garage more working on his bikes. He talks about how the process is pleasantly contemplative and has allowed him to even improve his skills, especially where bleeding hydraulic brakes are concerned.