The big news in gravel racing this week is Bobby Wintle’s decision to rename one of the top three Great Plains gravel grinders. The Land Run 100 in Stillwater, Okla., is forevermore the Mid South 100. The simple reason why is a complicated history. The race’s original name was a reference to the 1889 opening … More Land Run 100 Makes (Itself) History
References to literature in sports are few and far between. When one comes along, I’m obliged as a licensed English major to grab on and enjoy it. For instance, whenever the Baltimore Ravens do well, as they are this year, I consider it a small, purple victory for poetry and the Ravens’ unusual namesake, Baltimore’s … More Bike Review: Niner’s 2020 RLT
I bike to work in a squat little office building a block off Nebraska Wesleyan’s campus. It’s a short, one-story outpost in the shade of higher education’s ivory tower, where college elites supposedly lounge in enlightened ease. It’s not a bad gig. But the ride gets a little dreary in late December. The sun’s barely … More Vicious Cycles: Can a bike light your darkness?
I didn’t know it until just days ago, but Nebraska-native, elite racer and “Maximum Enthusiasm” podcaster Megan Hottman (aka, the Cyclist Lawyer) was struck and injured by a careless driver back in May. She was riding in an Arvada, Colo., bike lane when she was hit by a 19-year-old woman. Hottman’s Golden, Colo., law office … More Community Disservice: Should we care what happens to careless drivers?
In our last episode, we left our hero in a spot of bother. Mike Marchand had withstood a gruesome run-in with the back of a pickup and was recovering from four broken vertebrae in his neck. The fractures were healing, but a nerve issue was still sending dragon-fire, numbness and weakness down his left arm. … More Mike Marchand Has Good News
I’d been looking forward to Iowa City Gravel all fall. After a summer of race meltdowns, I was ready for a chilly October race in new country. Then Jason at Method went and inflated my excitement north of 120 psi. He had a demo bike fit for a tall guy, and he wondered what I … More Gravel Confidence: Combine comfort and speed racing Donnelly’s new G//C.
There were two neat dings in the tailgate, identically deep and perfectly horizontal, like some kind of metallic snakebite. Above the fang marks was the print of a blunter animal: a rutting bighorn, maybe. In those three dents—two pricks and a punch—you can learn a few things about Mike Marchand. For one: The 2009 Dirty … More Mike Marchand Wants You to Know He’s OK. I Want You to Know He’s Awesome.
This blog’s gravelly focus belies the fact that a big hunk of the unmentioned miles we ride are of the paved flavor. And for every joyful weekend gravel jaunt, there are six or eight urban yawners where I’m just a guy on his way to or from the office. Most of these commutes are indistinguishable … More Gravel’s Gridlock: Riding the country rush hour
There’s no room for anger in Ashton Lambie’s athletic life. But madness is different. With Lambie, a certain madness just scatters around. “In races,” he said, “we call that ‘going yard sale’—when there’s just shit everywhere.” You want examples? In his track cycling discipline, Ashton Lambie is the quickest athlete on Earth. The three fastest … More Like a Broken Record: Ashton Lambie sets (and resets, and sets again) his mad-world record
I talk a good game about how welcoming and fun and chill Lincoln’s gravel scene is. I’ll tell anybody who’ll listen that they need to get over here and see it for themselves. Ride Gravel Worlds. Or the Solstice. Or Sto Mil. Or the Cornhusker State Games. Just get here already. Don’t know anybody over … More Dirt Tan Road Trip
