🚴 Updating my indoor bike setup

Over the past three years, I’ve traveled more than 7,600 km through the virtual worlds of Zwift (adds up to a ridiculous 11 days and 11 hours on the saddle). This has all been on my main racing bike in a somewhat awkward setup that I described earlier:

I don’t have enough space in my house for a spot fully dedicated to cycling. So, I’ve got the bike trainer tucked in a corner of the basement and then I slide our basement couch out of the way and move the bike in front of the TV when I’m riding.

Auto-generated description: A black dog is lying on a couch next to a stationary bicycle, with a Zwift cycling app displayed on a TV.

The whole setup is a nuisance, especially for some of those really early morning starts. Moving furniture around while in the dark and only half awake isn’t great. So, I’m considering the new Zwift Ride.

I think the pros are (in order):

  1. Always ready without any setup required
  2. Stays inside, so stays clean
  3. Preserves the racing bike, avoiding all the indoor sweat (so much sweat 🥵) and wear and tear
  4. Optimized for indoor riding and for Zwift specifically

While the cons are:

  1. Only works with Zwift. What do I do with it if Zwift goes away or I want to switch to a different platform? (Although, there are developments)
  2. Riding it doesn’t build up comfort and familiarity on my actual racing bike (although after close to 12 cumulative days on the bike, how much of this could be left?)

Given all of this, I’m leaning towards getting the Zwift Ride. There’s a spot in the basement with enough room for it and I like the idea of just getting on and riding. However, the recent tariff nonsense seems to have cleared out the Canadian inventory. So, I have some time to think this over, before making the investment.

For more on the Zwift Ride, DC Rainmaker has a good video.

🔗 The Cult of the Bully

It may seem priggish to say it, given the current “vibe shift,” but we really can’t give up on personal integrity just yet. The day we celebrate our children for their selfishness and cruelty will be the point of no return.

I can’t believe that I’m about to type this sentence: Now that America is threatening Canada with economic ruin and potential annexation as the 51st state, I think it is very important for Canadians to stay well informed. To that end, I recommend two great sources: Paul Wells and The Line. Both are high quality, independent journalism with important voices in the True North, Strong and Free 🇨🇦

🔗 What Aging Can Teach Us About Sustainable Success

With that in mind, here are a few lessons I’ve learned as an aging athlete who can still run pretty fast, but is having a lot of doing it.

  1. Stop short. Almost always.

There’s an old adage in running that you should have one more rep in the tank. It’s also called the no hands on your knees rule. Both get a simple point, the risk of pushing to get that final repeat is seldom worth it. The benefit is small, if it even exists.

I’m tempted to write this on my shoes. Good advice that I followed this morning: the workout called for 5–8 reps and I stopped after 5 good ones.