Ride Far Blog – Page 2

Lausanne screening of the Onboard The Transcontinental Race film

February 6, 2020 Chris Leave a comment

We had a great time at the Lausanne screening of the Onboard The Transcontinental Race film last night. The film was excellent – making us laugh, cry and be inspired.

A decade of Riding Far & some remaining goals

January 30, 2020 Chris 1 Comment

10 years of personal cycling data are analyzed. Yearly and monthly variations are visualized in charts and the 100+ rides of more than 200 km and 3,000 m climbing are each presented. Maps showing the extent of my exploration across Europe are also included.

Book review: Where There’s A Will by Emily Chappell

November 14, 2019 Chris 1 Comment

If you’re at all interested in the bikepacking community or self-supported, ultra-distance bike races then Emily Chappell’s new book “Where There’s A Will” will be a gripping and emotional read and her writing is beautiful and eloquent. This book focuses on her experience in the 2015, ’16, and ’17 Transcontinental Races (TCR nos. 3, 4, & 5) as well as some preparatory races and everything else that was happening in her life around that time.

Indian Pacific Wheel Race 2017

November 5, 2019 Chris Leave a comment

The 2017 Indian Pacific Wheel Race IPWR or Indy-Pac was a self-supported, ultra-distance bikepacking race across Australia. It has been held in subsequent years as a Ride instead of a Race. The fixed route is about 5,500 km long and goes from the shore of the Indian Ocean near Perth to the Pacific Ocean in Sydney. The race attracted a lot of attention partly due to the big names in the sport all racing against each other, but ended with the tragic death of Mike Hall.

Trans Am Bike Race 2014, 2015 & 2016

Chris Leave a comment

The Trans Am Bike Race is a self-supported, ultra-distance bikepacking race across the USA. The fixed route is about 4,300 miles (6,900 km) long and goes from Oregon to Virginia. This article includes reports of the first 3 editions of the race in 2014, ’15 and ’16, including details of how Lael Wilcox became the first woman to win it overall in 2016.

Gear Ratios page receives major overhaul

October 27, 2019 Chris 1 Comment

Many gearing options have become available since the Gear Ratios page was written in 2016 that make it easier to get lower gearing on road bikes. This includes super-compact gravel cranksets, 12-speed systems, and single-chainring setups. I therefore re-wrote the page to be clearer and include all of the latest options including extensive tables of all useful cassettes.

Cirrus Kinekt 2.1 Suspension Seatpost

October 10, 2019 Chris 4 Comments

The Cirrus Kinekt 2.1 Suspension Seatpost adds minor suspension to road, gravel and urban bikes. It not only to improve comfort and performance when venturing off-road, but may also be useful for people who stay primarily on paved roads but want to maximize their ability to ride further by improving comfort.

Eurobike 2019: Bikepacking & ultra-distance cycling round-up

September 17, 2019 Chris 1 Comment

As always, I focused on products aimed at bikepacking and ultra-distance cycling during my visit to Eurobike 2019. I noticed some promising trends in the industry and in the show itself, plus lots of interesting products to peer at and fondle.

Exploring my local Swiss Alps, motivated by the VeloViewer Explorer score

November 5, 2018 Chris 4 Comments

I explored some incredibly beautiful Swiss Alpine valleys this summer and autumn on the bike and by foot due to having the goal of visiting all of the VeloViewer Explorer tiles in my local cantons of Vaud and Fribourg.

2018 Transcontinental Race (TCR No6) preview

July 28, 2018 Chris Leave a comment

The 2018 Transcontinental Race (TCR No. 6) starts Sunday evening, July 29th! Above anything else, I’m hoping that this year’s event passes without any serious injuries to any riders, because we’ve seen far too many tragic events in this and similar events in the past couple of years.

Book review: Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps by Fred Wright

June 22, 2018 Chris Leave a comment

If you like Riding High as well as Riding Far and you like to get off of the regular paved Apine passes then the Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps book by Fred Wright contains invaluable knowledge.

Bike setup for the TransAtlantic Way Race around Ireland

June 1, 2018 Chris 11 Comments

I’m heading to Ireland next week to take part in the TransAtlantic Way race. I’m looking forward to ocean views, small lanes, lots of short, sharp climbs, maybe some wind and rain, and some pretty long daylight hours. I’m using a different bike than the two that I used for the TransContinental Race in 2014-16. As always, I’ve modified and customized most of the components and accessories to make this a very unique and personalized machine.

Road & gravel bike front suspension: Specialized Diverge FutureShock & RedShift ShockStop stem

February 28, 2018 Chris 20 Comments

I look at ways to have front suspension on a road or gravel bike. I review the Specialized FutureShock fork found on the Roubaix and Diverge bikes and the RedShift ShockStop stem that can be put on any bike. I also list aftermarket gravel bike suspension forks and the effect of lower tire pressure.

Product review: RedShift Dual-Position Seatpost

January 21, 2018 Chris 7 Comments

The RedShift Dual-Position Seatpost allows cyclists to easily change the fore and aft saddle position while riding, so it’s useful for people riding a road bike with clip-on aerobars who want the saddle setback to be optimized for both positions. I found it to be well made and to function admirably.