23. The Rift Iceland, Pan-Mass Challenge Support and Post-Event FOMO

If FOMO is the "Fear of Missing Out" then what is the term for when you know you missed out because you can't do all things all the time? With help from our friend Jeff we talk about their "guys trip" to take on The Rift in Iceland, and Steve shares his five tips for those who want to ride The Rift.

Kristin and Steve also talk about some of the most common repairs made for Pan-Mass Challenge riders from our unsanctioned tent, as well as one of our most unusual problems; how tariffs are impacting prices at your local bike shop and why to keep an eye out for counterfeit parts, and Steve admits that maybe more people wear cycling caps than he realized.

Photo credit: The Rift Iceland, Jon Halldor Unnarsson

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:05

This is Kristen.

SPEAKER_00 0:06

And I'm Steve, and you are listening to Cycling Together, a show all about things, bikes, riding, and riding together.

SPEAKER_03 0:13

For those who don't know, I think most of the people that listen are from around here. It's PMC Weekend, Pan Mass Challenge weekend.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Yes, the Pan Mass Challenge, the largest riding fundraising event in the country.

SPEAKER_03 0:26

I think it's the largest athletic-based fundraising event, and it's probably the world.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

You might be right.

SPEAKER_03 0:33

I mean, because it's huge. And it raises money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. It hit one billion dollars last year. With a B. With a B. Bah billion. And one of the things we like to do is, and you started this how many years ago?

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Fourteen.

SPEAKER_03 0:52

Fourteen. We like to set, well, you like to set up a tent and a stand about five miles or five miles. Start of the Wellesley start. There's a couple of two start to main starts.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

You're there to cheer and you're there to provide last minute. Is it last minute if the race is the ride has already started? Like last last minute?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Last last minute.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Last minute support.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

What are some of the most common things you see every year for these riders who, for the record, at minimum on Saturday, we're doing one day, which is what 80, 90 miles. Yes. And others were going to be riding two days. So these these were not these are not people out for a casual ride. They are embarking on a right.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

The people who come by us are doing, they're at least going that doing this full Saturday, which means they're going, I think it's between 80 and 90 miles that day.

SPEAKER_03 1:53

So they get on their bike and they start riding. And when they get to you, what is the most common thing that they're usually looking for help with?

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Well, we do have a lot of low air pressures, always, right? We did forgot to inflate the tires.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Or I inflated them and they somehow went down a little last night.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Like sometimes we have some sometimes just full-on flats. Yeah. Yep. Um, and but I would say shifting issues are is the number one thing, is that is that people have shifting issues.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Do you think some of that's because maybe it was shifting fine, it's been shifting fine, but in the transportation to Babson, something gets knocked, and then they start riding the next building and they're like, oh, that's definitely the case in many, many uh causes.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Okay. Um I rarely see bent deriller hangers, but I have seen them over the years, which is probably from the transportation to Babson.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Yeah, sometimes rubbing, sometimes I I do notice a couple of saddle height bridge rubbing placements happen.

SPEAKER_00 2:58

Oh, that oh yes, this year one guy's saddle was all the way down, it slipped all the way down. Yep, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

And um, I mean, nothing like tragic, and sometimes it's for lack of preparation. Sometimes I think it's just bad luck.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Nothing that the person has been not able to then continue riding. At least uh in some cases, we're like, well, you have to make it to the full rest stop uh where they might have more parts available.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

Right, because each rest stop it is PMC is one of the best supported events I have ever participated in. And that means in part that every rest stop has full cycling support, like mechanical support, local shops, largely Landry's, but a lot of the other shops all chip in um with a lot of things. What would you say was our strangest issue, most surprising issue this year?

SPEAKER_00 4:00

The most surprising was the pedal cleats. Yes. So a woman comes, rides up, she pulls into this to the to the tent area, and she says, I can't clip in. Do you have pedal cleats? So she shows me the bottom of her shoe and she has look delta cleats on. Now, look delta is the original look cleat. It was phased out in 1996 when they came out with the look keo system. Okay, okay, but uh exercise bikes still and and spin bikes, Peloton, they still use the the look delta cleat.

SPEAKER_03 4:35

Okay, so she had a cleat on her shoe for a look delta.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

And she had Keo pedals on her bike, and they do not clip in together. Oh and so she has basically been almost just just just like skating around with this plastic on top of her pedal. She's unable to it is it had to be very difficult to pedal that situation. She would have been better with just a pair of sneakers. She would have been better off with a pair of sneakers in that case.

SPEAKER_03 5:04

And I totally at one point you kind of go, how does that happen? But I totally see it, right? You're packing your bag to go. You grab your cycling shoes, and if she has indoor cycling shoes and outdoor cycling shoes, this is why you should always as much, not always, as much as possible. I like to have the same pedal, same cleats on all my shoes. Yep. You know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:28

Because those, those are road specific, right?

SPEAKER_03 5:33

Those are the ones when you're walking around, you look like you're walking like a penguin.

SPEAKER_00 5:36

Yes. So she's necessary. Yeah. So there might have been just a little bit if she just sort of was pushing forward slightly with each pedal stroke. She might have had the lip of the cleat being able to grab a little bit, but it was a real head annoying.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

I read somewhere that those cleats aren't necessarily as essential as they used to be because shoes have gotten stiffer, and so you can get away with the mountain bike style SPD cleat and pedal. And the nice thing about those are the shoes are easier to walk in and the pedals are two-sided. Would you agree with that assessment?

SPEAKER_00 6:19

It can't well, you can get extremely stiff mountain bike shoes, as you're well aware, because you actually have a pair.

SPEAKER_03 6:26

And my my foot comes out of the when I walk. Yeah, they're they don't get it. Because they have an arm fiber sold.

SPEAKER_00 6:31

Yeah. The funny thing is that the very stiffest of road or mountain bike shoes are often not the best choice for people because they can create hot spots on the bottom of your foot. And so a lot of shoe companies will rate their their, they'll have a stiffness index and they'll put it on the bottom of their shoe. And this is across different brands. And it usually and it goes basically from one to ten. You're never gonna see the low numbers though. Yeah. Um, and so that stiffness, that 10 is that just full on. This shoe does not bend.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:02

Um, but so usually people are better off in the 7-8 range of stiffness.

SPEAKER_03 7:07

Yeah, and I the first couple years I did, or the first year I did PMC, I was on Road.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

I was on roads, yeah, you had those Kiosk.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

But I switched them for PMC to mountain bike shoes and pedals, mostly so because you're on and off the bike a lot to go like to the bathroom. Yeah, yeah. You just wanted to walk around. So you just be able to walk around. Yep. But yeah, it's interesting on whether or not we even in an event like this, if you need or if you're this kind of rider, if you even need road like road cleats anymore. Yeah. Or if as I think all the women that I ride with from my team are on SPDs.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

I mean, the platform, the contact pedal platform of the road is a little bigger than it is. Even with the side, if if the side lugs are contacting even the pedal, you're still gonna have a better. Okay. So you are you do have a bigger contact patch of your shoe against the pedal. And that in itself can sometimes prevent hot spots. But again, you can get away with a stiffer shoe on the road with a bigger contact patch than you can on the mountain.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

Interesting. And then you had one of your last fixes you actually called one of the most satisfying things to fix because it's so easy. It yes. And what was that?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

That it's not, it's it's it's so we had a young man. Yeah, it fixes his day, it solves his problem. It was really quick to get him in and out and solved, and it that's just one of those satisfying ones. So he comes in and he is borrowing his father's bike. Yes, his father has thram access electronic shifting, right? And he is in the well, he was in the in the big ring up front, and he had he had front shifting, but he was in the largest cog in the back. So he is just spinning out, spinning out because most of it's rolling, rolling up to this point five miles, and there's a lot of flat on this particular course.

SPEAKER_03 9:05

Yep. And he was strong, he was a young guy, and he was clearly very strong.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

And he's just spinning out. He can't go anywhere, right? Because his right shifter battery had died.

SPEAKER_02 9:13

He's like, This is torture. I'm never gonna make it. So my dad said I should take better care, I should know what I'm doing with this bike. Yeah, I'll never hear the end of this.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Right. Yeah, and what was the fix?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

So, first thing, I I quickly showed him how to change the derailer manually on the derailer by pushing the button so we could get down to the You can get off the bike. I don't think he wasn't paying attention when I showed him that picture.

SPEAKER_03 9:36

He really wasn't, but you can get off the bike, you can press the little button on the derailer, and it'll go boop, boop, boop, and it'll at least get you into a better gear gear.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

But we, I mean, I always carry CR2032 batteries in the van.

SPEAKER_04 9:49

Those are buttons.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

So the button, yep, the coin sail batteries. So boom, just pulled out his coin cell battery, swapped in the new one, got him shipping again, and off he went. And and now he is all set for the weekend.

SPEAKER_03 10:00

Yeah, he was so funny. He was he's not just all set for the weekend, he's all set for ages. Like that battery, he's got a lot of things. It lasts about two years. He um, yeah, he was like, Oh, shit, my life. I'm gonna recommend you to everyone. What's the name of this place? What's the name? So it's a great, I do enjoy, I do enjoy now that I'm not riding the PMC, I the summer PMC, I enjoy hanging out there. I love hearing the people that are like, Steve the bike guy, or the one woman who was like, I saw you in the safety video. I mean, they just fly by. You've no idea who's yelling at you.

SPEAKER_00 10:30

But no, and and and before I get before the bunch of people start coming in, you know, I'll see, I'll see customers I know and friends I know and that kind of thing, and it's great waving to them. And then people start stopping and needing help. And so and so you know, hund I miss hundreds of people going by while I'm busy fixing things, and so I I do miss not being able to see all the people that yeah, but you've never been able to see it.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

I mean, you started setting up there the first year you were a bike mechanic. I actually was like, you can't you can't set up there that like you don't have permission because it's not an it's not an official PMC support tent. Right. Um, and you were like, they can't really stop me, it's a public public access. And and I do think um at this point, it's just they know you're gonna be there, we're being helpful, it's all good. But at first I was like, we can't break the rules like that. That's crazy. This is the season, I will say, PMC and and uh the rift of I'll call um I'm not gonna call it fear of missing out because I know I missed out. There's uh I need some term for I can't do all the things all the time, but I want to because you know I did the PMC for many years. I'm have a nice team and friends who ride it. I don't want to do it, but on that day, you're like, aww, have fun, have fun storming the castle, and kind of the same with the rift, um, which is what we're gonna talk about. We're gonna take a break in a minute to talk about the rift, because the same thing. I was like, I I I wanted to be home. I didn't necessarily want to do it, but then as I was watching pictures of you and all your your boys, I was like, Oh, it's fun.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

So So the PMC and the PMC is the first uh weekend of August every year. Yes, and for is this gonna be the fourth year in um in the fall, there is a gravel version of the PMC now.

SPEAKER_03 12:30

Yeah, so we do that.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

So we do that now.

SPEAKER_03 12:32

We do. I mean, we're still doing the PMC, and let's face it, I don't want to, I don't I love my my teammates, I love the women that I are on our team. I don't love riding on the road, and so from that standpoint, I don't miss it. But yeah, I did have a anyway. We're going to um on this episode, we have our friend Jeff, who we had brought in for an interview about his cycling. We're gonna air that in two weeks. Yes, because while we had him, you two and I talked about the rift because he had done that with you.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

So right, the rift is a gravel race in Iceland. So we're gonna we're gonna bring you that portion of our interview with Jeff and talk about that this week.

SPEAKER_03 13:21

We're gonna talk about it right now. Okay, while we have Jeff here, you were one of the people who escaped to the Rift this past weekend. Which I'm gonna I'm gonna do my confession that Steve came home on Sunday and I was or Monday morning, I was like, I think I'm a little jealous. I think I'm a little angry that you went. I think I'm jealous for a ride I didn't want to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:52

So let's let's go over what the rift is. And the rift is a gravel race in Iceland. Uh it started, I believe, in 2017. Jeff, you can correct me if I'm wrong thereabouts, um, by Lauf cycles in in Iceland. And they've had multi they usually have two different distances. And this year was a new course, two new distances, 140k and 200k, which is roughly 85 miles or 125 miles.

SPEAKER_03 14:19

What's that in American? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

And uh so yeah, I can't I I can't actually recall, I remember sort of a mass beginning to sign up. And I said, if this is if I'm gonna go, this is the year. So yeah, how did you guys decide?

SPEAKER_02 14:36

How'd we decide how'd you decide to do this?

SPEAKER_01 14:38

So Bob nucleated things, Bob Jenny, our friend, okay. Uh, and he said, Hey, who wants to go? I'll do some of the legwork on lodging and this and that. And I thought, no way, I don't want to go. And I really weird. So I I did want to go, yes, but I had a Portugal trip earlier in the year, okay, and a Kansas trip uh early in the year. I didn't have a third ability to leave the country.

SPEAKER_03 15:02

Yes, yep.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

And so I said no. And then our friend David Waltz, who was part of a group at that time that maybe had grown up to 12 or 15 people who were in.

SPEAKER_03 15:14

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

David couldn't go. And so I said, well, okay, now there's a spot, there's a registration paid for, I can help him out.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

I'm helping.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

I think I had just switched jobs, and so I was in a different decision space than when Bob first raised the idea. Okay. And I bought Dave's spot.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Oh, I didn't realize you were the late entry. Okay, on that.

SPEAKER_01 15:34

Well, I was an early entry. You're thinking about the second time Dave had to withdraw because he he then got back in when his schedule changed, and then he had to get back out again.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

So oh, so he bought two tickets and sold two to Tate. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 15:48

I think he's mostly a rift broker.

SPEAKER_03 15:51

Okay. Because I remember what I remember was Steve saying to me, the guys are thinking of doing this trip to Iceland called the Rift. I'm not sure if I can do it. I don't know how sure business is gonna be, but I'll I'll just buy the ticket. Like it was this kind of thing. I'll buy the entry. I'll buy the entry. You know, at the time.

SPEAKER_00 16:11

Yeah, it was a fairly low investment. Although at the time I want to say I thought it was a situation where they sold out and I needed to get as soon as the the entries opened up, I needed to get in. I think I've since learned that they would grow that thing as big as it could possibly get, and they don't really sell out.

SPEAKER_03 16:27

Okay, yeah. And so then it was kind of like, oh well now I have to commit to the I think now I have to commit to the hotel. Now I have to commit, you know, then finally it was like, you're gonna have to buy your airplane ticket at some point. Yep. Right? And then Bob posted a picture, a great group picture of you all, with the caption that this was like his birthday celebration. Well, you're not on social media, and well, neither is it. And I and I didn't see that in the service on this.

SPEAKER_00 16:55

He probably posted on Facebook, so I never saw that it was a birthday thing for him.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

So you didn't know going in that this was like a celebration of his six sixtieth?

SPEAKER_00 17:04

Sixtieth, I think. Yeah, okay. No, I I think I maybe jumped in at six like person six or seven. Right. And I and this had been on my list, and I said, Well, if all these people are going that I know, if I'm going to do it, this has to be the year. Otherwise, I'm just what am I gonna go alone? So it was the it was that jumping in point.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

I'm gonna say I had never heard of it. So, how did these things end up on your lists? Like, how did you even know uh about it? Like you said it wasn't Bob that Bob was doing it, but it wasn't the first you had ever heard of it.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

No, but if you're on social media and you're into gravel cycling, it's gonna inevitably pop up on your feed.

SPEAKER_03 17:47

All of those things.

SPEAKER_01 17:49

Yeah, but maybe not, maybe not in a sick way. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 17:54

I have balance in my in my for you feed, is what you're saying.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Right. Uh, but I'm just always thinking about learning about bikes and events and word of mouth. I'm sure it's word of mouth.

SPEAKER_03 18:04

Okay, perfect. Every marketing person loves that answer.

SPEAKER_01 18:07

I probably listen to eight different cycling podcasts, so wow, I can barely listen to this one.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

That's just cycling podcasts. Then you see if you ask him how many uh non-cycling he listens to, oh well, he is a podcast connoisseur. I average two a day.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

Okay, yeah, I'm I'm right there with you. Absolutely. So normal. No. Right. Okay, so this rift that you guys both went on. Um, well, how did it go for both of you?

SPEAKER_00 18:39

It went great. It was such an incredible week. It did. It really went really, really well. And the weather in Iceland, I think, was better than I expected. Would you agree? Yeah. Right? Warmer, certainly. Uh, I brought a pair of shorts. I was like, I'll bring a pair of shorts. I ended up wearing them all the time um because it was that nice. And uh so the so of course the entire week it didn't rain, and then we get to race morning and it it's raining.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

Pretty steady rain. Steady, maybe from 6 a.m. I don't know exactly when I woke up, but probably around 6 a.m. for our 8:30 start. It wasn't cold though, right? This was not Rasputiza 2019.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

Okay, all right. Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

And and speaking of Jeff as a morning person that we talked about, every time I woke up, and we were in a bunk room, so there were six bunks in this room. Okay. And every time I woke up and I'd pull the curtain open and I'd look down, I go, oh, Jeff's already up and out.

SPEAKER_03 19:37

So what what should people know about the rift if they want to do it?

SPEAKER_01 19:42

So the one thing I would say is that 140k, about 85 miles. Yes, it's a hard event, but it's not brutally hard. A couple of our friends did the 200k, and I think that would have been brutally hard. Unbound was brutally hard by virtue of it being for me an almost 19 hour effort. Okay. This wasn't that. I think my elapsed time was 815. My moving was 730. Um, with a couple of exceptions, there isn't massive climbing. It's not like riding in Vermont where you can have long, steep climbs. These were moderate to top. There were some steep.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

There was definitely like the profile of the climb kind of went right up to the middle at the top and then it went down. Is that what I saw? It was almost like steady, steady up. Now you're just up. Now you get to go back down that. And is that because you guys were describing it as a lollipop? So basically you were going out and around and back. Yep. So that's why you spent most of the time climbing up and then.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

And we were going from effectively sea level. Yep. Okay. So near, not too far from the ocean in these flat plains. And we were going up into the highlands, into the mountains. And so that's why we sort of peeked at the at the uh uh extreme range that we were out at it, and um and then downhill the way down back.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

What was the quality of the like I saw the pictures? It was very dark dirt, whatever the whatever the roadway was. Volcanic. Very dark. It was volcanic. Oh, it's all volcanic.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

Uh rock and ash.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

Um thick was it? Like was it packed? Was it it was packed.

SPEAKER_01 21:16

You never felt like you were sinking in. I guess there were there were a few sandy-ish sections, but that was a minority of a significant minority of the course.

SPEAKER_00 21:24

It was harder pack than I was expecting. I was a little bit concerned about the softness that it could be. Yeah. And no, I would say this was hard pack. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:33

The bigger terrain challenge was that there was a lot of embedded rock that was sharp. And so you, for the significant majority of the course, you had to be paying attention to your line. There were some stretches where you could just sit in and pedal because it was smooth. Okay. But for the most part, and maybe not of the climbs where it's just you're moving, you're moving slowly, but you could easily gash a tire, and nobody wanted to do that and have to deal with with that lost time and and that uncertainty.

SPEAKER_03 22:02

How sharp have I heard at Unbound that that's sharp stuff? The flint. But the flint, how would you say that compares?

SPEAKER_01 22:10

The flint was not as sharp as what was in Iceland. Oh, okay. And it won it wasn't nearly as prevalent. There were some chunky climbs and descents at Unbound, but I would call that totally guessing, five or ten percent of the course. It was mostly smoothish road like what you get at D2R2. And the rift was much, much rockier.

SPEAKER_03 22:31

Okay. So on a difficulty scale, you've done unbound, you've done um what's the other one out of the city? Leadville. Leadville. Now you've done what would you say was the hardest?

SPEAKER_01 22:43

Unbound was the hardest by virtue of it being the demo's 19 hours.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 22:48

Leadville at elevation, and for me about 11 and a half hours with more technical terrain, but not a ton more. Yep. Um the rift was dramatically easier than those. It was you know, for me, I guess it was you know a third shorter in time, much less steep climbing at the rift. Really, I I'm a little surprised they don't have a third distance because I think they could add a lot of people at a maybe 50 mile distance. I'm in. 85 is just a lot, right? For a lot of people, it was their longest gravel ride, and some maybe even their longest ride ever. Really? And whereas Unbound has a 2550, 100, 200. You really can find everybody a spot there. I I if I were growing the rift, I would try to do that. Maybe you know, we the Larry's group did the 200, they started at 7:30 in the morning. We started at 8:30. Start another group at 9:30 and give them for for instance. We rode, I I I broke the course down into roughly thirds. Okay. And so call it 85 miles, so maybe 27 miles or so in each of the thirds. Yep. The first third was flattish to gentle uphill. The middle third was where all the big climbing and descending was, and then you're coming back, so it's a a gradual descent. And you could do something where you would send people out and cut a so you you'd go out the course, and instead of making the big loop, you'd make a small loop. Yep. And I think you could make a really great 50-mile event.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

I agree with that. And there were a lot of people who who clearly, I think, needed a shorter course. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

Well, and you could see, I mean, I think the distance you're talking about is right on the edge for me of two. What's the what's the ascent? What's the climb?

SPEAKER_01 24:35

5800 feet, I believe. So for the for the 85 mile route. About 65 feet of elevation per mile. That's okay. That's how I think about climbing. Yeah. Anything less than 50 is not very climy. Anything more than 100 is really climby. That's Vermont. Yeah. And this was in the middle of that.

SPEAKER_03 24:52

Okay. So doable. But yeah, you could see maybe us going out and you doing the longer one, I do the 50 if I didn't feel so inclined to try the 89. Although I'll admit, I was like, maybe it was so spectacular.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

That was that's what differentiated this from anything else I've done. As much as Leadville is a spare beauty, Unbound is these rolling green Kansas Hills that is also stunning, but this was just otherworldly. Otherworldly, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah, yeah. And I and I was thinking, so I the whole time I'm out there, I'm thinking this is not hard in terms of the terrain. There's no single track. I made it hard. Right.

SPEAKER_03 25:38

Well, you raced. You you came, you sent a text that was like, so I decided to race the last minute.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

I did, and I but I kept thinking to myself, if I if you would come and and um and so and I have uh and I love riding with you, and I thought at that pace cycling together, somebody cycling together, and so and I have sweaters, and I and at that at that pace, I I would have had a very, very enjoyable day. And and in this case, it was a difficult day. I enjoyed it in that that different way.

SPEAKER_03 26:12

Right, right. Yes. I do yeah, I do think when we ride together in a thing, you definitely maybe at the end are less tired. Less tired. You have a more you've had a different experience.

SPEAKER_00 26:26

I mean, here we are, two days removed or from getting back, I guess what now, three days from the race, and my legs are still wasted.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

So whereas I rode this morning and felt pretty good. I felt a little sluggish, but not cracked.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Yeah. No, I find it's also tricky. I was worried about you guys coming back on the plane a day after a a ride of that extent, because that's when you know cramping can and I had well and I had hard cramping during the ride.

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Which oh did you? Which is because of my effort level. Right. Right. If I had toned it back, I wouldn't have had that, but it was because of my effort level.

SPEAKER_03 27:04

Plus, your weather would have been nicer, I heard.

SPEAKER_00 27:06

So yes, apparently all the nice weather that I got at the end uh sitting there waiting for everybody was uh being enjoyed by everybody out on the course.

SPEAKER_03 27:17

Do you um, Jeff, when you do a ride like this, how often do you end up riding solo or riding with because there were 15 of you. How many of you actually rode together? Oh, yeah, yeah. Who did you stick with out there?

SPEAKER_01 27:32

I spent a lot of time with Chris, Hal, and Tom Pinsons. Okay. And I was probably with one, at least one of the three of them, about half the time. And then effectively solo, which might be riding near someone, but not so close that we're talking. I probably talked to a half dozen people, uh, which was most of the people that I happened to be near, and at the same time.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

Yeah, I it was difficult. I didn't have much experience with this out there, but I thought it would be difficult to have that normal conversational. You you you had to pay such close attention to where you were going that it would be difficult to ride side by side. Yeah, I think that's true. Yeah, even even front to back without you needed a good amount of space. Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

No, I ask in part because when we talked about this on the show about him going out to the rift, he really seemed to have zero expectation he was gonna ride with anybody. And you didn't. Right. You didn't ride with anybody, and I didn't because I think which I remember thinking was so the videos I watched. Was such a weird attitude. I know, but I don't go, I don't what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_00 28:42

I could have purposely stayed with people. That was so that was a choice. Right. Yeah um and it was and it it really just came down to the first climb, and I just said, I'm just gonna go my new. I'm gonna go the pace that I feel great at. And I got to the top, and everybody was gone, and I said, Well, I actually might as well just go for this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:06

I think the two other people who might have been closest to you in speed had a relatively early mechanical that perhaps took them out of it. I don't know where they were relative to you. You were probably ahead of them, but they ended up finishing pretty fast given the the hour it took them to get their mechanical.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

Yeah, I did hear. So there were there were some you mentioned slicing, right? Like some people sliced or someone sliced their tire, and ultimately in that situation, just replacing it with a tube turned out to be maybe the better thing.

SPEAKER_01 29:43

The only thing is so at Unbound, I did that. I put a tube in and I was totally fine with it because it's not a uh uh a puncture as as much as you hear about unbound being punctures are a big deal, yeah. That's for the pros who are racing super fast in packs where they can't see what's coming at them. Once you're by yourself, you at all of these events you've got enough sight line to see the line and avoid things. Yeah, but you can just get unlucky. I punctured once at unbound, put a tube in. I think here, I think the risk of puncturing I guess it's only gonna be a pinch flat is what's gonna get you with a tube in. Um, but you're hitting stuff with relatively low pressure. So they ended up putting a tube in because they couldn't repair the tubeless. Yeah. Uh and and I think that's I would have probably ended up in the same place, but I would have felt a little bit worse about putting a tube in. I would have felt like the whole system was fragile the rest of the way. Oh, I agree. You're right. I would have thought a tube. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:43

If I had to have a tube in, I would think it was fragile.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

You've talked on the podcast about people who ride heavy and ride light. Yes. I mean, I'm a reasonably heavy person amongst the cycling community. You look around, and this is not a place to have body image issues when you can see the rib cage of of many of the people.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

Um everyone's wearing spandex. Right.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

But I think I ride reasonably light. I I don't have a lot of mechanicals. Yeah. Um, I'm both choosing good lines, I'm not totally sending it, I'm a bit risk averse in that, and I just know how to use my body as a shock absorber and not let the bike take all the beating. And uh, if if that's not your style, a course like this could punish you.

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Yeah. Yeah, there the the course was so unpredictable in many ways that you you had to be very fluid. So I mean, you could be going along and just suddenly the whole bike would jerk up at you, and you know, and and you have to be used to having your arms just taking that absorbing that the bike up instantly, and it just it's not even a thing. And some people are more rigid, and so when they hit that dip or that bump or whatever, they're they're they don't let the bike come up into them, into their body, and and then the but the tires can really take the brunt of that.

SPEAKER_03 31:57

Right. But I still I'm I'm still gonna go back to the I think some of it all of that aside, some of it going into a ride like this is is your attitude gonna be, I'm gonna race and get done really fast, or am I going to ride and stick with some of the people that I that brung me?

SPEAKER_01 32:17

Um I was less concerned about that though, than just not really expending myself such that I might blow up.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 32:26

Right. For me, I probably rode this at the pace that I would ride the Guilford Gravel Grinder or D2R2. It's just it's a hard effort, but I'm not trying to maximize my effort.

SPEAKER_04 32:36

Right.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

I don't want to, I at the end I want to be, oh, I probably could have ridden that half an hour faster. It but but what would have been the point?

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Would you do it again?

SPEAKER_01 32:45

So during the event, and actually before the event, I said no. Okay. Having done it, I would. I don't know that I will. That is, I just don't know that I'll seek out Iceland again as opposed to big sugar or any of the other things that I haven't done yet.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

But the the fact that the effort was manageable for me, again, is a decent, but you know, 60 plus racer. Yeah, and that the scenery was so stunning and differently stunning. It wasn't just, oh, it's a lava field and and that looks stunning, and you're seeing lava field the entire time. The terrain, it was my uh I don't know what the geology term would be for microclimates, but it was kind of like micro-geology around there. Sometimes you're up in the high mountains with snowfields, other times you're in what seem like almost tidal plains, and and yeah, sometimes it is just dirt, and other times it's embedded rock. So that variety was really cool.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

Oh, now we need to go to Iceland.

SPEAKER_00 33:44

And I I have to agree. I mean, I said the same thing as Jeff. I said, no, I'm not gonna, I don't see a need to do this again. There are other events out there in the world. But would I go back and ride with you, Kristen? I I absolutely 100% would. I would love to go and ride along with you on that course. You mean slower?

SPEAKER_03 34:02

You would like to go and ride it slower and enjoy and actually eat the sandwiches at the restaurant.

SPEAKER_04 34:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 34:10

All right. Well, you know, if I can serve a purpose in that way. Um, no, I I have to say, when I first heard about it, I didn't I immediately was like, nah, like I'm I'm good. The kids are gonna be home. I don't necessarily want to be going to Iceland. Even as you got ready for it, I was like, have fun, guys. Uh two things I will say the pictures were spectacular. And they did fill me with FOMO. And then that group of all the boys, I thought, well, now we have to get a group of women together. This is ridiculous. Like, I will say, I looked at that group of men. Y'all seemed great and happy. I like, I love you all, but I was like, there is just there's there's there's no girls here.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

It would have been odd if there'd been one woman, I think. Yes, it would have been. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:56

Well, no, and I mean it's funny because I thought about it and I was like, well, I wouldn't have been wanted to be the only woman either.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

But if it had been 16 and 4 instead of 20 and zero, yeah, then I think it would have been fine. I mean, I can't speak for what it's like to be a woman in that kind of setting, but but you know these people, right? So it's not the broy jerk culture, but but I totally get when you're a minority like that.

SPEAKER_03 35:19

I wouldn't have felt unwelcome. You guys are an amazing group of guys. I don't think there's any question that if I if we had ch I'm not differentiating, um, we'll talk after. No, uh we're gonna have an after dark episode. Exactly. Now let's break it down. Um, no, I I absolutely, if I had said oh, and I'm coming, I don't think there would have been any unhappiness. I think I would have been welcome.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

I would have we would have had to get a uh a room in the uh west wing of the uh hotel we stayed, not in the upstairs. Steve's accommodations would have been much nicer. Yes. Why we could have or we could have just stayed in the same bunk. I yeah, we could have made room in that bed.

SPEAKER_03 36:03

Uh or I can get my own bunk. Anyway, but there is and I will say there is something about being the only woman that's actually can be with a good group of guys, fun, right? Like, yeah, I'm the only, but it is funner when you have a couple of other, you know, badass chicks with you that that you're taking this on.

SPEAKER_01 36:25

So I think about Elaine, for instance, in the mountain bike rides, is often the only woman. Yeah. And and if someone pointed that out, they go, Oh, yeah, yeah, I guess she is. But it wouldn't have been a defining feature. Yes. Because she's one of the cyclists.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 36:42

And you're like that. I think about a lot of the women who race on 545 Velo or who ride with the McGregors.

SPEAKER_02 36:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

It's it's a secondary consideration, at least from the guy perspective, where you you're you're not thinking, oh, there's not a lot like me here.

SPEAKER_03 36:56

Yeah, no, and I don't know that I well, no, I I do think it. I do get into situations where I've like, I'm like, huh. But as I said, I saw that group of guys and I was like, well, now I have a new mission. I need to get a I need to get another group to go to Iceland.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

There were there were certainly women on the ride, but it's probably like any of the events where if it was more than 15%, I'd be surprised.

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

But I think if you had a group of 20 women there, um, you would just own that place, right? You would you would be known by everybody, you would stand out for that that differentiation. You're right. You'd be you'd you'd just be the mayors of the town.

SPEAKER_03 37:35

Feel like poor Jason when he went to Cycle Cross and said, Well, I'm oh, this is Alex's husband. Right, right. That's my goal. Anyway, all right. Well, uh, let's wrap this up. I'm glad you guys had a good time. And I'm glad you didn't fall into the magma. So nice job there. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

We were lava-free.

SPEAKER_03 37:58

All right, we're back before we um, because I know you totally listened to the interview that I edited. Totally.

SPEAKER_04 38:07

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

For the record, somebody wrote in that I should give you um notes ahead of time. I should prepare you. And I was like, what do you think that iPad is that's in front of him?

SPEAKER_00 38:19

Yeah, well, there's a there's an outline of notes. There's a there's a concept of notes here.

SPEAKER_03 38:25

If somebody wanted to do was thinking about doing the rift, yeah, do you have you can say no. Do you have like five? Do you have what what advice would you give for someone who's thinking about the rift?

SPEAKER_00 38:39

Okay, off the cuff here, because I have not thought about this. So let's think about everything that you would want to just sort of five five top things that I could recommend for the rift. Okay. Number one, I suppose, is if you can swing it, stay in in the start town at a place called Midgard. That it was a phenomenal, phenomenal place. I cannot recommend it enough where we stayed. They have now we stayed in like a bunk room. So imagine sort of a well, it was basically a room with a couple with six bunks. Um, and you know, we had curtains and and then the and then the bathrooms are obviously down the hall, and the shower rooms are down the hall, which were all really nice. But they apparently do have private rooms if, say, you're a couple and you want your own room. I believe there were the couple of private rooms downstairs.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

I'm sorry, you're going to the rift, you don't need a private room. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_00 39:40

So any mid-garden and the restaurant in the mid-gart, I mean, it was phenomenal. Just cool. What a great place. All right.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

So that's where to stay.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

Wonderful. Um, the actual ride itself, the number one thing would be the biggest tires your bike can fit. And And so for me, that was 50s. Um, I think I can probably fit about a 2.1 mountain bike tire, but I had continental 50 millimeters in there and decided to just keep those.

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 40:12

That is a large, that is a large gravel tire. Absolutely large gravel tire, lower pressure, right? So I was probably running 25 PSI, maybe, right? Quite low. Um for me. Tubeless. Tubeless. Tubeless. Yes. Uh so that would be that would be number like number two, I guess, right? Yeah. Um, number three. Well, stick, I guess, sticking on the tire plan, you bring, make sure you bring the stuff with you that you need. So and and you can't so now you can't fly with CO2 cartridges, but we were absolutely, we were able to buy them at the um at the expo there in town the day before. Of course. Okay. So and and we'd actually, and and one of the one of the guys had gotten them in Reykjavik the couple days before. Yep. They were expensive, but uh if you want, so if you want to have CO2s, you'll be able to get them there. But I would recommend both carrying uh CO2 cartridge on you and a mini pump.

SPEAKER_03 41:17

Didn't you say that you actually passed somebody so did not have a had a flat tire and did not have a pump?

SPEAKER_00 41:23

Yeah, let me just I'll briefly give that story. Okay. All right, we are maybe 16 miles in, something about that. Okay. And I have I'm coming up on three people. And the one in the back, they uh two were together, clearly, one was sort of hanging out behind them, and he and I could see his rear tire was really low.

SPEAKER_04 41:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 41:47

And he looks back at me and he goes, Uh, is my is my rear tire going flat? I said, uh yeah, I think you may be flatting. And he goes, Well, do you have a pump or something?

SPEAKER_03 41:59

Now, this is now this is a This is not the PMC. This is a race.

SPEAKER_00 42:05

This is a race. Right.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

PMC is a ride.

SPEAKER_00 42:07

Now I knew there were a few hundred people behind me.

SPEAKER_03 42:11

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

And I at this point had decided, I think I'm gonna kind of race this or go as best I can.

SPEAKER_03 42:17

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:18

So at that point, the mechanic in me and the helper in me, and we've talked about events I've done where my my purpose was to stop and help people.

SPEAKER_03 42:26

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 42:26

And it was hard for me at that point, but I said, I can't stop my race because you decided to not bring any inflation. So this guy was like raw dogging the rift, right? Like no CO2, no pump.

unknown 42:41

Right.

SPEAKER_00 42:41

And then you know, and I'm fairly I didn't take a I didn't take a good look at his bike, but I'm gonna say now, sort of in my head, I could see no packs, no bags, no anything.

SPEAKER_03 42:51

I'm fairly sure all your documentation also said be prepared to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_00 42:57

No, he was probably half mile from the first uh uh rest stop and in support. So he was also not that far away from help, and uh there were gonna be a couple hundred people who were not racing behind.

SPEAKER_03 43:12

Or did you just keep going? Or did you say no?

SPEAKER_00 43:15

No, I've that's what I said on the fly as I flew by him.

SPEAKER_03 43:19

Oh, oh yeah, yeah. I mean, it's it's I I actually don't blame you at all. I'm the first to say again, like that we'll be like, are you okay? He's a mechanic, but again, we're on the rail trail. Right, like we're on the but a race is a diff is a different scenario. Yeah, and if you came from whatever distance and you spent that much money on it, right, then dude, yeah, buy a pump. Yeah, right. Like, I don't want to sound um unsympathetic, but okay, so be ready. That was number three.

SPEAKER_00 43:53

Be bring your stuff, bring, bring uh tubeless plugs and a spare tube to the emergency tube. And I had actually, and then I had stick-on emergency patches for the tube. Should I need those? I mean, I now I had just throw it at him. I had no inflation problems. My tires were phenomenal. Uh but I was prepared.

SPEAKER_03 44:13

That's Murphy's Law.

SPEAKER_00 44:14

That is Murphy's Law, right? Right.

SPEAKER_03 44:16

You overly prepared, so you were fine.

SPEAKER_00 44:18

I had a multi-tool, right? So Okay. All right. So that was yep. Uh what's the next thing? Oh, so you do not need to be they this is well supported. They have they have check you can check out ahead of time where the intervals are for the rest stops, and the rest stops are um supplied. So, although one was a little under-supplied, although I I think it was only because they hadn't quite done it by the time I got there because I heard other people behind me.

SPEAKER_03 44:52

You mean you were too early?

SPEAKER_00 44:53

I was a little too early. Because you were so fast. No, come on. Uh so fast. So, but they had you know, um, gels and and snacks and that kind of stuff, and then one had like sandwiches and I mean had a lot of food to it.

SPEAKER_03 45:08

And how was um if you say ran into trouble and you just you could not go any further? Did they have like SAG vehicles?

SPEAKER_00 45:17

There were roaming vehicles.

SPEAKER_03 45:19

Okay. Yes. Yep. And there were enough of them.

SPEAKER_00 45:22

I think so. You might, depending on where the an incident happened, you could be waiting half an hour, probably. That's fine. But yeah, but yeah, you're gonna they're gonna get you.

SPEAKER_03 45:32

We've done events where it was like, oh no, we do not have enough capacity to get anybody home, right? Like it was just again that expectation everything's gonna be fine, and it turns out some people need to ride home. Yeah, so um, okay, that's good to know.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

And then I'd say the final thing would be maybe suspension. And I what I mean by that is so the big tires with the low pressure is suspension system number one. But I had a suspension stem, yeah, and I had not really a suspension seat post, but I could see how that would be really nice. I had a I have an ergon post, which is a split carbon post, which does provide much more flex than a normal seat post. Yeah. Uh and I I just couldn't imagine doing this without like that, especially that suspension stem.

SPEAKER_03 46:27

Do you see there seems to be a movement to I I I don't even call them gravel bikes. We started calling them mixed train bikes, right? Like um, to flat bar with a suspension in the front. Maybe it's a maybe it's a hardtail mountain bike, maybe it's it's kind of in a weird. Did you see any of those? Like or were most people on traditional traditional gravel bikes? Yeah, no, it's a fairly new type of bike. I definitely traditional gravel bikes.

SPEAKER_00 46:55

I you know, I there I didn't even see that many susp of the gravel suspension forks.

SPEAKER_03 47:00

Well, Chris had one.

SPEAKER_00 47:01

Well, no, no, Chris has Chris Chris's bike is a little unique. He his doesn't he doesn't have one of the gravel suspension forks, he is a full-on cross-country uh rock shock SIDS fork on his gravel bike. Yes. Um, so he definitely had the plushness out there. Yeah, so I mean, many of the many of the pro racers, I don't think we're using much. Okay. Um, but boy, did it really just help with fatigue.

SPEAKER_03 47:29

Okay. Well, there you go. There we go. So we'll see you at the rift next year. No, I'm kidding. My issue, my issue is like, I was thinking about this today on our mix terrain ride. Like, in theory, I want to go to the rift. In practice, I hate training for things. And that's really something you have to I would have to train for. I like to just I just do like to go out and raw dog it. Like, I just like to, you know.

SPEAKER_00 47:55

So I I came in, I came into it in my highest Strava fitness level number in years, or at least in two years.

SPEAKER_03 48:05

I don't even think that we rode that much.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

And yeah, yeah, but no, I've done, I guess I've done more a little bit more consistent riding this year. Yeah. But I didn't train for the rest. Yeah. Right. I just was like, okay, this is just in reality, you're yes, you're going out into the middle of nowhere in the center of Iceland around a volcano. But it's just another, it's just another ride in a lot of ways. And there's support tents out there.

SPEAKER_03 48:34

It is for you. I can't necessarily pull you have a baseline fitness I don't strength that I don't always have. And so I would just have to I don't think I'd have to train a lot more, but I would just have to be more thoughtful about it. And I'm not very thoughtful. I did not train for the speed I went. I'm not very thoughtful about my training in general. Right. I just kind of like even when in the winter I, you know, I don't do training plans. I just get on and go, it was ride for an hour. That looks good. Oh crap. I picked one with a huge climb and it's actually three hours. You know, like I I would have to be a little more strategic. I can, and I would be, because if you're gonna spend that much money, you should make the most of it. It's kind of like my first year, I did the PMC and I followed the training plan to the T. And everybody was like, You're overtraining, you're overtraining. And my thought at the time, which was um, I want to enjoy it, which I did, but by the last PMC, I was like, I was overtraining. You know, so there's there's a halfway, there's a middle spot I have to find. Um what was nice about that, and I don't know if the Rift does this, is there was an actual plan for me to follow. You know, it wasn't like oh I think PMC puts out. Hey, like, if you're gonna do the two-day, this is what you need to start on this date. This is the mileage you need to be doing each weekend. And then as you get closer, you start doing two days because of course you need to get ready for two days in a row in the saddle. Right. And then it has you start, you know, tapering. So it was a great plan. They did a they did they had a really nice, very simple. If I can have that, I can actually follow that. The challenge, not like it's not that much of a challenge, but it's like with the rift, it'd be like, what would be the right plan for this? But if the rift just said, here's a great plan, I could probably follow that to a teacher. So anyway. Anyway, all right. Let's uh we have two things. We have a scene while scrolling you wanted to talk about. Yeah, or is it just your life that is reflected by the news?

SPEAKER_00 50:38

It is, right? So there's been a lot, again, tariffs have been all over the news this week. So while as I'm scrolling, there's just constant articles about the tariffs. Yep. So I did want to talk about the tariffs, right? Um, in in terms of the impact, because it has it has hit your bike shop and it is hit hard.

SPEAKER_03 51:02

Well, it's hit our bike shop, so we presume it means it's hit all of the show.

SPEAKER_00 51:05

Well, it in terms of I'm gonna speak for anything. Basically, in terms of Shimano and SRAM, let's just let's talk about like those two companies of which most people have parts from. Yes. And they're gonna be impacted by this. So uh let's on the road side. I'm gonna give some examples here. Okay, go for it. So on the road side, the Shimano Altegra chain, the HG701, right? That is the day in, day out, uh, that 11-speed chain, you're like every shop, it's is just constantly replacing on bikes. Right. Because so many people have road bikes with 11 speed.

SPEAKER_03 51:42

And we're replacing them because it helps protect the other components, not because yeah, they're worn out.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

Their chains are it's a wearable item. Their chains are worn out, yep, and and they need a new chain.

SPEAKER_03 51:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 51:52

That that used to be 42 and it is now 50. So there's uh what 18% or so uh increase. Um, and then the Altegra 11 speed cassette was 93.99 and it is now 115. Uh I oh one thing I noticed from Shimano is they used to do a lot of 99 cent things, and now a lot of their new um MSRPs are whole numbers. And I was gonna say these are MSRPs that these are MSRPs, which is what most shops are selling at the suggested retail price from the manufacturers, and what we kind of have to say is just easiest.

SPEAKER_03 52:31

Like, how much work do you want to do and figure out the cost of stuff? Right go with the MSRP, right?

SPEAKER_00 52:36

You know, exactly. I do know some shops who actually sell over MSRP on wearable items. We won't get into that.

SPEAKER_03 52:45

Okay, we're not naming names.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

So on the mountain bike side, okay, the Shimano Dior 12 speed 6100 cassette, there's a there's a wearable item. Yeah, uh, the basically the the lowest entry level of the 12 speed cassettes for for Shimano, and that was$96.99, also now$115. Uh that's like 18%.

SPEAKER_04 53:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:08

Um, and then the SRAM GX Eagle Chain. Again, that is those things are changed day in, day out at every shop because so many bikes have have SRAM Eagle drivetrains.

SPEAKER_04 53:19

Yep.

SPEAKER_00 53:20

And and I don't even bother with the SX or NX chains, the lower ones. The price difference isn't enough, and the quality of the GX is is okay better enough that I just straight up GX for me. So that I used to sell those for$38, and those are now$50.

unknown 53:37

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 53:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 53:38

Are we still seeing an issue with like knockoff chains?

SPEAKER_00 53:42

Yeah, so here's the thing, and I I think we kind of have to just lay this out there. You're gonna see these prices being changed at shops to these MSRPs. And there are certainly gonna be online retailers who maybe have had hundreds of these things in in stock, and they're still selling it cheaper. And then I even did a quick look, and in some cases, there were some well-known online retailers selling less than my current cost on these prices, on these parts, I should say, right? Yes, so don't blame your shop when they're charging these retail prices because we have to. We don't buy hundreds at a time, we we buy 10 or 20 at a time, right? And so um we are now have been buying at these new higher prices, right?

SPEAKER_03 54:37

And um is it is it copacetic to pick buy a chain online and bring it to your shop?

SPEAKER_00 54:48

I I mean I let people do it all the time, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:51

Right, but but I would say don't if you can't Well, I mean, if we're being we're this is a podcast about biking, but it's also bike shops. I mean, first of all, that does cut into your profit margin, yeah, right, because that's a markup. You make money two ways through markups on materials and your time, right? That's that is that's it. That's it. That's it. Yep. So that's part of the issue. And the other is you don't really know where they got that chain. So let's talk let us talk about those counterfeites.

SPEAKER_00 55:25

Yeah, don't buy parts on Amazon or eBay unless the seller is somebody you can look up and go, oh, that's a physical bike shop in this city. Okay, if if they are a physical bike shop, you know, and you can look that up and see that, and they're selling on Amazon or eBay, okay, you're probably fine. Okay. Okay. But there are so many there's so many of especially Shimano parts that are too good to be true for price, and their amount of counterfeits on Amazon and eBay is just unbelievable. So one time, like I had even said that Dura-Ace chain, there is no way they're selling a Dura-Ace chain for that price. So I bought it and I got it in, and the and the and the blue box was like a just a hair different, but perfect. You would never know it was not a Shimano chain from the blue box. Then I took it out of the packaging. First thing I noticed was the type of plastic the bat that the chain was in was wrong. So that was like, hmm, okay. Yeah. And then when I got the chain out, it was like, wow, this is garbage. I mean, the the the the width specs of the links were wrong was wrong for an 11 speed chain and that all that kind of stuff. So it looked perfect, it looked the part, and you and a and a regular consumer is just not gonna know.

SPEAKER_03 56:49

Playing the role on move in a movie, it totally would have worked. What's the what's the risk beyond obviously losing money, but of using a counterfeit chain?

SPEAKER_00 57:01

Well, in like this this case, I I suppose it could do damage to your cassette and your chain ring teeth. I don't know. It was definitely too wide for 11 speed, it's gonna shift horribly. Okay. Usually the only risk is that the part is is going to just perform badly. But uh I mean you know, I mean, there could also be failures.

SPEAKER_02 57:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 57:25

Yeah. And and the I mean, there are counterfeit derailers from Shimano that look exactly correct. Okay, but they are junk.

SPEAKER_04 57:36

Right.

SPEAKER_00 57:36

So you I mean it it you really have to be careful with a lot of these parts. And I think it's gonna get worse again. It got bad during COVID because of the part shortages, and it might get bad again because of because of these increased prices.

SPEAKER_03 57:48

Well, that's I mean, that's a part why I ask. Do you see more people either waiting longer to do their service or doing more service and not up buying a new bike now because of what's going on there?

SPEAKER_00 58:06

Well, I I mean you know, these all of these big price increases are only within the past, say, four to six weeks, I'd say. So it has so people don't realize yet that that how much everything has has gone up. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 58:20

That'll be interesting. All right. Anything else on tariffs? All right. We will um and we did get a bunch of comments about our conversation related to cycling caps. So as I mentioned on the last show, we're on TikTok now. TikTok is so interesting. I share the same like three-minute video to YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. And TikTok, which I am not a tick TikTok person. I'm I'm not that comfortable with the platform as a user, but I've been uploading the videos. The amount of engagement on TikTok is fascinating. We get a we get a lot of comments. So I did a little video about the the caps, and well, number one, you admitted.

SPEAKER_00 59:05

Yeah, I admit I was wrong about the caps. More people use them than I realize, and I wasn't thinking about the the the real genuine, like good uses for them. A lot of bald people in one case.

SPEAKER_03 59:20

Today, did you even realize that one of the guys we were riding with was wearing a cap?

SPEAKER_00 59:24

No. See, there we go.

SPEAKER_03 59:25

Yeah, it was very subtle.

SPEAKER_00 59:26

Yeah, he is very small, a actual psychic cap with a little brim that goes up and down.

SPEAKER_03 59:31

He was wearing, he had his, but it's because he had a darker helmet on and it had a very small brim.

SPEAKER_00 59:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 59:39

Uh, and yeah, he was absolutely, and I was wondering if you even noticed that he was wearing it because it was so subtle, it almost looked like it was part uh of the helmet. And he is follically challenged, and he said he wears it all the time because it helps with well, sun and sweats.

SPEAKER_00 59:56

Yes, sun.

SPEAKER_03 59:57

He was like sunburns, and and that was the big concept. Out, we got on TikTok. It was sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat, sweat. Even somebody was saying, I didn't look this up, that the brim is designed to help quick the sweat. That that's what the brim is for. I don't actually know that that's the case. I I do find that it helped with um a little bit of rain that one time.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:20

But okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:22

Yeah, it inspired me. Yes, I was wrong. It inspired me. I have a new capital.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:25

More people use that than I realized.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:27

I'm gonna try them again. All right. Well, that will do it for this week. As we said, in two weeks, we will have our friend Jeff back on for his full interview. In the meantime, cycling together with Kristen and Steve is a production of Steve the Bike Guy, an independent bike shop in Massachusetts and Sunday Marketing.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:46

If you like the show, please leave a review or share with a friend. And for show notes, links, or to leave a comment, question, or topic suggestion, please visit cycling together.bike.

SPEAKER_03 1:00:56

You can follow the shop on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok at Steve the Bike Guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:02

All right, thanks for for joining the ride. We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:05

See you next time.