Newsletter Issue No. 1229
June 18, 2026
More On: How To Say No and The Wright Brothers, Plus a Special Video
Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
This week, I’ve got some catching up to do and am sharing a couple of comments that came in related to recent articles. I also want to tell you about a video I thoroughly enjoyed that brings together four industry luminaries, Jim Gentes of Giro Helmets; Craig Calfee of Calfee Designs carbon bikes; Keith Bontrager of Bontrager and Trek; and Jim Turner of Optibike ebikes to discuss how they influenced cycling and where they see the industry going in the future. Read more.
Two Things You Never Want to Forget About Sugar
By Kevin Kolodziejski
While pedaling at more than 30 miles per hour and minutes ahead of the peloton, two pros touch wheels. The guy in the back goes down and slides across pavement.
He pops up, duck-runs to his bicycle, and hops back on. His kit is badly torn. What the tears expose and the cameras show is not pretty. It looks like raw meat. Your spouse, who’s not much of a rider, quickly looks away and makes that same face some of your second grade classmates used to make when Miss Johnson would scrape her nails across the chalkboard. Read more.
Masters Cyclists: You’re Under-Fuelling, And It’s Costing You More Than You Think
By Ric Stern
It’s the weekend. You’re on the group ride. There are a few younger riders and you know the deal — it’s going to get fast on the hills, and you want to be dropped like you want a hole in the head. So the obvious thing to do is go on some sort of diet. Starve yourself until your mental fortitude goes down the drain. You feel like crap, your riding ability goes down the toilet, and you realise that as you age you simply can’t lose weight. So you live in this semi-starvation in-between scenario: failing to fuel properly, hating yourself when you eat, and never quite having the power when you need it. Read more.
Garmin Varia RearVue 820 Radar Review
By Sheri Rosenbaum
A Game Changer – and I Don’t Use That Phrase Lightly
I’ve been riding with a rear radar ever since Garmin released its first Varia back in 2020. [Check out my past Varia RTL515/RVR315 and RTC715 reviews.] It doesn’t matter whether it’s on the road, gravel, or a trail; I always ride with a front headlight and rear radar. The radar keeps me constantly aware of what’s going on behind me without having to turn my head and look. Read more.
Are my wife’s concerns about staring at my bike computer for too long overblown?
Question: Recently, I had a bike crash that distorted my front wheel. I was unhurt, but the fact that it occurred while I was glancing at my GPS computer has my wife alarmed. We often ride together, and she insists that I spend too much time looking at my cycling data while riding, but since the crash is my first after several years of riding, I think her concerns are overblown. What can I tell her to allay her fears? —Steve V. Read more.
Other Cool Things to Read
ScienceDaily: A review of 200+ studies finds walking and cycling give the best relief for knee arthritis
Cycling Weekly: Belgian pro rider crashes over the line and still wins
Canadian Cycling: Shimano saves the cable, upgrading its Deore mechanical groupset
Cyclingnews: Paul Seixas has some advice, but why has hand protection gone out of fashion?
Question of the Week
Do you carry any emergency cash or a credit card on rides?
Most Clicked Last Week
Why Masters Cyclists Need to Train Harder (Not Easier)
End Notes
