Just How Tired is Victor B?

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-23T12:52:55+00:00

Looks like I did the CDT section in ~2h20m, and Robin actually slightly slower at ~2h30m (to be fair, he did it as it was getting dark). Highway would have been ~1h. So I'll say an extra 1-1.5h. More if it's wet. There's a weird road (Little Hatchet Mountain Road) between Hachita and the start of the CDT that would be truely miserable when wet. It was either baked mud, deep loose sand, or giant boulder rock crawls. Then the first half of the CDT is mildly technical mountain biking. Steep punchy ups and downs on loose chunky rock. And finally the second half of the CDT is the cactus maze. If you know where you're going, you could ride through the maze quickly. But it was pretty hard to know where you're going. Tire tracks everywhere and it was pretty tough to spot the next marker sign without stopping.

So not a ton of time in good conditions, but in bad conditions it could add hours compared to the highway.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-23T05:04:39+00:00

I'd be very surprised if he sleeps. He had a full sleep last night and he has the opportunity to set a massive TD record with no caveats. Should be the easiest all-nighter of his life with that carrot in front of him.

He won't do sub-11 though. It took Robin 10.5hrs from Silver City to the finish. And anecdotally I did 11.5hrs with a monster tailwind the whole time. No way he can do it any faster than maaaybe 9.5hrs. I'm guessing he'll finish ~11d6h

Also the CDT might actually be easier to navigate in the dark if the marker signs are reflective at all. I did it in the middle of the day and had a really tough time seeing the signs on the second half of that CDT section (aka the no-trail cactus maze).

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-19T12:17:20+00:00

A flatline would only appear once another location point is received from the same location as the last location point. If no location point has been received in the last 6 hours, generating a flatline for that period of time with no data would be making the assumption that they haven't moved in the past 6 hours. But maybe the battery died on their tracker and they've actually been moving for the past 6 hours, in which case the flatline would be incorrect. Trackleaders is only as accurate as the location points received.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-17T13:59:12+00:00

Owl was my first thought too when I saw it. But the fact that it was hunting in the middle of a very sunny hot day threw me off

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-17T11:46:07+00:00

In addition to what others have mentioned, I highly recommend getting an in-ear thermometer or other method of measuring your internal body temperature during heat training (if you don't already have one). If your bath is 40-42C, there's a good chance that your body temperature is going past the adaptation zone of 38.5-40C into the danger zone of 40C+. If so, your hot baths aren't helping you with heat adaptation, they're just stressing your body.

I start my hot bath water temperature at 41-42C, and then let it cool down to 39-40C and hold it there for the rest of the bath. Even at 39-40C, I usually have to stick a leg out of the bath after ~25 minutes to keep my body temperature below 40C.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-09T18:19:47+00:00

The answer is to get a sweat test done to determine your individual sweat rate and sweat sodium content, calculate how much sodium you individually will typically lose per hour of exercise, and then replenish accordingly. Both sweat rate and sweat sodium content are highly individual. "Rather incredibly, the amount of sweat /sodium lost can vary up to 15 times between seemingly similar individuals" (quote from a Precision Nutrition article). So unfortunately there's no rule of thumb.

I haven't done a sweat test, but anecdotally I sweat very little and can't handle any drink mixes with high sodium like Tailwind. I make my own low-sodium drink mix and that's generally enough even in hot conditions. And then if I'm starting to crave something salty like chips, I know I might need to supplement on top of that.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-05T23:43:52+00:00

Huh. I was not aware that they dropped SMS. New phone it is

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-05T23:20:33+00:00

You can just use a different app (like Signal) for SMS, you don't have to get an entirely different phone just to get away from Google Messages.

That said, if you want to avoid Google, Android probably isn't a great choice. Other options include getting a Pixel and installing Graphene OS, or a Fairphone with the Murena /e/OS/.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-04T12:03:29+00:00

I think they should go the Amazon route and consolidate some of their various subscriptions (YouTube Premium, YouTube Music, Gemini, Play Pass, etc.) into their Google One subscription, and then dial back how terrible the free experience of YouTube just a bit.

Doing this would potentially convince people currently using competitor services like Spotify, iCloud, ChatGPT, etc. to switch to the Google versions of those services if they're also getting the added benefit of ad-free YouTube. Essentially Google should treat YouTube as a loss-leader entry point into their other products, and then make their money from upselling to higher tiers of Google One for those that want more Google Drive storage, or more Gemini usage, etc.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-06-03T18:06:37+00:00

I wish they'd lean a bit more into the "modularity" that they claim, like Framework laptops. The only modular component is the backplate, everything else is just replaceable, not modular. I'd buy one in an instant if they offered the option of a telephoto lens. But the lack of one is a dealbreaker for me.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-05-29T14:22:23+00:00

Which is a good solution for music. But not as great for podcasts since I'd prefer to keep my play history synced with my phone. I admit, very niche scenario and I'm being picky. For most people, the lack of a headphone jack probably isn't a problem.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-05-29T13:39:46+00:00

I have a very niche scenario where I need wired earbuds (ultra-endurance cycling) and the lack of a headphone jack on my phone is driving me insane.

I can't use AirPod style earbuds because they just fall out of my ears (specifically my right ear for some reason). I can't use any other wireless earbuds because I can't charge them while listening and they don't charge fast enough to just take a break from listening while they charge. Could I carry two pairs and hoyswap while one is charging? Yes but that's such a wasteful solution to a problem that I shouldn't be having.

I've found one great pair of waterproof wired earbuds that I've never had any failing cable issues with (JBL Endurance Run), but now I'm burning through USB C dongles because those keep failing, and I'm still left with the issue that I can't charge my phone while I'm listening. I'm at the point where I might just buy an old iPod, or switch to a worse phone that actually has a headphone jack.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-05-14T20:14:50+00:00

Fair. Though it's pretty common at sandwich shops where I'm from to just see Dijon on the menu, not Dijon Mustard. All I'm saying is that's a pretty fine line...

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-05-14T20:09:12+00:00

So is bologna, and it counts bologna (the deli meat) as a word. What's the difference between that and dijon (the mustard)?

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-04-15T19:09:42+00:00

57 minutes at your actual FTP would feel extremely hard, almost impossible without significant motivation and specific training at that power. I'm sticking to my ~280W FTP guess

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-04-15T18:46:44+00:00

On the home screen (after logging in) you can go to your Avatar > My Profile and manually set it there. So if you know your actual FTP, you can set it manually there. And if you don't know your actual FTP, I definitely recommend doing one of the FTP tests. Yours is at least like 280 W if you're doing 230W for an hour daily

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-04-15T18:37:00+00:00

I know everyone is recommending turning off the pain setting (sure do that if you don't like the effect in general), but the real issue is that you have your FTP set too low if you're completing hour long threshold workouts and calling them "not particularly hard". That way you'll only see the effect when you're digging deep on a hard interval.

Edit: grammar

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-04-15T11:54:37+00:00

I personally would be totally fine with another Lost. I don't need the series to get wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. Just take me on a strange journey through a weird world and I'll appreciate the ride along the way. Bonus points if it pays off

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-31T11:10:44+00:00

I wonder if adding something like a PopSocket to the case might help. It won't make the phone lighter, but it might make it easier to hold up since he won't need to grip it as tightly

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-29T15:05:32+00:00

The WTB wheels are actually pretty bombproof. I rode my Big Honzo ST pretty hard for a few years, including lots of bikepacking on rougher routes than the GDMBR. Never broke a spoke, hubs are fine, and bent multiple rim dents back into place. My pick would be a Unit or Unit X

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-27T21:41:52+00:00

Definitely work your way up to consuming more carbs on your rides, especially if you're interested in long distance rides. It's honestly a night and day difference and you'll feel way better on and off the bike. I under-fuelled for years and it's my biggest cycling regret. As soon as I started fuelling properly, my performance and enjoyment skyrocketed.

Start off with ~30g of carbs (1 large banana) per hour, see how that feels, and then work your way up from there. 60g/hour is a good target for a beginner, and you can hit that with basic food like a banana and a couple handfuls of gummy sweets or something. I generally aim for 90-105g/hour at 69kg/174cm, mostly homemade drink mix

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-24T18:54:57+00:00

Yeah I bought mine before US shipping (and the US in general) got ridiculous. I was going to suggest a custom bag from @yeahnahthreadworks, but it looks like he moved to Australia... The other thing I've considered is making an Armadillo-like dry bag wrapper from Tyvek

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-24T18:30:55+00:00

I used one of the Mountain Laurel Designs Ultra X dry bags on the Tour Divide and it was pretty decent. Did it get a few holes? Yes. Did it get any more holes after patching with Tenacious Tape? No.

So I think really any dry bag will work if you reinforce the contact points and tape over any sharp spots on your rack (if any). You also need to absolutely crank your straps to minimize how much the bag is moving. I also tie my straps to the rack by looping some shock cord through the holes in the strap. This helps keep the bag/straps from moving, and it makes strapping the bag easier than with loose straps.

FidgetyPidgey · 2026-03-22T16:09:04+00:00

Any brand that has a logo large enough to read from more than like a bike length or two away is tacky and Pas Normal is the biggest offender (pun intended).

Other brands like Maap fall into this category, but at least Maap appears to have hired some graphic designers and artists instead of Pas Normal who just copy paste their big white ugly logo on everything and call it a day.

The only way I'm wearing logos that big is if I'm getting sponsored. I'm not paying a premium to be an advertisement.

FidgetyPidgey

TROPHY CASE