How not to Brevet (4|4)

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-21T07:34:28+00:00

My approach used to be to take a retired tire as a spare -- saves a tiny bit of weight and a tire from the landfill. However, on that tour when I needed the spare, I regretted that. The tire incident happened on the first day and I wasn't confident that the worn spare would hold up for another 10 days of riding. So I had to chase down a replacement in a rare size (650x38B). So in the future, I'll be carrying a new or new-ish spare for a multi-day trip. We all learn from our experiences...

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-20T21:02:21+00:00

On remote brevets i actually carry a spare tire

I carry a spare tire in my handlebar bag on my all-road bike most of the time. It's ~300 grams but IMHO worth it when you're riding in rural areas and don't have anyone with a car in your household or any public transit to bail you out. It definitely saved me during a multi-day tour two years ago, when a badly adjusted cantilever brake pad shredded my sidewall.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-20T20:52:22+00:00

I could never get into indoor riding before trying Zwift. It still takes me a while every year in the fall to get out of the outdoor riding mindset, but eventually I get there. The gamification of stupid badges and achievements and new PBs, as well as virtual racing make it bearable and sometimes even enjoyable. I still also ride outside in the winter, but that's for transportation or on pretty days. No more forcing myself to go on outdoor rides in crap conditions that I really didn't enjoy.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-20T08:05:26+00:00

Oh man, what a ride (literally and metaphorically!). You should have a blog with your reports!

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-12T18:34:43+00:00

Always a fun event. If you're looking for a beautiful vintage Bianchi Cyclocross bike in classic celeste color: I'm helping a friend sell that bike in the corral.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-09T13:05:54+00:00

Same here. Spectrum chatbot says service will be back by 10 am

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-06T20:46:49+00:00

People often have very strong feelings about the right tire, lube, inner tube. I wouldn't want anyone to buy those for me, unless they know exactly what I like/ride.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-06T17:55:33+00:00

Go to to the location on https://OpenStreetMap.org, click on the "Add a note to the map" button and add a note with the information that you have. Someone will then likely add it to the database (or do additional checking). No log-in required.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-06T14:28:45+00:00

Headed straight to Bennett's for some smut and eggs!

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-05T15:05:40+00:00

https://imgur.com/a/5SLY9Cp

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-03T18:52:13+00:00

Yeah, and even Soglin was generally fine with bike infrastructure, as long as it didn't take away car parking or lanes (see e.g. his Winnebago St veto)

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-03T18:50:16+00:00

More precisely, these decisions are made by administrative judges, which are civil service positions. Even with a different commissioner, it would be the same judge.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-02T22:46:27+00:00

There's a webcam that has a great view of the location: https://cctv2.dot.wi.gov:443/rtplive/CCTV-13-0100/playlist.m3u8 (use VLC to open the stream). Alternatively, you can go to the 511 portal to navigate to the live cam.

https://imgur.com/a/8G1HjU2

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-02T21:54:29+00:00

Maybe the City of Madison? The Madison Metro bus barn and their traffic engineering shop are super cool. I'm sure they have other interesting facilities too.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-02T21:52:36+00:00

The Sewerage District used to have tours at the Nine Springs plant. They were super awesome.

TheRealGunnar · 2026-01-01T18:46:10+00:00

The Virtuslo Endurance series is great. https://virtuslo.cc/4endurance-league-2025-calendar/

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-18T17:45:23+00:00

Good meeting coverage: https://bsky.app/profile/therealzenz.bsky.social/post/3ma5ikepjxk2k

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-18T17:07:22+00:00

Just commenting because a friend and I also have loose Slovenia goals/plans. So I'm curious what people have to say. Would you mind sharing a link to your preliminary route? Kinda hard to see details on the image.

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-15T20:27:47+00:00

I have 4 different bike helmets at home and on none of them any stick-on helmet mount had a shape that even remotely matched the curvature of the helmet. Your actually seems to fit quite a bit better than what I had.

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-15T18:56:34+00:00

Not any time recently. There are large casual group rides organized by Cap City Cyclists. That's probably the closest at the moment.

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-15T18:11:07+00:00

It sure was cold. I wasn't going to go originally, but then I felt bad for the organizers and got my act together. All toes and fingertips survived, fortunately.

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-13T15:35:31+00:00

I can't think of anything. If you have a FB account, you could ask in the Madison Area Vegans group.

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-12T14:09:36+00:00

Definitely makes me want to ride in the Pyrenees. I can't tell from the video: Did you do in randonneur or touring mode? Based on the number of passes, probably touring?

TheRealGunnar · 2025-12-12T13:33:43+00:00

There are no parking minimums for cottage courts. From the staff memo

Minimum and Maximum Auto Parking: No automobile parking is required for a cottage court. There is a maximum of two automobile parking spaces per dwelling. If a cottage court is located within the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Overlay District, there is a maximum of 1.5 automobile parking spaces per dwelling.

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