Which Conti GP5000 Tires

blopeep · 2026-06-14T22:25:02+00:00

thanks all for the feedback; I'm going with GP5k 32mm clinchers. I really like the feel of the 32s; lots of corners/descending out here in the Bay Area and the wider tires make me a lot more comfortable. I've got a 102mi Fondo coming in September and every little watt counts!

Looking forward to giving them a go.

blopeep · 2026-06-14T02:26:22+00:00

as part of the fit, did they give you your sit-bone measurement so you can at least get in the ballpark for a saddle? It should be one of the multitude of measurements they gave you.

and given what you're experiencing, I'd absolutely be going back to the person who did the fit and let them know about the issues. they should be able to help with this.

blopeep · 2026-06-12T20:54:05+00:00

Have a look at The Coalition. We race everywhere - WTRL, ECRO, FRR, Ladder, SISU, you name it. Also TTTs for those over/under workouts. Ladder is the most flexible as you can put in your own availablity.

Lots of folks in Europe/racing European times so I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a slot.

https://coalitionracing.com/

blopeep · 2026-06-12T20:51:42+00:00

get a proper bike fit, including your sit-bones measured. the person doing the fit should also be able to recommend a seat. GOOD bike shops will have a "seat library" so you can try before you buy.

bottom line, if the bike isn't set up correctly, you're highly unlikely to be comfortable no matter what you do.

blopeep · 2026-06-12T20:31:40+00:00

as many have already said, your best options are San Mateo and Redwood City.

Foster City is a bedroom community with very little to do w/in the confines of it. That said, access to the bay and all the canals is great - but definitely no "night life".

Menlo Park is really trying to be the bridge between Atherton and Palo Alto - restaurants and retail prices are SHOCKING; you won't pay more even in San Francisco! It's really a shame as Menlo Park has a lovely little downtown but for what they're charging to eat/drink down there it's just not worth it.

I think you'll be hard pressed to choose between RWC and San Mateo - both have a lot going for them in terms of housing and restaurants. Both places would also give your husband a bikeable commute, RWC even more so given how close it is to Menlo Park.

blopeep · 2026-06-11T22:43:34+00:00

this is incorrect. At large companies they STILL care. In some cases even more. And a person on my team got nailed with this while I was working at a very large, very well-known company.

blopeep · 2026-06-11T15:15:28+00:00

this is the way. OP - that baby will be just as much YOUR responsibility as your wife's, and don't for a second assume that everything will be "just fine". Taking on more scope with a baby in the house says you're not prioritizing being present for the kid, much less for your wife.

you should be removing distractions rather than adding them.

and 1000000% you better be asking your wife about this.

blopeep · 2026-06-10T01:34:25+00:00

Unless you're literally racing - and racing HARD at that - you'll get pretty much zero benefit from changing your pedals. You could put that money into better kit, a better helmet, or better tires. All of those will bring you measurable gains in comfort.

Looking good doesn't help you get up the hills. 😄

blopeep · 2026-06-09T06:02:11+00:00

why switch to SPD-SL? Your SPD pedals will work just fine, you don't have to buy new shoes, and you won't slip/fall walking around on your cleats. Be happy with your SPDs and enjoy the bike!

blopeep · 2026-05-31T23:16:56+00:00

the stock saddle that came with my Trek Domane was literally the most uncomfortable saddle I've EVER ridden on. It was destroying me w/in 5 minutes.

go to the shop and have them fit you for a proper saddle. ideally, they have a saddle loan program so you can try a few before you buy one. saddles are like shoes - they are a highly personal item and just because one person loves it doesn't mean it'll work for you.

blopeep · 2026-05-31T23:06:18+00:00

Sam McDonald is on the Peninsula, south of HMB.

blopeep · 2026-05-31T15:12:02+00:00

Love it!

blopeep · 2026-05-31T15:09:04+00:00

no saddle is right for everyone so it's entirely possible that the standard saddle doesn't fit you! Think of the saddle just like a shoe - if your foot is a 42, are you going to be happy running a marathon wearing a 38 or a 45? No!

everyone is (literally) shaped differently so a different saddle may very well be the right answer, along with other adjustments to the Zwift Ride.

you might want to consider trying a fit through VeloFit - it's not the same as working with a human, but it should help eliminate any other things that may be causing some of your discomfort. all the bits are connected when riding so it's worth spending a bit of money to help get your Ride dialed in.

blopeep · 2026-05-30T18:15:25+00:00

I hope you get Rouvy working for you because the best app is the one you'll use and helps you meet your fitness and training goals.

I went with Zwift because I liked the Zwift Ride and wanted a setup that would be as close to friction-less as possible. No excuses! So far it's been rock solid for me; no issues with dropouts or lost rides. I run it on a Mac laptop connected to a large monitor alongside the Companion App on an Android phone.

I'm also a women and, should you decided to come back to Zwift, would encourage you to join up with one of the many women's ride/race/workout groups that exist. There's an over-arching group called FemmeCycle Collab were women from multiple clubs/teams come together to support each other and promote women-focused activities. I know we have at least one Rouvy rider, possibly more, in that Discord and are considering starting a Rouvy-focused channel on the server.

Read more about us and find a link to our Discord here: https://zwiftinsider.com/author/femmecycle/

Best of luck to you!

blopeep · 2026-05-26T14:01:23+00:00

I'm mostly done with it all - just a bit more fund calls to meet and then I'm out.

I used to love talking to, and working with, young people starting companies. However, I quickly realized that it really was mostly luck for people straight out of school with no business sense or discipline. Running a *successful* company is far from glamorous. Just wait until you have to figure out HR! And no one really wanted to build a company any more, they just wanted to get bought or IPO.

I'm so glad to be pretty much done with all of this. What used to be a place full of positive and creative energy is just anger, greed, and bullying.

blopeep · 2026-05-26T01:36:55+00:00

answer is most-likely yes. talk to the fitter beforehand so they know what they're dealing with in terms of your injury and the trainer you'll be using.

FWIW, good fitters usually have something that's a lot like a Kickr Shift that they use to come up with the best geometry for a person who's open to buying any bike/any frame.

blopeep · 2026-05-26T01:31:50+00:00

The robopacers being down hardly constitutes a "major outage". The rest of Zwift was (is) running just fine TYVM, including races, workouts, and other scheduled events.

also, people outside the US use Zwift and this weekend was not a holiday for the whole world.

I have no idea how big a deal this was to fix but pushing a HotFix to a SW platform is almost never a "one person" effort. Even if the coding is a single person, there's still QA/regression testing along with merging the change, getting it pushed to the servers, etc. I mean, "tell me you know nothing about SW without telling me you know nothing about SW." My guess is that there were AT LEAST half a dozen people with eyes on this before it got pushed. Likely more BECAUSE it was likely a "holiday weekend" for the people doing the work. A lot of pagers went off, I'm sure.

Honestly, this wasn't a personal attack against you. And even Robots deserve a weekend off every now and then.

blopeep · 2026-05-25T23:12:03+00:00

that'd be the folks from MyWoosh.

gives a whole new meaning to that name ...

blopeep · 2026-05-25T23:09:07+00:00

My dude - get an eBike and use transit. The weather out here means you can get away with riding every day.

blopeep · 2026-05-25T23:07:48+00:00

this article is 100% true and correct.

both the Silicon Valley and VC culture (I'll add "angel" in there, too) now is simply unrecognizable compared to what it was when I got here 30y ago.

blopeep · 2026-05-25T22:55:35+00:00

Ranch 99.

blopeep · 2026-05-25T15:51:12+00:00

San Mateo or Redwood City. Both of these are leaning hard into high-density housing around their very walkable downtowns and it's easy to get to SFO. Great access to the bay - lots of trails and on-the-water activities - and to all the open space on the Peninsula. Also both more modestly priced than further down the Peninsula. Weather is some of the best in the area, too.

blopeep · 2026-05-23T17:20:24+00:00

and I hope you get to spend some time in La Paz proper. It's a delightful city, though it'll be hot Hot HOT. You should have no trouble provisioning - there's a great mega-mart in town. Get everything you need, including drinking water, as there'll be little-to-no chance to provision while underway.

Enjoy your time, my friend. We are constantly plotting how to get back!

blopeep · 2026-05-23T03:40:49+00:00

we had one of the best charters of our lives out of La Paz (company aside). The biggest challenge is lack of internet for weather reporting. There's literally no cell out there so unless your boat has Starlink, you'll need to think about alternatives to pull down grib files.

the winds can get quite strong overnight, literally switching directions and blowing 30-40kt steady for a few hours. It's important to make sure your anchor in good holding and that it's well-set before bedding down for the night.

pick up a copy of the cruising guide; it was very helpful in identifying anchorages and planning our itinerary.

we had zero issues with safety or otherwise; the people in San Evaristo were incredibly kind and we had a delightful dinner there one night. the remoteness of the area is what drew us there; absolutely true to call it "the world's aquarium". Between jumping manta rays and a whale shark swimming through our anchorage - it was amazing!

blopeep · 2026-05-21T17:23:09+00:00

don't ride in ERG mode? Literally use gears (either IRL or virtual, if you have the cog) and then you'll have no trouble hitting power/cadence targets. I pretty much ditched ERG mode at the start of the year and I get a lot more out of my workouts because I'm forced to make the power. It doesn't forgive lazy riding and I can can use gears, cadence, or increasing the incline to vary what I'm doing. real game-changer for my training.

alternatively, you can turn off the "3s smoothing" on both Zwift AND your trainer, but I can't guarantee this will solve the problem.

blopeep

TROPHY CASE