The TBD Newsletter: Summer Recap Edition

It felt like it was hot for so long in NYC this year. But something changed this morning, and it was decidedly not hot, and we all thought to ourselves hmmm… is fall here? We’ve been racing cross, but mostly in skinsuits. Is it time to start the ‘what are we wearing to race?’ thread on Slack? Before I go down that rabbit hole, let’s take a stroll down memory lane, and check out some of our favorite writing from the summer.

Greg’s Journey through the Dark Place, Unbound 2023

This is a blog we all write in our spare time. We have day jobs, and writing isn’t our jobs. But I was transfixed by Greg’s account of his Unbound Gravel race. It’s lines like this one that were made famous on team Slack, and made me even happier that he’s now on our team:

My tenacity was the only thing I was proud of and it was gone. I was too empty to even mourn its departure. I was embarrassed for even caring. I had nothing to be proud of, and I should’ve grown up to be a well-adjusted person who enjoys brunch.

For the record…. I do love brunch. I have no interest in doing Unbound, not next year, not ever. But I swear, reading this, I almost thought about signing up. Luckily I came to my senses!

The summer of gravel continues with SBT

We really don’t know what they have against vowels, but the SBT GRVL organizers put on a truly world class gravel race in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

We sent a crew to the event and while their recap is terrific. it’s Daghan Perker’s photos that make it that much more spectacular. Having done the Blue Course twice (I am not totally nuts), I can say he really captures the beauty and splendor of the course. Just don’t call it champagne gravel. We’re not making it a thing. Right?

You too could probably stand to get a bike fit

Okay we didn’t mean for this to be the ‘Greg’s best blog posts of Summer 2023’, but hey, the guy writes some mean content! In this story, Greg talks about why bike fits are useful. If you’re on the fence, scroll down to the shop dog content.

Race Day Beach Day returns

Sometimes living in New York City is irritating. The subway can be slow, it’s very crowded, and we have rats. And raccoons! Okay, those are cute. But did you know that in one Saturday, you can race bikes at an abandoned airfield turned National Park, and then go to the beach? It’s truly spectacular. Check out Scott’s recap and Matt’s photos.

Thanks for going on this journey with us, and make sure to check out the cross content we’ve been writing recently!