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Hi Everyone! How’s everyone holding up? While the world is going through some crazy times right now, the Netherlands has been super fortunate in the last 10 days with the weather! And while a bit of sunshine might not sound like much to some people, it has meant ALL the sanity around these parts at the Maker house! I am well aware that some of you might be reading today to have a little escape from the world, so I’ll do my best and get going straight to the tech! First up, I would be doing a disservice to not mention that the indoor cycling industry is currently going gang-busters on sales. Ray’s compiled the list for you here on the deals page. Not trying to be funny, but these companies (probably rightly) think the American cyclist will be stuck inside for a while to come and they want you using the latest and greatest bike tech. Honestly though, I can’t imagine there is going to be much supply left come early April; with the current world “slow down” lining up right at what is normally a quieter time for trainer production, smart trainer inventory might soon become as scarce as toilet paper. Just less hoardable.
Next up is the Tacx Handlebar Tablet Holder In-depth Review. Here, Ray attempted sacrificial practices on his iPad hanging off his handlebars in the forest. Note however: He did not clear this risky idea with his boss before the review. I’ll leave it at that so you can see for yourself on the post. Could be especially of interest to those who don’t have a dedicated indoor trainer area set up in their space with a TV and need to balance a tablet on something over the next few months of virtual riding!
Continuing with the theme of all things moving towards indoor training. Ray compiled a pretty comprehensive list of all and any Trainer App Special Events or Promos happening right now. While I know times are sort of inconvenient (to put it mildly), it is kind of neat to see what companies have been stepping it up in the “let’s get through this together” front. Virtual community rides and the like, kudos to them.
Then we heard the news that Zwift is taking further steps towards world domination. They pretty much wrote it in the sky back in November that they were entering the hardware market. This next move of laying off higher up management was in efforts to focus more on “developing new hardware”.
Strava officially hit a double bullseye with “super cool new feature”, meets, “worst possible timing”. Check out the new functionality of creating new outdoor routes on the fly. When all is right with the world again and I can ramp up my running mileage again, I’m looking forward to creating some new long runs with said feature! Woot!
And finally, we have a look into SRAM’s AXS website ditching the “beta” title. This website/ training platform is kinda a neat one. Basically their end goal isn’t to compete with Strava or TrainingPeaks, but to complement all of your training data with a round up on how you’re specifically using your bike. Are you shifting correctly and enough, did you ride with less than idea tire pressure, you get the point. This will be an interesting one in the future! With that, we are at the end of tech catch up for this week. Next up we have Podcast updates and YouTube-y goodness. The FIT File with DC Rainmaker and GPLAMA: The boys are still practicing safe Pod Casting, keeping the shenanigans to FaceTime meetings and recording from many miles apart. The next episode is being recorded as this newsletter is sending out, and should be up here in the next day or so, so stay tuned! Check out the FIT File Page for the latest episodes and to stay classy! As always, for your streaming convenience, if you’re not at your computer you can pick your fancy of streaming platforms via iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify to tune in. YouTube Speaking of subscribing, are you a subscriber for Ray’s YouTube Channel? It’s a big help to the channel if you subscribe or simply “like” the video while watching! Thanks for your support. · Tacx Handlebar Tablet Holder: Test, Review… inside and outside |
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In-Depth Thoughts from The Girl Hi All! Thanks for making it through all of that tech talk and down here to my corner of the world! Before I get too far into the Maker life, if you are a DCR Supporter Member, heads up for an email that should have popped into your inbox over the weekend from Ray. It’s titled “Zwifting the Champs-Elysees with a Suction Cup iPad Mount.” As we are continuously trying to come up with better ways to thank our supporters, early access to this comical video was a no brainer. I watched it for the first time Friday night and dropped many many “oh shit” moments on Ray. And seriously, people wonder why I’m always a little mad/worried about Ray. “DUDE…. BUS!!!!” You’ll have to see the video for yourself. Let us know if you would be interested in seeing more un-published gadgetry that just never made it to the interwebs! (If supporters cant find the e-mail, they can log-in on the DCR Supporter Exclusives page to see it)
Moving on. What a shift in events since I last dropped a newsletter in your inboxes huh? I went from SUPER proud to be back at it in the sense of training and possible races for this summer, to uncertainty. Instead of focusing on the “ughh” feelings, I figured I could fill you all on what we are doing to keep life moving and positive over here. Once the announcement was made that all Dutch daycares and schools were closing until at least April 6th, Ray and I needed to make a plan. I DID offer to take over the blog, tech testing, and all posts and YouTube content… but, I’m not sure what was up with The Boss that day. He didn’t seem as enthusiastic as I did. Instead, as my university and master’s degree is actually in education (K-12 PE teacher), I casually followed up with the offer of full time “keep the kids healthy, happy, fed, and activities coordinator”. With a few negotiations back and forth, here we are. All of that being said, there is still a reality to three kiddos whom are all under four years old (P3 turns 6 months this week), can be a lot to handle! Even on the best of days, juggling naps, bottles, snacks, craft activities, who’s turn it is to _____, you get the point, it’s a lot. So for the time being, I am not “on duty” until 9 or 10AM. That gives me either a little extra time to sleep in because who knows what child decided that it was their night to party. OR, preferably, I get up, get out the door for a run or head to the office to get in a strength workout. That’s our current strategy on all of this. That one or two hours every other day is 100% what will keep us going here. It also takes the pressure or guilt off of Ray for having to get to the office. He gets a good part of the morning in with the girls, playing with Play-Doh or “Go Fish” and then he heads off like a normal day, albeit slightly truncated. For now, we aren’t on total lockdown here yet. Maybe next week I’ll have a different routine for you! Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well, and staying home. I’m sure there’s a lot of adjustments being made by families worldwide. So thanks for all you are doing to flatten the curve! Until next week, thanks for reading! ~The Girl |
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