Dialed Podcast 387 - What Makes a Good Group Ride, Off-Season Weight Loss, and the Euro Cross Relegation
Send us a message!Matt is out with family in town, so it's Jake, Lance, and Ian in the studio this time. Lance opens with a big off-season update: he's down almost 40 pounds since September while racing cyclocross every weekend, and he walks through how he did it, from tracking every calorie in the Noom app to why he tried one microdose of a GLP-1 and decided against it. Ian is in the middle of his own fall cut, back in the gym and feeling every one of his almost 66 years.In the news, Lance covers the European Cyclocross Championships in Zeddam. Thibau Nys took the men's title by attacking up the 99 steps on the final lap. In the women's race, Marie Schreiber out-sprinted world champion Lucinda Brand for what looked like the biggest win of her career, then got relegated for deviating in the sprint, handing Brand the title.In the EPO Chain Mail, a listener from Beaver, Oregon wants the guys to get Dialed Cycling Team teammate Kylee Hanel, who now races for another program, on the show after a huge 2026 season that included winning the Life Time Grand Prix U23 series. Jake also wants your vote: the show is on YouTube now, the intro keeps drawing copyright strikes, so should it get shorter?For the main topic, Ian asks what makes a good group ride. The guys get into clear ride descriptions, loading the route so you don't end up lost in the rain, the unwritten safety rules (hold your line, call out hazards, flick your elbows before you stand), why group rides need mentors instead of drill sergeants, riding two by two versus taking the lane, and when the group actually stops for a flat.One Last Thing: Lance previews Saturday's cyclocross race at the Vancouver Innovation Center, Ian gives a shout out to his client Tom Counts, who has nailed every single workout for a year and a half, and Jake keeps it to one word.Support the showThe Dialed Podcast is the sometimes weekly podcast from Dialed Cycling Lab in Vancouver, WA. Four guys who have spent a long time racing, wrenching, and talking about bikes, with no script and no sponsors telling us what to say.Episode recaps, show notes, and the full archive live at dialedpodcast.com. You can also watch episodes on YouTube.Got a question for the EPO Chain Mail? Hit "Send us a message" at the top of this episode and we might answer it on the show.About the lab: Dialed Cycling Lab is a full-service bike shop for road, gravel, and mountain riders. We build bikes, service them, and stock the gear the guys talk about on the show, and we ship it nationwide from dialedcycling.com. If you're local, bring your bike by or just come hang out. Whether you're on your first bike or your fifth, you're welcome here.Bikes for Kids: The Dialed Cycling Team's Bikes for Kids program buys new bikes, helmets, and locks for kids ages 8 to 14 in Vancouver and Clark County, and every dollar goes to the kids. If you can help, you can give at dialedcyclinglab.com/pages/bikes-for-kids.Thanks for listening.