Dialed Cycling Podcast #361 - Recap

You know the feeling when you roll up to a race, confident, caffeinated, and ready to crush—and then you take the wrong turn two blocks from glory? Yeah… welcome to Episode 361 of the Dialed Podcast.

In this episode, Jake, Lance, Matt, and Ian dig into the freshly resurrected Rowena Rubaix race, training goals, WorldTour classics, and a Hot Seat segment that reminds us all why this crew is both wise and wonderfully weird.

This post brings you the highlights in plain language, a little humor, and insights that might make you a better cyclist—or at least a more entertained one.

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The Return of Rowena Rubaix

Let’s start with what everyone’s still talking about: the Rowena Rubaix.

This was a legendary Oregon road race that vanished for eight years before Team Morgan brought it back from the dead. Props to them—organizing a road race through twisty, scenic, and logistically-challenging territory is no joke. And to make it even more official, OBRA designated it the State Championship Road Race. That definitely helped the turnout, or did it?

There were two sets of races: non-championship races in the morning and longer championship events in the afternoon. The Dialed Team—representing riders over 50 and over 60—showed up big in the morning and had one goal: race hard and have fun.

Spoiler alert: they did both.

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Masters Field Mayhem (and a Podium Sweep)

Ian, Lance, and several Dialed teammates threw down in the 60+ race. Here's how it played out:

• The race started with a tough 10-minute climb up Rowena Crest.

• Ian, admittedly not a climber, watched the lead group ride away.

• Then, in a moment that was both classic and tragic, he made a wrong turn going into Mosier—based on course memory from nearly a decade ago.

• While trying to fix his mistake, his chain dropped. So, yeah. It wasn’t looking good.

But cue the Rocky montage music—because Ian gritted his teeth, redlined for ten minutes, and clawed his way back to the chase group. Lance, who saw Ian and teammate Tom were missing, subtly slowed the pace at the front to help the group regroup.

By the time they reached the gravel section, the main squad had reformed. What followed was a mix of teamwork, tactical descending, and threshold-level pacing. Ian launched a sprint at the end—classic Pavlovian response to seeing “200m to go”—and secured second place, just behind teammate Kurt Crico. Gary Cornelius rolled in for third.

Podium sweep for Dialed Cycling Team. Not bad for a bunch of guys over 60.

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Wrong Turns and Power Meter Drama

Lance had his own journey.

After a strong climb, he lost contact with Ian’s group by about 30 seconds. He bridged back solo, caught them just as Ian was turning the wrong way, and then watched in horror as several others followed Ian down the wrong road like lemmings in Lycra.

After yelling and waving (which didn’t help), Lance kept the pace steady until everyone regrouped again on the climb. From there, it became a game of strategy: conserve energy, descend well, and don’t get dropped.

By the final stretch, Lance turned full-blown teammate mode and pulled the group for 5K straight. He even told the crew: “I’ll drill it until the end, you guys just sprint it out.”

And they did.

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Training Insights: Durability > Fresh Legs

There’s a big takeaway here—one that extends beyond road racing and into any competitive endurance sport:

It’s not just about how hard you can go. It’s about how hard you can go when you’re already tired.

Ian mentioned a concept that’s popping up with pro teams: durability. They’re not just testing VO2 max and FTP anymore—they’re looking at what you can do after you’ve burned 2,000+ kilojoules of work. That’s real-world fitness.

Lance even structured his training around this. He did 90 minutes of steady riding, followed by one-minute intervals at 470+ watts with only a minute of rest between. That’s brutal. And he admitted he didn’t finish them all. But that’s the point: durability training isn’t about looking good—it’s about getting good.

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The Hot Seat: Sodium Bicarbonate, Race Goals, and Weird Gels

The crew's Hot Seat segment delivered some unexpected gold. Let’s break down the highlights.

🧪 Sodium Bicarbonate – Is It Worth It?

Matt asked the group if they’d ever used bicarb (yep, baking soda) as a performance supplement. Turns out it's the real deal—at least in the right context.

• Ian used a product from Maurten that costs around $70 for four doses.

• Best used in short, high-intensity events (like 5–10 minute efforts).

• It works by buffering lactic acid to delay the burn.

• But it's expensive, and not practical for long races.

The takeaway? If you’re a crit racer or targeting short climbs, it might be worth testing. Just don’t expect it to fix bad pacing or a busted chain.

🏃‍♂️ Matt’s Training Plan: Maybe a Sprint Tri

Matt confessed he’s flirting with the idea of doing a sprint triathlon… maybe. He’s swimming, riding, and running when he can, but isn’t locked into a race. If he does pull the trigger, he knows he’ll need to get in some brick runs (running off the bike) to prep for the noodle-leg feeling that comes with it.

🚴 Jake’s Goal: Stay Injury-Free, Ride More Outside

Jake, always the realist, admitted he’s short on time and focused on base miles and staying healthy. His plan is to build back up, avoid injury, and eventually sharpen for races later in the season. First step: get off Zwift and ride outside.

Baby steps.

🧠 Lance’s Focus: Rebuild the Top-End

After his injury and a humbling Echo MTB race, Lance is rebuilding his high-end power. He’s focused on 3–4 minute efforts, which mimic the punchy climbs in XC mountain bike races. He’s also doing “stupid hard” interval sessions that start with endurance riding, followed by high-wattage intervals.

His goal? Don’t get embarrassed in the Cat 1 50+ MTB field again. Respect.

🎯 Ian’s Plan: Targeted 2-Minute Intervals

Ian is prepping for the Banana Belt road race, where the decisive hill is about 90 seconds long. He’s been hammering 2-minute intervals at VO2 max to build confidence and power. The idea is simple: if you train your body to go hard for the key segment, you’ll be ready when it matters.

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WorldTour Classics Are Heating Up

Just because the guys aren’t in Europe doesn’t mean they’re not following the big names.

Highlights from the Pro scene:

• Mathieu van der Poel rode everyone off his wheel at E3 Saxo Classic and made it look unfair.

• Mads Pedersen launched a 60K solo effort at Gent–Wevelgem and held it—beast mode.

• Quinn Simmons got his first WorldTour win in a weird shortened stage at the Volta a Catalunya. His look? Full Metallica mustache and a flowing mullet. Rock on.

• Pogacar vs. Van der Poel is shaping up to be the heavyweight bout of the Tour of Flanders.

The Dialed crew all weighed in with picks, speculation, and nerd-level breakdowns of team tactics, course profiles, and who’s peaking when.

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Listener Shoutouts and EPO Chain Mail

The “EPO Chain Mail” segment brought a few fun notes, including one listener thanking the team for the budget-friendly tips on team camp planning.

Jake encouraged more listeners to reach out: “If we get 20 messages this week, we’ll do a live YouTube show.”

Challenge issued.

Also, there were multiple reminders that Lance is not showing his ass at a race, no matter how many people request it. (That apparently came up… again.)

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Should You Keep Your Time Trial Bike?

Jake posed a legit question: if you’re not racing many time trials or triathlons, should you keep your TT bike?

Ian just sold his and feels lighter already.

For those only racing a TT once a year (and not training on it), the answer might be yes—sell it. Not because it’s not useful, but because bikes are tools, and if the tool just sits in the shed, it’s probably time to pass it on to someone who’ll use it.

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Final Thoughts

This episode of the Dialed Podcast had everything:

• A great local race recap

• Honest training insight

• New gear debates

• Pro cycling commentary

• And the kind of banter that makes you wish you were sitting at the table

The guys don’t pretend to be perfect. They miss turns. They bonk in workouts. They blow up in races. But they show up, they learn, and they bring everyone along for the ride.

Whether you’re a local racer, weekend warrior, or just someone who loves the sport—Episode 361 is worth the listen.