The Rundown: Matt is off at swim meets, so it is Jake, Lance, and Ian holding down the New Year edition. The guys swap war stories from a 40 degree, three and a half hour rain ride, dig into a great listener question on gravel tire choice, and then work through a full top ten list of the health concerns every cyclist should have on their radar.
What Happened on Dialed Podcast 353?
A miserable wet ride, gravel tire picks, pro team kits, and the ten health concerns cyclists face heading into the season.
Backpedal: Festive 500 and a Full Conditions Ride
Lance closed out a monster block, finishing the Rapha Festive 500 by stacking up 500 miles instead of kilometers across roughly 23 hours of riding, split between Zwift and cold West Hills gravel with snow at the top of every climb. The morning of the recording, he and Ian knocked out a three and a half hour ride where it rained for three hours and 28 minutes at about 42 degrees. Ian called it the Pacific Northwest at its glorious best. Jake, five weeks off the bike, is back pedaling carefully and ahead of his recovery schedule.
Champ Bailey: Holiday Cyclocross
The cyclocross update covered Mathieu van der Poel going five for five before crashing into a course stake and bruising his ribs, Wout van Aert winning a Superprestige round in van der Poel's absence, and Lars van der Haar popping his own dislocated shoulder back in mid race to finish. Tour Down Under was on deck as the official season kickoff.
Listener Q and A: Gravel Tire Choice
A Salem listener asked for tire suggestions for Pacific Northwest gravel races like Gorge Gravel Grinder and Real West Cascade Gravel. The guys agreed the early season courses are mostly smooth, so you do not need an aggressive tread, and that air volume and pressure matter more than chasing a narrow tire for rolling resistance. Lance has had great luck on the Maxxis Rambler and the Panaracer GravelKing, Jake rated the Continental Terra Speed as his best performer and the Rambler as his best all arounder, and everyone stressed reliability and puncture protection over going too fast and flatting.
Pro Team Kits
A fun second question on favorite and least favorite pro kits. Lance wants someone, anyone, to bring back orange, and is into Jayco's new purple. Ian likes the latest UAE look and the FDJ Groupama kit, and the table agreed the old EF pink kit was a standout. The denim jorts experiment got the expected ribbing.
The Top 10 Health Concerns
The main event walked through ten issues cyclists should manage: overuse injuries, mental health, saddle sores, air quality, traumatic injuries, heart health, bone density loss, heat related illness, and vision problems. Recurring fixes came up again and again. A quality bike fit and conscious movement on the trainer for overuse, the saddle plus bib plus chamois cream trifecta for saddle sores, resistance training and cross training (including mountain biking) for bone density, smart hydration and early starts for heat, and never riding without eye protection.
One Last Thing
Matt's video on 2025 GPS watch trends got a plug, Ian announced the team's Michael Myers Memorial Time Trial returning Sunday March 9th at Vancouver Lake, and Lance raved about his new Garmin Fenix 8, calling out the AMOLED screen and the flashlight he now cannot live without. Jake also confirmed the lab is moving into the larger suite next door, with tenant improvements starting soon and discount codes coming to lighten the load before the move.
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