Life is full of highs and lows and a cycling life is no exception. Week 2 of the 2020 Tour de France just wrapped up with 2 Slovenians on the podium. We talk about our highlights and lowlights. They include Hirschi getting his win, Porte's holding on, Sagan's relegation, and Bernal getting drrroooooppppeeed and out of contention.

We also celebrate a the last road stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, raced like a classic, and won by a classic's rider, MVDP.

We give you our Off The Back the recap of the first nine stages of the 2020 Tour de France and share some results and moments that stood out to us. We love the tour, we love talking about bike racing, and we hope you enjoy hearing about it!

One day, two different races, multiple crashes. Was this the worst day in cycling history? Are riders out of practice, out of form, or just desperate to win during this shortened season?

We also talk about an amazing Milan Sanremo and a surprising win at the Criterium du Dauphiné for EF-Education First's Dani Martinez.

Danny impresses again with a wide array of bike fit knowledge and resources - maybe there's a job in this for him somewhere - while Matt just keeps talking about his feelings.

An Irishman beat Contador by everesting 23 minutes faster on a seriously interesting bike setup.

Wout Van Aert and Annemiek van Vleuten win Strade Bianche with lone attacks. And Dylan Groenewegen is ejected from the Tour of Poland for deviating from his line and pushing since hospitalised Fabio Jakobsen into the barriers.

Links:

A Simple Approach to Correct Saddle Height (for road cyclists)by Cam Nicholls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNGMRtJ5LIc

https://ecfitstrength.com / https://www.instagram.com/ecfit_strength/

https://www.instagram.com/bikefitjames/

On a secret assignment and loaded with a bike bag and some trepidation, danny visits the Northwest to join Matt and friends to ride the Palouse To Cascades trail from Cedar Falls to Ellensburg. We talk about the trail, the bikes and packs, and the experience of riding 160 miles of gravel in 2 days.

Its a jungle out there and while most accept our place on the roads, there are motorists who aren't paying attention. We discuss the question of how far you should go to keep yourself safe as you ride.

WIth tensions rising in the US and around the world, the cry of the Black Lives Matter movement is being heard, Danny shares his journey of acknowledging his privilege. Firmly aware of our own privilege, Matt talks about his experience with his new gravel bike and we talk racing news, even though we've not watched any racing in months.

The Tacoma Cycling community was shocked to hear that one of our own, Thomas Johnson, was hit and killed by a driver this past weekend. We are extremely saddened and extremely angry. Thomas was a kind and generous as a person and rider and will be intensely missed. He was someone that you always stopped to talk to whenever you bumped into him. We will miss him.

For our main topic we discuss the Pros and Cons of buying a complete bike vs equipping and building your own bike. We bring our special Off the Back podcast trademark observations and insights to conclude that "it depends". Enjoy the pod!

Can you be a one-bike cyclist? Is it possible to own and ride a single bike for all three disciplines of Road, Gravel, and Cross? We discuss what you'd need, some bikes that might be the right match, and whether it's practical and possible.

We've been feeling like our asses have been getting kicked by what's been happening in the world with the Coronavirus. Named because the virus looks like a crown, not after the beer. We wanted to get together and talk it all out, from the rides we've been taking, how uncomfortable it is to ride with others right now, to what races are cancelled or postponed and how the Vuelta may end up being the primary grand tour this year. Join us as we struggle to remember anybody's name in all this craziness.