How Specialized REALLY won, the new Crux, team tactics, no littering penalty in the XL350?, 32" wheels win, but under the wrong rider in the wrong race, how narrow-wide chainrings make mud WORSE, possible reasons why Ted King and Pete Stetnananana crashed out (so you don't fall into the same traps), and how the flashlight and voice memos feature in the Amazfit T-Rex3 Pro can CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

The physics of why 32" wheels will help taller riders WAY more than average riders, how I upgraded my coaching with AI and why it can be dangerous in the wrong hands, who will win Unbound this year, and the rare feature on a titanium watch proven to be useful for real people doing awesome stuff by the French version of the Navy SEALs. Join me for a run in the dark as we dodge snakes and traffic and talk about all this and more!

I tackle and succeed at riding a monster gravel race - The East Texas Slowdown. 285 miles through two national forests, and I decide to ride THROUGH THE NIGHT to get a competitive placing in the results. I recorded some audio during the race as well, right on my watch. You can hear the excitement as I'm in the lead pack and the tree frogs and crickets at 3am as I'm looking for a spot to take a quick nap in the woods. This was one of the hardest things I've ever done, so listen in for tons of tips and tricks on how I pulled it off and if I'll ever do it again. Also, GET COACHED by yours truly by reaching out to Texafornia at gmail dot com! Or support the show at Patreon.com/zentri

Let's go race 61 miles of gravel on Saturday and do a 14 mile training run on Sunday!

"What's in there?" Luke. "Only what you take with you." Yoda.

BikeRadar interview reveals why people go deep doing Ultras.

Getting up and ready for the race:

Cereal, coffee, and mediation.

The art of not getting pissed off when you can't find something.

Putting colored zip ties and/or using bright fingernail polish to not lose black stuff.

The "Putting stuff in a place it can't stay so you don't forget it" trick.

Kai's race strategy vs. mine.

Post race:

Kai interview about the State Allroad!

Tire pressure talk.

Race review, tactics, crashes, and such.

We did two totally different types of racing.

50mm tires FTW!

Fueling, water, and water bottle location.

Side mounted bottle cage UNDER the downtube!?

Long run after Lit Whizzy part 1:

Beating up the legs on purpose to train for the 31 mile Ultra trail run next weekend.

Race review doing gravel IRONMAN STYLE! No drafting TT aerobars.

I recorded a video for youtube. Out soon.

Bidirectional bezels way better for fueling

NEW REAR RADAR FROM GARMIN and should you use in racing?

Slap bracelet for mileage marks for aid stations and wrong turns?

Riding speed going with front packs vs. letting them go and doing solo TT.

Sideload cage under frame worked for Kai! Interesting... hmm...

River tries to catch an Armadillo.

How to wear two jerseys to stay warm at race starts and stay cool later when it warms up.

Gummy worms worked! Here's how...

Slamming legs on downhills to prep for upcoming race abuse.

Longrun part 2:

Sour gummy worms FTW!

Legs feel good, because of way I raced.

The Curse of Triathlon.

But also why triathlon training is the ultimate in injury prevention and longevity.

The Dark Arts of Sports - Ultra Endurance.

Jedi inspiration. Be quietly awesome.

Hill work! 13.5 miles done. How I did it.

Surprised how great I feel.

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Shaved legs for race. Are clippers faster aero than razor.

No rear radar to drop weight. But I think maybe gravel racing with it on is smarter.

Moved tire repair stuff around for faster access.

Forgot my headphones for swimming! TURN AROUND! lol.

Trick for not forgetting things - Go the wrong way when you leave and then swing back by.

Using ChatGPT in my watch to ask wind direction and speed.

"Doing Nothing" vs. "Not Doing Anything" AND we go pre-ride the Lit Whizzy gravel race course!

Getting ready, tips and tricks.

Zen of "Trying nothing" vs. "Not trying"

Wearing nitrile gloves to block wind.

How frames being heavier is not a bad thing on choppy gravel.

Kai doing 4 x 12 minute threshold intervals.

How to be more aero with "turtling" your head and neck

Don't ride with people not wearing helmets if they should be. (You don't always have to wear a helmet, like just riding to the corner store or where it's really safe)

Kai stopping for gloves, getting cold.

Deer leaping over fences in front of us.

I tease Kai about being slow.

Carbon vs metal frames.

How I beat Jetpack on Twitter after Ironman Wisconsin.

Why I stopped posting on Twitter.

I'm Zentriathlon on Twitter and ZenEndurance on BlueSky. And Zentriathlon on Instagram.

How wonderful 50 mm tires are on gravel.

Stopping in the town of Waeldeer and talking to people.

How to get Coached!

show notes:

Quick recap of last year and what's coming up:

East Texas Showdown 400, had to get plucked out of the woods at night.

Smashed my rear derailleur

Capital City gravel race series.

I won both a flatbar and a singlespeed gravel races!

Then I cracked my magnesium frame.

Got it replaced with a Niner aluminum frame.

Why metal frames can be a better choice than carbon for gravel and MTB.

Quick review of who I am and why you might like this show!

How we swam 22 miles nonstop across Lake Tahoe

Back to Year in review:

Kai's magnesium bike is getting warrantied, but he ordered a State carbon frame to race Pro on in the meantime.

We bikepacked 200 miles across the Texas Hill Country and camped on an island overnight.

Waited patiently for several years and CARBON WHEELS APPEARED!

But they are hookless. Why hookless are dangerous.

Kai’s State Carbon frame and crazy downtube storage

Amazfit T-Rex 3 vs. Garmin Fenix

Stretch out purchases to strategically keep you motivated

The Zen of things that just show up.

How I did a self-supported gravel Ironman.

Why half-ironman training year-round is probably the best fitness plan for health and longevity.

High volume training is only successful if you think about how to make the different sports work for each other instead of against.

Gravel bike with aerobars allows you to train Ironman level on safer roads

How I came up with distances for the gravel Ironman

Emily’s getting back into running for health reasons

How gravel bikes are evolving just like Tri bikes did 20 years ago.

How Minimalism has evolved into the Slow Movement.

How to use the timing bezel on a diving watch to do training intervals.

How to use the timing bezel for fueling every 15 minutes!

The history of "double wristing" and it's REAL! Lot's of people do it.

Why I have a great use for real analog diving watches with rotating diving timre bezels

How people react and view YouTube videos differently than long form audio.

What actually started WW2.

Show Notes:

We are doing lots of VIDEO!

We are bikepacking the Texas Overland Trail!

My frame cracked, so I got it warrantied with a Niner with a wider rear tire. 50mm.

I'm training at a 3/4s Ironman level and racing long bike stuff.

Getting great at using the 360 camera. 4 million views!

Lots of great videos made and now up on YouTube.

Starting YouTube and Patreon community, and merch like t-shirts.

Patreon.com/zentri and youtube.com/@zenendurance

SlowMaxxing explained.

Ship of Theseus paradox - When is it a new bike?

Swim death at Waco 70.3 and what can cause that.

Examples of great guests on this show.

Why Pro women's race in Kona this weekend is so important to watch.

How Strava and comparison can ruin your success.

"A Day of Flow"

I bought the SlowMaxxing.com Domain!

T-shirts available at zenendurance.printful.me

"I don't hurry." Stand up for yourself.

Description of our bike packing project. Route, how we found it, plans for executing.

Recruiting Emily as our 4x4 support vehicle.

Make your adventure finishable and fun in case something goes wrong.

Kai and I probably will race Marathon MTB and Gravel Races again this Fall/Winter/Spring

Backyard Ultra? and run 100 miles in 24 hours?

You race to get good, then "graduate" to a multisport lifestyle where you don't want to stop training to race.

Women's racing has gotten crazy good. But hasn't it always been?

You can listen to my YouTube videos like a podcast if you buy YouTube Premium.

Join me for a ride and run talking about how to train like a monk, focused on endurance enlightenment. Also, we are off the single speed and back on gears! Show wraps up with how I set up and used a tether to swim in a backyard pool because the local lap pool is closed for over a week.

Can you bike to Epstein's Island? Will you ever know everybody on "the list"? What is the sound of one hand clapping? So... now what? Join me as I ride gravel for 60 miles in the hot Texas sun, talking about what to do when you can't know, how to get better at swimming butterfly, and when "The Comparing Mind" isn't always the bad thing Zen Buddhism makes it out to be. I also get close up to a Speckled King Snake, get chased by a dog, and have to take several breaks at two gas stations and under a bridge. Enjoy!

Singlespeed 80 mile gravel ride hitting 108 degrees!

Navigating heavy gravel truck traffic in stereo. Sounds cool!

Chased by dog.

History of Juneteenth and Independence, TX.

Knoxville, TN was actually Union side of the Civil War. (Where my family is from)

Details of cool features of the Amazfit T-Rex 3 and figuring it out.

Heart rate push to Garmin bike computer.

Instagram video from atop a ridge.

Guy that won Ironman Cairns brought his bike on family vacation on a cruise ship. Is that selfish?

Huge hills on 48x18. Ouch!

Using the Voice Recorder on the watch.

Climbing up and over the highest point of the ride - Bluff Road.

Should I do my next epic gravel bike ultra in singlespeed?

Stopping at a certified wildlife habitat.

Upside of flatbar is steep and technical descents are way safer... so you can go faster and have more fun!

Three big descents in a row.

Flashlight on watch is really handy!

Almost having to walk because it's so steep.

Stopping for the incredible view.

Thoughts on carrying a gun on a bike ride.

Regardless, carrying a pocketknife on a ride is really handy.

Steep! 18 RPM at 300 watts!!!

Showing the guys from France my frankenbike. They were cool!

Kai got a job at R.E.I.!

Almost hit a deer.

How I fell in love with gravel biking. It's the lack of cars and all the extra wildlife!

Sunrise and Sunset is one of my favorite features on the face of smart watches.

Review of RockBros arm coolers.

Putting butterfly back into my swimming! How to progress gradually to not get injured.

stop and Instagram video shoot of the scenery.

Need to compare heart rate on watch to Form goggles built-in HR.

R.E.I. is now a Canyon service center.

New study shows if you have front suspension, you don't need big tires on gravel.

How target fixation works.

Passing by the nudist colony.

When I was asked to be in a strip contest.

Riding singlespeed requires less thinking?

Taking a break at the oldest black church and Freeman (freed slave) community in the area.

The lag correction on autopause for the watch is far better than on the Garmins.

Riding along Highway 105 and the traffic roaring by in stereo is INSANE.

A little bit of my motorcycle history.

Riding the best road in Texas for aero testing.

Crazy gymnastics great cyclists can do with their gear while riding a bike.

How I built up to running over 100 miles per week with no injuries.

Funny what makes me happy with the watch. Faces, flashlight, voice notes, wind direction app.

Rest stop where the cottonmouth tried to kill me.

Doing butterfly replaces a a lot of upper body work at the gym.

Kai put 650bs with 48s on his gravel bike.

I rode a long time with a 700 front and 650 rear for the biggest tires possible

Adventures in sealant and valve stems.

108 degrees, road is so hot it is sticking to the tires.

Stopping at the gas station to cool down and refuel.