If all things were normal, I’d be in Iceland now prepping for my second go at The Rift. As a good happy hour before Saturday’s race, I spent the Friday evening prior carbo-loading on french fries while practicing my axe throwing at the Valhalla. Ahh, good memories.

Instead, I’m somewhere in eastern Montana right now. This email is being typed while sitting shotgun at 75mph with Laura behind the wheel. We bought a van and are taking in the country in all her splendor — albeit socially distanced and doused in hand-sanitizer. These times are anything but normal.

That’s the heart of what DIYgravel is all about. No no, not buying a van, per se. It’s about taking a less than ideal scenario and making the most of it. Lemonade from lemons, my friends! The messages that roll in from so many of you doing your DIYgravel rides warm my heart and inspire me to get out and ride more too. Thank you all so much for being part of the DIYgravel community.

2021, You Can Be in Iceland Too

That’s right, among other prizes up for grabs this week in the DIYgravel giveaway is a spot at the 2021 The Rift! So keep your entries coming in — just visit DIYgravel for information plus the easy-to-enter form. This round 5 runs through next Friday, August 31.

In related news, I’m proud to announce my newest sponsor, WHOOP. I’ve been using a WHOOP for months now to test it out. Trust me, I was as big of a skeptic as they come. But now that I’m obsessed with the product, we just made it official. So here’s a pretty screaming deal for all you DIYers: if you want to save the introductory $30, you can do so here. 

As always, we also have great prizes from Cannondale, inGamba, Rene Herse, RŌKA, Saris, SRAM, UnTapped, Velocio, and Zipp.

Three Minutes of Motivation

That’s the hope, anyhow. Here’s a bit of reflection from my VTXL course with a look at some of the hardware that went into the ride.

As always, know that you can DO GOOD to spread that DIYgravel love and make the world a better place assisting this fall’s 10th annual King Challenge.

Have a great weekend,

—Ted