Sometimes you have hot streaks and sometimes you don’t. My current streak is breaking everything bike related I touch. So without further explanation my personal top 10 Everythin’s broke list:

10. Continental Race King.
Sure this tire was probably not the right choice for The El Passo Puzzler but 3 punctures and a sidewall cut all in 1 race… next tire please.
9. Sram X9 shifter.
Note to self, set up the shifter so that the barrel adjuster doesn’t smack into the top tube in the event of a crash.
8. My back.
Solo at Old Pueblo on a hardtail, self explanatory really.
7. KCNC bar ends.
Soda can thin bar ends = not compatible with even minor crashes, i.e. not compatible with me and racing.
6. Seals on Fox F29.
See explanation for number 8.
5. Powertap Hub.
Really? Again?
4. Trek Madone (old version)
After riding the thing for 6 months with a chip in the chainstay a nice big squishy spot has developed. Laterally stiff yet vertically compliant.
3. Jet 9
Mine never actually broke, but I had to send it back anyway. At least the redesign has gone into production.
2. My body
Kentucky Camp Epic, Puzzler, Hospital on IV antibiotics for pneumonia, followed by Old Pueblo. Again self explanatory. All fantastic races by the way.
1. Tucson Weather
This last one is actually a bright spot. I know Tucson is supposed to be a winter training destination, but rain and snow capped mountains in the desert are just too beautiful not to enjoy.

In the search for a competitive edge athletes often look to the practices of top athletes, or the latest theory from a popular guru. By chance, this approach will sometimes lead to a true performance improvement. But usually, time and money is wasted on product or fad that ultimately proves to make no difference or even hurt performance. An alternate approach is to look at evidence from research studies where ideas were more effectively tested. The evidence based approach will always seem a little behind what a top-pro might have been doing. It often takes 2 or more years from an idea to make it through the process of research design, testing, analysis, and publication. But in those same 2 years, many other top pros where using practices that are now abandoned.

The purpose of this guide is to help athletes and coaches develop nutrition and hydration strategies based on quality evidence.

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