Rode up then down a hill which didn't happen because I forgot to start my Strava, then down to a road closed on Saturdays for bikes

🗨"It's basically a freeway", 🗨"fuck the bullshit" First to do it on track bikes, no brakes. This was the highlight of my January.

finally, its done!

hopefully we don’t bring up the other post I made 🥸(I’m still taking copium)

I bought a zipp service course dropbar to try how a dropbar feels, I don't like how much leverage i lose when turning and I feel like I have less control 😂, and my brake line is also too long to put the brake levers on the bars. Maybe I'll get used to it later, but for now back to risers.

Deep section rims would look great on this, but my budget is limited.

Fitted a new chain, saddle and rear tyre at the weekend, ready to ride into 2025

Let’s see if I can do 250+ rides this year 💪

TLDR; I recently placed in an Alley Cat in an unknown city, basically by hoping on the wheel of a local. I'm feeling a little conflicted about it. What does reddit think?

I recently competed in an Alley Cat race in a city I was visiting. Since I hadn't spent much time in said city and didn't know the major landmarks or my way around much of the city, I decided my best strategy would be to hop on someone's wheel and let them take care of the navigation. I had no intention of placing, was just in it for a good time, meet some people and explore the city. However right out of the gate my "race instinct" kicked in and I jumped on the fastest guys wheel. He was really going for it and I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up but my competitive nature kept me pushing. When he realized I wasn't going anywhere after the first checkpoint he asked me to pull him, which I did, while he shouted directions from behind. We completed the whole race like this, with him taking the lead through more complicated sections and me taking the lead on the straights. We ended up finishing 2nd and 3rd which obviously I'm super happy with. However upon finishing, and getting chatting with some BMXers who didn't partake, but were there for the vibes, one of them insinuated that what I'd done was cheating. In the moment I brushed it off and didn't think much of it, but in hindsight, maybe I neglected to think about the fact that an Alley Cat isn't just a straight race, it's about knowing your way around the city and finding the fastest route, and that me just jumping on someone's wheel and letting them navigate could be considered unfair. On the other side though, I pulled this guy at 40-45kmh through approximately half of the race, he even told me to chill at times as I was riding "too fast", which has made me feel like I definitely did my part in pulling us both to placing. I didn't even intend on placing, but upon realizing the guy was fast I let my racers instinct take control, which benefitted both of us. In the end I had a great time, met some cool people, had the opportunity to gawk at their awesome bikes and went home with a cool prize/souvenir with a way better story than something out of a gift shop. What do you guys think of my strategy?

BMC Timemachine TM02 Roval Rapide CLX 40 with Gran Compe II low flange rear hub 48-15, Dura ace cog, Sram Red crankset, 3/32 chain Selle Italia SLR Carbokeramic Look Blade Carbone Uno Stem, Aliexpress bars, gutted out Campa Centaur carbon levers FRM CL2 Titanium brake with DA pads

5,985kg with a brake, road levers, a Garmin support and a bottle holder, pretty proud

Been dying to get a shark frame for a hot minute, glad I found one