GCN Show: Five good reasons why long rides totally suck

For many of us, this time of year means damp, cold conditions, fewer hours of daylight and generally less motivation to be out on the bike for long periods of time. All of these are reason enough for Dan Lloyd to launch into his highly considered list of why he’s currently against going on long rides.

Now it might sound like some of the rationale is just Dan being in a bit of grump – being left too tired to do anything else for the rest of the week; not being very sociable; recovery time putting a strain on relationships; how they negatively affect posture but not having the energy to rectify it with a few stretches and chin ups…

But does he have a point? Especially considering how quickly components wear out from the extra strain versus the enjoyment actually derived from the ride. Si’s not convinced and thinks there are plenty of mental detox benefits that make more time in the saddle worthwhile and that Dan’s just looking to justify not doing them any more. What do you think? Do you fully embrace a long ride or are you more in tune with frequent, shorter hits? Let us know in the comments.

In other news this week we say farewell to the GCN app as it closes on 19 December 2023. We launched it back in April 2019 and since then it’s been the place for our community to keep up to date with the latest cycling news and features, tune into our videos, watch live racing, and original documentaries and get immersed in the world of cycling.

More than that though, it was the place where many shared details of a latest ride, new bike upgrades, inspirational hacks or just voicing an opinion on cycling in general. So we offer a huge thank you to everyone who got involved and sent us such kind messages over the last couple of weeks. You have kept us hugely entertained with your contributions over the last couple of years and we’re very sorry to see it go.

It is, however, worth reminding you that you can still submit your photos for inclusion in the weekly GCN shows via our webloader here. We’re working on ways to improve the uploader and make more of your contributions visible across this very website so please keep checking back for more info.

Before it closed we’ve been sifting through the data and picking out the posts that attracted some of the highest levels of interaction ever. Here we bring you a taste of the best hacks and the worst bodges submitted - watch this week’s show to see the rest of them. We’ll also be compiling the best Bike Vault entries in next week’s GCN Tech show, so make sure you don’t miss that.

The top GCN app posts

In 2007 jkwalkermc competed for and won the title of United States Chef of the Year. With the winnings he built a Trek One which is the frame you see in the photo here. When it was time to “retire” the bike for a new one, their friend turned it into this rather splendid wine rack which always reminds them of the win.

© GCN

The ideal storage solution for your collection of wine. No wonder this one proved so popular with voters in the app.

Tour de France toolbox by anded103

We were suitably impressed when we saw this Le Tour inspired toolbox with beautifully Tour-themed drawers for all the different maintenance bits and pieces. We think it would make a worthy inclusion in any workshop. Top work!

© GCN

A very smartly designed tool rack, with custom painted drawers in Tour de France jersey colours.

When they lost a chain link this app user whipped out a trusty zip tie to fix the problem. They absolutely insist that it works a treat - but would it stand up to the power someone like Dan Lloyd could put down?

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Is this a genius solution or too sketchy to really work. Our app users voted it a 40% Bodge

As kostriatries tell us, 'When you can’t get enough offset forward but want to get forward - Yes, there’s zip ties!' We're still trying to get our heads round exactly what's going on here but it racked up a whopping 92% bodge from the GCN community.

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We can safely say we've never seen anything quite like this before!

If you want to check out the rest of the app's top posts and find out what made the all-time Hack, check out this week's show.

On our channel this week

• Wednesday 20 Dec: The hidden Strava features you may have missed
• Thursday 21 Dec: Epic Climbs episode 3 - Alpe d’Huez
• Friday 22 Dec: Cillian Kelly versus Andrew Feather in part 2 of Zwift Academy
• Saturday 23 Dec: Hank tests out the top speed of a recumbent bike
• Sunday 24 Dec: Retro vs modern with Campagnolo

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