My Top 10 Essential Pieces of Cycling Gear

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It’s true, all you REALLY need is a bike, but for the best, most comfortable experience on a bike there are a few accessories that will improve your cycling life immensely. Most of these are under $50 and will make your ride safer, more comfortable and most importantly, more fun!

I’ve included links to my personal favorites but there are lots of great options out there. So, without further ado, my top 10 accessories for bike life!

1. A Quality Floor Pump

Park Tool Floor Pump

I really love this basic Park Tool PFP-8 Home Mechanic Floor Pump. It’s simple to use, works for both Presta and Shrader valves, has an easy to read gauge, and is relatively inexpensive at $43.95. I check my tire pressure before every ride, so this is literally my most essential tool.

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2. A Feedbag (Handlebar Bag)

Revelate Designs Feedbag

Having easy access to snacks, your camera, water bottle, bear spray, inhaler, or whatever else you may need is key when you’re riding along. A feedbag attaches to your handlebar and stem and keeps all of your essentials right at your fingertips for quick access. I love this Revelate Designs Mountain Feedbag as it can be opened and closed with one hand, has a large inside pocket, multiple outside mesh pockets, and quickly attaches with velcro and a snap for secure attachment to multiple size bikes.

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3. Cycling Gloves

Pearl Izumi Attack Gloves

Simple and functional, these gloves help absorb road vibration and provide protection to your hands. These come in both half-finger length for warm days and full length for colder rides.

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4. Water Bottle

Radical adventure riders bottle

This one may seem obvious, but not all water bottles are created equal. I’m partial to the Purist bottle (and will soon have some in my shop) but until then, encourage you to support the Radical Adventure Riders or your local bike shop.

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5. Lock

Kryptonite Mini Ulock

Bike thieve suck. While nothing will totally prevent it, a good u-lock will at least deter/delay the theft a bit. I highly recommend the smallest u-lock you can get away with, as there is less room to get a tool in to pry the lock apart. Make sure you also register your bike on bikeindex.com as well!

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6. Raincoat / Raincape

Pearl Izumi wxb monsoon rain jacket

This is the first cycling specific rain jacket I’ve ever worn that actually fits! Coming in sizes from XS-3XL (which I wear) this jacket has tons of cool features - zip down armpit vents, reflective bits in all the right places, and generous length for riding. As a bonus, here’s a video of me being really excited about trying it on for the first time.

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7. A Rack & Panniers

Ortleib Classic Pannier

Ok, technically this is 2 pieces of gear, but having a quality rack and panniers will make all the difference if you decide to commute, bike camp, or grocery shop with your bike. I love these panniers - they’re waterproof, have replaceable parts and are super durable.

I don’t have a specific recommendation for a rack, as you’ll need one that is compatible with your bike. Chat with your local bike shop and see what they recommend!

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8. Roadside Repair Kit (Tire Levers, Patch Kit & Hand Pump)

Pedro’s Tire Levers

Unless you’re running tubeless (and sometimes even then), flat tires are a fact of life. Remove your tires easily with these tire levers. $5 for a set.

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Patch Kit

Learn how to patch your tires. It’s quick, it’s sustainable, it’s easy.

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Leyzene Sport Drive Hand Pump

I love this pump because it has a flexible hose which makes attaching it to your tire valve easy. It also has attachments for both presta and Schrader valves, so it works for all your bikes!

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9. A Bell

Spurcycle Compact Bell

Loud with a clear sound, this bell is nice and compact and doesn’t take a ton of space on your handlebars.

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10. Lights

Lumina Micro 650 And Sabre 110 Combo

If you can afford it, I highly recommend a Dynamo lighting system, but second best is a strong front and rear light. I like these from Niterider because they’re USB Rechargeable and have multiple settings. Be sure to check your local laws as many places only allow solid front and rear lights (plus, blinking lights are blinding!!)

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Five Rookie Mistakes I Made at My First Gravel Race

I’m currently on a cross-country road trip from Seattle to Colorado for SBT GRVL, which means I have a lot of time to think. Turns out these western states - Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming - they’re really big. Like really big.

Steamboat Gravel will be my second gravel race, which I think technically still makes me a rookie, but after starting with Unbound Gravel, I definitely have some pieces of advice and wisdom to share. I’ve also been riding bikes for a long time and doing unsanctioned long distance gravel events for years.

Unbound Gravel was a ton of fun, but also a really hard ride and a great learning experience. Check out my previous post on that race here. I made all sorts of rookie mistakes during that ride that I hope not to repeat this weekend. I’m going to share them with you in the hopes that you won’t make the same mistakes either - whether you’re looking into doing your first gravel race or are just endurance riding curious.

1. Too much caffeine on race morning.

   I’m from Seattle and the rumors are true - we drink a lot of coffee, myself included. I typically start my day with 1 or 2 cups of drip coffee and then have another cup later in the afternoon, nothing wild. The drip coffee on offer where I was staying was a bit weak, so on my way to the starting line, I picked up an Iced Soy Latte in downtown Emporia, which I promptly spilled all over the street. Frustrated, I went to a different coffee shop and ordered a ‘double tall iced soy latte.’ When I got my drink, I should’ve noticed something was off, as it was super duper strong.

   Instead of 2 shots of espresso, there were 4! Ignoring my best judgement, I drank the whole thing. Big time mistake.

   I found myself jittery, nervous and my heart rate was through the roof. I was wearing a Wahoo Tickr heart rate monitor, and my resting heart rate is typically around 57 bpm. Siting down under the Shimano tent, my heart rate was at 120 bpm.

   Once I started riding, the effects of the caffeine lessened a bit and around mile 20, I felt normal. Typically, during a long ride, I’ll use GU Rocktane Gels that have caffeine in it for a pick-me-up, but during Unbound, I definitely avoided them.

   My plan for Steamboat is simple - make my own coffee and keep my routine as normal as possible. Take Shotblocks and GU Rocktane on the ride to refuel. Get an iced soy latte when the ride is over :)

2. Didn’t eat enough calories during the ride.

   If you follow me on Instagram, you might remember my ride prep for Unbound included making a ton of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, packing ‘real food’ and loading my pack up with all sorts of snacks. So you might be a little perplexed as to how I didn’t eat enough calories during the ride. Well, me too.

   I think it was the combination of too much caffeine that surpassed my appetite, nerves from the race, and 95 degree Kansas heat but I just did not have any hunger signals. So I didn’t eat. In fact, I found myself nauseous, which is never a good place to be, especially when riding 50 miles. No one wants to find themselves in bonk city.

   This time, no matter what my body is telling me, my plan is at least 100 calories every hour. Even if I don’t have an appetite - I can at least get down some m&ms or a gu packet.

3. Too many stops & too much time at each stop

   Ok, I’m not really going to beat myself up over this one, as I’m not a racer and don’t really intend to be. But, I do need to learn to be more efficient at the rest stops.

   Get in. Eat. Refill water bottles. Go.

   I have a really bad habit of chatting, hanging out, taking off my shoes, making an outfit change, etc…basically pretending like I’m on a bike tour instead of a race with a cutoff time. So my advice for you is to make sure you have a plan at the rest stops. Know what your priorities are - food, air in your tires, etc.

4. Wool socks are a bad idea in June.

   I’m a Pacific Northwestern kid, where wool socks are generally a good idea any time of year. Turns out that’s not the case everywhere, including Kansas in the middle of summer. My feet were so incredibly hot. Next time I’ll plan better, likely going with a lightweight sock from Pearl Izumi that’ll keep me cool and looking good.

5. My music was not on point.

   I didn't originally plan to ride with any music, so I didn’t have any playlists downloaded onto my phone. However, there came a point on my ride where I literally couldn’t see the end of the road in front of me, the headwinds were blowing 20 mph in my face, and I was in the pain cave. All I wanted was some good beats to keep my spirits up.

   This race, I’ve got at least 6 different playlists ready to go. I’ll ride with only one ear bud in to make sure I can hear everything that’s going on around me and still keep the music going.

So yeah, I’m not changing anything super drastically. Pretty much common sense, but hopefully you find it helpful if you’re about to embark on your first big gravel race or event! Let me know and good luck out there!

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A Very Very Long Overdue Tympanoplasty Update

Five years ago, I had a pretty major surgery on my left ear to repair a hole that never healed. Technically called a tympanoplasty, they took cadaver tissue and grafted it onto my eardrum, with the eventual goal of restoring function to my eardrum (and maybe my hearing in that ear.)

I documented my recovery from that surgery in this blog post and promptly forgot about it, but after looking at my Google Analytics for this site, realized that post is still my top performing post. The internet is a strange place that never ceases to amaze me.

So…five years later, where do things stand?

Well, by all the official measures, the surgery was a success. In the year after the surgery, I had a series of in-office follow ups with Dr. Sanchez and hearing tests with the audiology department to confirm healing and check for progress on the hearing, as it can take a while after the surgery for the full impacts to be realized.

After about a year, I was cleared to resume all normal activity, including swimming without an ear plug. I had honestly been dreaming about this day for years. Unfortunately, my joy was short lived as I was met with searing pain in my left ear as soon as my head entered the water on my first dive into a pool. Well, crap.

Since then, I’ve found that I can actually swim without earplugs as long as I don’t get water directly channeled into my ear canal - so no diving, jumping in, or rough housing unless I have an ear plug in. I think I can live with these compromises.

The other really big development is that I got a hearing aid for my left ear! About a year ago, so four years after the surgery, I found myself fed up with constantly asking people to repeat themselves, missing things in tv shows, and feeling like I just wasn’t hearing things out of my left ear anymore.

Hearing loss was the original reason we did the tympanoplasty, but because of the persistent hole in my eardrum, I was not a candidate for a hearing aid at the time. The surgery corrected the hole so I was finally a candidate for a hearing aid!!

I’ve had my hearing aid for a little over a year now, which has been interesting timing. To be completely honest, I don’t wear it nearly as much as I should. I was really good about wearing it when I first got it, but then COVID hit and I didn’t see anybody, so I didn’t have a reason to. Now that I’m venturing back into society, I’m finding myself needing to wear it but I forget to.

So yeah, life is basically back to normal for me. I’m really grateful I had the surgery and would recommend it to anyone who is considering it.

Grieving as a Public Figure

My dad, Melvin Blonsky, died last week on June 15, 2021. While not a complete surprise, the timing super sucked, as we had a trip planned to Florida to see him this week. I had accepted that this trip would probably be the last time I’d see him alive, but the universe had other plans, and he left us before we got to see him in person.

This last week has felt like a crash course in grief, vulnerability and resilience. Yes, my dad is dead, but at the same time, my life goes on, and I think he would’ve wanted it that way.

But that doesn’t mean I’m not grieving.

Since All Bodies on Bikes came out in March, over 219,000 people have watched me struggle up a mountain, talk candidly about my body, and swim joyfully in the Pacific Ocean. Experiencing the world talk about me and my body actually has a surprising relevancy to grieving my dad - I’m finding that its ok to cry in public, its ok to be vulnerable, and it’s ok to not be ok right now. I’m also learning that it’s ok to compartmentalize, to still experience joy, and to continue living my life unapologetically.

Just because my Dad is dead doesn’t mean that I have to stop living. He wouldn’t want it that way and I think it’d actually make it him pretty upset.

So, I guess what I want to say is thank you. Thank you for sticking with me on this journey, riding bikes with me when I ask, being a shoulder to cry on when I need it, bringing me food when I can’t feed myself.

Grief is not linear and I’ve found myself crying at the most random times. In the grocery store when a Traveling Wilburies song comes on (one of my Dad’s favorite bands). At the bookstore looking for a soul soothing read. Biking up Pike Street and remembering the time my Dad took us to Gameworks after The Big Lebowski (I was 11, so when you ask if I want to watch that and say no, that’s why.)

But I’m also really proud of him. He had 21 years clean and sober. He struggled with depression most of his life and there were many years when I feared he would take his own life. That’s a fear no child should ever have.

So Dad, Uncle Mel, Zeyde, good job. You made it through COVID, you were loved by many people. You lived a long, fun life that inspired many of us. I love you. See you on the other side.