Gapped Cycling

Over a decade ago, Rapha released the Festive 500 challenge. A challenge to complete 500km within 8 days, between Christmas eve and New Year's eve! Now a staple of every keen cyclists calendar, Taj has completed it a whopping 5 times! On today's podcast, he goes into the tips and tricks to get it completed, whether it's your first time or tenth! 

In our latest series, Izzat gets under the hood of the latest Shimano Di2 release. For the first time, Shimano have now made the 'people's groupset', 105, electric. Meaning crispier shifting, coupled with more gears, 12 to be exact! Shimano now closes the gap to its closest rivals, SRAM. 

Many in the northern hemisphere will often look outside and and decide to give riding a miss. In recent years, due to advancements in smart trainers and platforms like zwift are changing that. Our guests today have a host of experience on riding indoors with Altaf even being one of few Zwift Beta testers back in its inception!  We dive into the various trainer options, platforms and tips & tricks...

We all want to go faster right!? We all know those deep section aero wheels will sure help, but we can't always buy the latest and greatest! So pro mechanic Izzat goes into a handful of buys which won't break the bank, but will certainly add speed to your ride! 

Salaam,   Super fortunate to have on today Izzat Roslan, a mechanic out in KL Malaysia. We were lucky to catch him as he toured the UK working on a project. He is often working with the latest and greatest on a daily, so what better person to have on to discuss all things bike tech and the day job living the life! 

Salaam!  Another great segment from our resident mechanic, Izzat Roslan out in Malaysia. He has a lot to say on the subject - Keep it clean! 

Salaam! Quite the episode today! A combination of two, first with Hashim, a Somalian brother living out in Leicester who is always on an adventure, and a South African, Calvin, who rode home once... from the UK!    Both rode the Transcontinental race, an annual event, perhaps the largest in the bikepacking scene in fact which is effectively a race across Europe, with a series of checkpoints in bet...

So much happened since we were last on, including a new hour record holder, the first gravel worlds, and of course, the final monument of the season, Il Lombardia!

We breakdown the worlds before looking forward to the final monument of the season; Lombardia.

Salaam! Today we have on two incredible athletes in Sannah & Irfan. You will often find them on the start line of some of the bigger races here in the UK, and at just 18 & 21 respectively, they're only just getting started!

Rob & I dive into the world of racing of late, talking of future talent of today and looking forward to the Worlds in Australia! 

Last week saw the wrap up of the Tour, with Jonas Vingegaard taking away the Yellow Jersey. Rob & I brake it down & look to what is upcoming!

Salaam! We have on today Usman Omar, natural-born adventurer!   Originally learning his trade out in Pakistan, before becoming the ultra addict here in the UK. You will often find him traveling the length of the country on his bike, or at the start of an Ultra distance bike race, or even on a multi-day hike. He is becoming quite the veteran in the scene, having taken part in a ton of ultra races,...

Lot has happened before the second rest day, setting us up nicely for the final week before heading into Paris! 

Sorry for the delay in podcasts - I've just been enjoying riding my bike really. And, well, sometimes that's the most important thing, right? If you're not enjoying riding so much, you don't enjoy talking about it either! So here we are, refocused and we have on today Tariq Razzaque, from the north. Technically anything above the M25 is the north for us Londoners, so specifically, he is from Bolto...

Rob & I go into all things TDF 2022! The race promises to be a cracker!

Rob & I dig our teeth into the final stages of the Giro, before discussing Unbound Gravel and the alternative calendar! 

Salaam! We welcome on Farooq today to talk all things audax here in the UK. He goes into the journey into the scene, and now standing at the top, completing some of the biggest audax' the UK scene has to offer! We also introduce our latest addition to the Gapped team, Izzat Roslan from Malaysia. He has a lot to offer and we are very glad he can join the team! 

A race roundup of the Giro D'Italia! 

Thanks to the Ride London event going through East London and into Essex, an area populated by hundreds, if not thousands of Muslim riders, it is no surprise that hundreds have signed up this year! This year, the event will be perhaps be the most popular to date for us Muslim Cyclists here in the UK. The organisers of the event itself have gone out their way to offer discounted tickets to local cl...

We catch up with all things Giro d'Italia on the first Rest day!

Today we had Ellen on, a volunteer at The Big Ride for Palestine. Having an Irish background, and having personally spent months in Palestine, she saw firsthand the atrocities committed by the state of Israel. Her passion and activism for the cause of Palestine is unparalleled, which led her to help run BR4P. The ride itself is an annual event, this time taking riders from Derby to Manchester, cul...

Now in its second year, The Fasted 500 challenge remains the sole universal challenge, enjoyed worldwide! Started by Zahir Nayani, with the idea of creating a safe space for all Muslims across the practicing spectrum. Despite being a little isolated in Swindon, with the wholesome challenge, he has managed to create a community around The Fasted 500. If you haven't already, I suggest going back and...

TFL were faced with the impossible task of rushing through various changes in the capital during Covid-19, making is possible for the public to socially distance. As we phase out of such times, TFL are returning to consulting the public with changes to various infrastructure across the capital.  Andrew Miles has come on to speak of the importance of responding to such consultations. Not only do we...

Did Evanepoel save quickstep's classic season!? Rob & I dive into this weeks racing! A lot to pack in!