Ted King Podcast: How to Ride Fast

Ted King isn’t just one of the most successful gravel racers of all time—he also hosts the popular podcast ‘King of the Ride.’ In the most recent episode, he invited me to talk about, well, everything and anything related to making your bike faster. We explore why aero socks are marginal gains at best, and why suspension may be a good idea to reduce resistance on gravel.

Ted is an excellent conversationalist, and he drew out all kinds of stories I’d almost forgotten. Like when we rode 18 miles on rumble strips with a borrowed SRM power meter, to measure how suspension losses are affected by various equipment choices. (At the end, I really could feel the friction that had slowed the bike down—my entire body was sore.) Or how I made my own tight-fitting Gore-Tex jacket with a performance cut—at a time when racers still wore clear plastic jackets that didn’t breathe and that flapped in the wind (but that did show the sponsor logos on their jerseys underneath).

It was a fun conversation. You’ll probably enjoy it as well. Click below to listen to the episode, or head to Ted’s podcast.