One Of The Smartest Things Anyone Has Ever Said To Me
byA long time ago, I used to think it was a good idea to confront people when they cut me off in traffic, while…
BICYCLING
Some Possible Substitutes For Energy Gels
by—Brendan SOME RUNNING + ENDURANCE ITEMS IN THE SEMI-RAD SHOP: The Zen Of Training Coffee Mug ($15.99) I Hate Running and You Can Too…
How To Make Chip Drink
byLast Sunday, while running on a trail through the forest, I ate what I estimate was my 1,500th Clif Blok. Or 2,000th, who knows….
The Old Bike-In-A-Bag Trick
byIf you’re trying to sneak stuff onto public transportation, there are certainly many ways to do it—I mean, not that I would know about…
15 Useful Trail Etiquette Tips
byThe summer trail season is here, and you may or may not have questions about how to properly utilize America’s public lands. Questions like…
Cycling Going-to-the-Sun Road In Glacier National Park
byDriving Going-to-the-Sun Road is one of the most popular ways to see Glacier National Park in the summertime. It’s no secret that, for…
17 Hill-Climbing Strategies
byThere you are, at the bottom of a hill, on foot, or on your bike, or on skis, ready to start up. But are…
You (Probably) Can’t Everest Mt. Everest
byMaybe you’re familiar with this thing known as “Everesting,” in which maniacs people pick a hill of a certain height and bicycle or run…
Chart: How To Talk To People About Their Favorite Outdoor Activities
byThanks for reading. These posts are able to continue thanks to the handful of wonderful people who back Semi-Rad on Patreon for as little…
10 Post-Workout Recovery Methods That Haven’t Been Proven To Work … Yet
byYou’ve just clicked the “Stop” button on your watch, or done your last burpee, or put away your bike. You’re catching your breath, a…
Life, In 12 Bicycles
byThanks for reading. These posts are able to continue thanks to the handful of wonderful people who back Semi-Rad on Patreon for as little…
Island Hopping In The Midnight Sun
by[NOTE: 2020 is the tenth year of my blog at Semi-Rad.com, and since I started it, I’ve been fortunate to get to do…
Some Strava Features That Would Boost My Self-Esteem And General Morale
byThanks for reading. If you’d like to help keep Semi-Rad going, forward this piece to someone who’d like it, consider making a Patreon contribution,…
A Bicycle Crash
byIn my memory of the house, which is from when I was much smaller, the retaining wall was always around three feet high. But…
Should You Do It In Jeans?
byThe bumper stickers about politicians skiing in jeans were first created more than a decade ago, but skiing in jeans has a much longer…
Riding My Bicycle During The Winter
byas my friend Tom Riley says, “on a bike, you always have windchill” (More stuff like this on my Instagram)
Alastair Humphreys On Traveling The World At 10 mph, Microadventures, And Not Quitting
byNOTE: In 2018, I started recording interviews with creatives (writers, filmmakers, podcasters, photographers, editors, etc.) in the adventure world. I’m publishing the highlights of…
The Hill That You Love To Hate
by“I hate this hill,” I said to the man pushing his mountain bike up the dirt road. He was trying to tell me that…
A Case For The Apple Fritter As Endurance Fuel
byAt about Mile 13 of the Colfax Marathon, I was starting to feel hungry. I did the math in my head—I had about 14…
Yes, A Friend Can Make Miserable Things Less Miserable
byI trudge forward, the muddy road tugging at my running shoes, splattering my ankles and shins, as I finish the uphill part of my…
Air Fresheners Based On Real Outdoor Odors
byBecause you know you want your car to smell like your weekend. —Brendan
If You Don’t Want To Dawn Patrol, You Can Dusk Patrol
byIt’s (hopefully) common knowledge that if you want to climb a Colorado 14er in the summer, you should be on your way down from…
The One Thing You Need To Know
byTo climb rocks: Use your feet. Despite what you may have seen in Cliffhanger, or depictions of climbing in energy drink ads, rock climbing…
How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love The Strava
byI was hesitant to try Strava at first: Everybody’s heard about some jackass who almost ran over a kid on the trail because they…
The Shortcut Is: There Is No Shortcut
byHere’s something that didn’t happen: Tommy Caldwell, in the days following the first ascent of the Dawn Wall, being interviewed by a journalist about…
10 Basic Rules For Adventure
byEarlier this year, my book Surviving the Great Outdoors came out, representing about 12 years’ worth of poking around in the out-of-doors—climbing, backpacking, hiking,…
Chocolate Spokes: A Film About Bicycles
byIn early 2013, I walked into a tiny bike shop called Chocolate Spokes in Denver’s Five Points neighborhood because I heard the guy there…