FulGaz is more than just an app that features rides and iconic routes from all over the world, it’s a community of individuals that dedicate their time, expertise and passion for cycling to bring you the best unique rides from their backyard.
Scott Mandel (52) is from Milton Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. Scott has contributed a number of collections to FulGaz.
How did you get into riding?
My interest in cycling probably started with my dad when I was a kid and we used to ride out to the Toronto Zoo together, with a lemonade stop at a golf course about 2/3 the way there. He had a nice Peugeot bike that was one of his prized possessions and he would occasionally would do 80 – 100 mile rides on the weekends.
What’s your favourite cycling memory?
Riding in Spain with an organized tour group (Backroads) and climbing the Coll de la Creueta (my first real mountain ascent) and chasing a local group of riders up a 2.4 km local hill the next day. I lost the sprint at the end, but we dropped at least 3/4 of the group. That was an absolute blast.
What is your favourite ride in real life?
“I don’t have a favorite ride in real life, I tend to ride all over my local area based on how much time I have to spend in the saddle and the wind direction to get a little extra push. My favorite ride is the one I’m on at the time, except if I get a flat [tyre]. 🙂
How did you get into filming rides for FulGaz?
“I loved the idea of filming my own rides and doing them through FulGaz, so I watched the YouTube tutorial on filming rides and promptly bought myself a Wahoo ELEMNT, a camera mount and a GoPro and started filming. My wife said I really don’t need any encouragement to get more into cycling, so she thanks FulGaz for that!”
What do you love about FulGaz?
I’m still exploring FulGaz, so I don’t have a favorite ride but I do like the iconic climbs. So far I’ve done the Stelvio, the Col du Galibier, the Mortirolo, the Angliru, the Col du Tourmalet, Els Angels, Sa Calobra, Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Colle dell’Agnello
To me, it’s fantastic to be able to virtually ride these famous roads and climbs we’ve watch the pros race up during the Grand Tours and other famous races.
I challenged myself in May during the coronavirus shutdown to ride at least one ride from every country on FulGaz – 27 in all. Great way to keep occupied.
It still blows my mind how fun it is to ride in the basement now – a real game-changer for me. I used to avoid any indoor rides before Zwift and FulGaz because I hated staring at the wall on my old trainer. Now my annual mileage has gone from 7500 – 8000 all outdoors to probably going to hit about 14000 miles combined indoors and outdoors this year.
In fact, it was raining here earlier today, so I did my test ride of my latest submission (of 3) out to Castle Island.
