1 Biking Some Less-Forbidding Streets Near Forbidden City

USA Today reporter Mike Lopresti gives a very colorful account of a 2.5 hour, 12 mile commute on the streets of Beijing from the Olympic News media center to downtown. Its a mile by mile description of what he sees on the streets of Beijing [See Forbidden City]. The biggest obstacles are the some 3 million vehicles out on the road to dodge.

He begins : "As an out-of-towner on a bicycle, trying to fight four city buses on the same lane, my life flashed before me outside the gates of the Forbidden City. With Chinese subtitles."

Notice also how he talks about hearing of a Chinese grandmother, aged 97, who rode her tricycle from the Hunan province to Beijing to watch the Badminton competition. That sounds a little too good to be true.

Anyway, read more below.

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6 Kwik-Fill Kinzua Classic Road Race

30 MILES
3500 FEET CLIMBING


After a week of little or no riding, and eating lots of ice cream, I decided to head out with our little gang of three, south of Olean to Kinzua near Warren, PA for the highlight of the past weekend - the Kinzua Classic road race.

Kinzua is located about 5-6 miles east of Warren, within the Allegheny state forest, sort of at the foot of the Allegheny river where one arm branches to the Kinzua Bay and the other goes God knows where (Gulf of Mexico?).

In the native American Senecan language, Kinzua means "waters of many and big fish".

In my language, it means "pretty darn hilly place to hold a race!"

Anyway, this area is home to one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River, which creates the Alleghany Reservoir [See Kinzua Dam]. And there's plenty of forested areas to marvel at, and if you're among the ones who likes to go canoeing or motor boating, you can have the Allegheny waters all to yourself, going between densely forested hills that are everything but civilized!

Although this wasn't a USCF race, I imagined it would be nice to race my bike here, even though the temperature was in the low 60's or something and it wasn't too pleasant to be outside here at 8 in the morning, shivering your butt off in scanty bike clothes.

The race was nothing less than challenging with rolling hills, undulating roads and a hillside/mountain top finish, whatever you want to call it. You'd think that 30 miles is nothing , but towards the end, all that pain you thought you can avoid will kick in. Oh well, that depends on whether you're racing or merely riding your bike too... I guess. Most of us were on our limit, especially me after pushing a really big gear up these climbs.

Okay, so here's the profile.


Riders who weren't warmed up or ready enough caught the gnarly air on the first major climb, where faster riders at the front hit the gas and tried to break up the pack, which is exactly what happened.

Beginning 3 or 4 miles (Clockwise loop on Rt 59)

After a 5 second late start trying to clip in like a noob, I accelerated from the back, trying to get past and stay clear from the slowing group of riders. The front end of the peleton was way out there, and I decided to keep my pace somewhere in the middle. That was my first mistake. If I had given it some more gas, and caught up to the front, I would have survived the shakeup behind. Oh well...open the list of excuses, right?

As far as I remember, on that first hill (atleast for a while), there was a lead select group of 5 or 6 riders, a small chasing pack of maybe 4 with me in it, and then a splintered string of riders behind me. That chasing group broke up, and it was just me and another guy trying to bridge the gap between us and the first group of chasers.

Things got more organized after a few more riders including some good looking girls joined us from the back, which explains for the most part why I started slowing down.

The girls were pretty impressive on the climbs though!!!

Soon, our group of 6 or seven got into a comfort zone, and I remember shouting something like "shorter pulls, faster...!" or "ride like you're racing!!" or some crap like that. Sorry, didn't work. These people were riding like this was a group ride. No way in hell we'd catch the people in front.

So it was a mellow ride till the eventual hill finish, and I just decided to take turns pulling, taking it easy and getting bites to eat.

Eventually, the rollers started taking its toll on our group and one by one, people started falling back. Eventually, it came to 4 chasers with me in it, all of us pretty decent on the climbing. When time came to bite your lower lip and dig into the pain on the last climb to the finish, up came vehicles to dodge past... which was stupid. This is not the Tour de France!

The finish at Jakes' Rocks

So round and round the road rose, up the final hill to Jakes' Rocks and the plan was to keep it steady and not lose speed. That somehow worked out... we caught a couple of riders up in front, got past them blah blah blah...finished, and called it a day.

I finished 14th - alright for the kind of mood I was in. I was glad I was among the few representing Olean NY. It was kind of sad that more riders from my area didn't come out and race...






Luckily, mother nature decided to rain after all the racing was over. That was good, and we were soon indoors in a local marina restaurant to catch a warm lunch near the water, where we talked about Kinzua and the Indians and some other random stupid stuff.

Here's the cyclophotography of the day :

Prepare your legs the Euro way...

The race course beckons....

Warm up riders!

The beginning false flat

The Elites on their way...

Atleast one person's happy he's racing... (wow, who's that smart guy behind in sleeveless with a hydration bag??)

Sharing a laugh with Team Hollyloft

Off we go!

Finish near Jakes' Rocks...

Race used chip timing...pretty efficient!

Here I go...

Absolute best finisher of the day? This dude... I guess he shamed us all pushing that thing up the hills...!

I patched up together a quick and fun video with the pictures. Enjoy...

15 The Classic Way

"The very worst aspect of the modern cycle trade, is the infestation by the authorised distributor and agent. Business execs chasing profit, having no passion for the sport, or the purity of bikes - most of these people have never even sat on a bike in anger, it is just a commodity to sell... this is reflected in the cynical way that they have forced compact bikes onto us, for their own benefit, very few sizes, only a few colours, very easy to stock, cuts costs and makes more money, but fit hardly anyone. Just take a long look at them, and the puppet journalists sitting on them who rave about how good they are, RUBBISH!!!

There is no compromise in the Maestro shop, a race bike in the classic way, is still the only way, and nothing has really changed."

- MAESTRO, UK

3 Robotic Laser Cutting System at Raleigh

For some interesting reading this weekend, here's an old article that explores a robotic laser cutting system at Raleigh Bikes of Canada, reasons to invest in it and the benefits offered at production in terms of cost, time and less scrap. In the end, its value for the customer. Raleigh labels laser-cut bicycles with a sticker that touts "Laser Robotic Technology".This cutting system used on frame tubing functions in a manufacturing cell of its own [See Cellular Manufacturing], and needs only occasional monitoring by an operator.

So lets take a look at how this robot works and builds bicycles.

Note : I can't remember where I obtained this article from...sheepish grin.

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Robotic Laser System Helps Build Better Bikes

Machine shops producing prototypes or varying volumes of customized metal parts are finding that automated laser cutting systems provide simplicity and achieve high quality.

By Patricia Hlebovy Grey, Contributor



Raleigh Industries of Canada Limited in Waterloo, Quebec has reduced a five-step manual cutting process down to two steps by using a robotic Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser cutting system. Immediate benefits of the robotic laser cutting system are cleaner cuts, consistent parts and reduced labor. Raleigh is the first Canadian bicycle manufacturer to use laser cutting in the production of the front triangle of the main frame for its 156 styles of youth and adult bicycles.

The laser cutting cell is designed to perform complex cuts for tube-to-tube joints that are difficult to achieve with conventional cutting systems. The system is essentially a hands-off automated cell that needs only occasional monitoring by an operator. Laser cutting also produces very little scrap.



Sturdy Construction

Raleigh purchased the system from Hobart Brothers of Canada Limited which, acting as the systems integrator, took responsibility for cell concept, specification, integration and installation. The system was designed to cut complex, precise profiles on various gauges of mild steel and chromoly tubes. The system features a Hobart HLP 750 Nd:YAG laser, a Motoman K10ASB industrial robot with an ERC controller, and Hobart's high-speed Z end effector. The cutting system was installed in November 1994 and currently is cutting 1600 bicycle frames per day. The frames include three types of tubes--top, bottom and seat.

Motoman K10

Raleigh offers a lifetime warranty on its bicycle frames, thereby making sturdy construction fundamental for the company's success and profitability. The foundation of the bicycle is the tube assembly that forms a diamond-shaped base. A main vertical support tube extends from the seat to the pedal. A front triangle is formed with two tubes (top and bottom) that connect the seat tube with the steering handle and front wheel column tube. A back triangle is formed with top and bottom tubes connecting the main seat tube with the back wheel component.

The angle of the top and bottom tubes determines the style and size of the bicycle. High quality welding to connect these tubes is essential to the bicycle's foundation. "We have found that consistency in tube parts is crucial to our success in welding," said Jim Wilkinson, industrial engineering manager for Raleigh's manufacturing facility in Waterloo, Quebec. "Our experience shows that laser-cut tubes are more accurate and consistent than those cut by end mills."
Hobart Brothers of Canada Limited contracted with NuTech Engineering, a Canadian systems integrator, to construct the laser cutting cell and the tube feeder system. The cutting cell features a laser light-tight safety enclosure with access doors that interlock so that the laser can be activated only when the doors are closed. A 12-by-12-inch view window allows visible light to pass but blocks laser light specifically, enabling an operator to monitor the cutting process. The cell is a CDRH Class 1 enclosure, measuring 10 by 12 feet.



Inside The Cell

The tubes are purchased in 20-foot lengths and delivered in bundles of 200. These bundles are stored according to gauge and diameter on a loading dock area. A crane then transfers a tube bundle into a NuTech-designed loading hopper that is part of the laser cutting system. A gravity feeder automatically downloads the tubes one at a time through a doorway into the laser cutting cell. An indexer in the cutting cell grabs the tube as it enters and pushes it out to the programmed length (from zero to 36 inches), as is required by a particular bicycle size. The only manual adjustment in the cutting cell is the collar on the indexer. The collar must be adjusted to accommodate various tube diameter sizes.

Although all cutting occurs inside the main enclosure, the laser power source is located outside the cutting cell. This Nd:YAG solid-state laser was manufactured by Hobart Laser Products (Livermore, California). To withstand industrial environments, the laser meets NEMA 12 standards. The YAG crystal (cylindrical in shape with optically polished ends) and two arc lamps are mounted at the top of the power source enclosure in a water-cooled pump chamber. The crystal is optically excited by the arc lamps to produce the laser beam. Arc lamp life averages 400 hours, and lamps can be changed without opening the laser optical cavity. The controls, power supplies and other equipment are contained in separate bays of the enclosure.
The 750-watt laser beam travels via an optical fiber cable into the cutting cell. The cable assembly includes a single fiber housed in an armored jacket with special connectors at each end. The beam is launched into the fiber with a lens system that focuses the laser beam into the fiber. At the output end of the fiber, another lens system, called the end effector, focuses the light into the workpiece. The laser beam has a wavelength of 1.06 microns, which is not in the visible range.



The Robot's Role

The Motoman robot performs the scalloped or wave-shaped cuts on the tube ends. These curved shapes are necessary to provide a good weld fit-up between the top or bottom tube and the vertical seat tube on the frame. The five-axis articulated robot with a two-axis trepanning head ensures the tubes are cut to the required specifications. An additional coordinated axis in the robotic system rotates the tube during the cutting process. The ends of the tube are also dressed, or finished, eliminating the need for cleaning before welding starts. A unique feature that has been designed into the cutting cell is a steady rest that secures the tube during the cut.

Upon completion, the rest releases the cut tube and places it gently into a load bin. If there are any end scraps, they are transported similarly by the steady rest into a scrap bin.
To achieve a cut, a lens focuses the laser beam onto a material's surface. Raleigh uses an assist gas, oxygen, which is delivered coaxially about the focused laser beam. The relative motion generated between the beam and the material produces a kerf, or cut. Laser power, speed and assist gas are the prime components of laser cutting.

Controlling the distance between the cutting nozzle and the workpiece significantly impacts the quality and success of laser cutting. When performing a complex cut, it is important to know exactly where the material is located. Raleigh is using Hobart's recently introduced high-speed Z end effector, which uses capacitive height sensing and an independent Z axis to maintain proper nozzle-to-workpiece position. It is a noncontact device that senses a metallic surface with a great deal of accuracy. The amount of programming is greatly reduced when using the high-speed Z because only the path is critical and the height sensor compensates for minor part variations.
The all-electric industrial robot and YASNAC ERC controller coordinate the tube feeding system, activate the HLP 750 laser and the high-speed Z end effector, as well as process all input/output signals. The ERC controller is the system's central intelligence used to program the laser cutting system, to detect problems in any phase of the operation, and to protect the system by shutting down the laser whenever a problem does occur.

"Our greatest challenge in this whole system has been properly lining up the feeder bins for the 20-foot tubes so that a tube does not jam as it is entering the cutting cell," said Mr. Wilkinson. "If the tube piece doesn't go in correctly, the cutting system immediately shuts down until an adjustment is made."



Enhanced Welding

Upon completion, the cut tubes are transferred to the next production phase, which is robotic gas metal arc welding (GMAW). Raleigh uses GMAW laser-cut tubes to produce frames that are light-weight, an important consumer feature. The laser cutting system was added specifically to enhance the welding process at Raleigh. "Welded frames became the technology of choice when mountain bicycles made their advent into the marketplace during the 1980s," said Ron Hanson, vice president of sales and marketing, Raleigh Industries of Canada Limited. "Suddenly, weight became an important issue for bikers." Prior to welded frames, Raleigh produced lug frames for the front and back triangle frames.

In the manufacture of lug frames, the tubes were cut manually to a required length with a milling machine. One end of the cut tube was inserted into a lug, which was a pre-formed metal piece made into the desired angle for a particular bike frame. Lugs came in different sizes and shapes to fit a variety of tubes. A brass charge contained in the collar of the lug melted during a brazing process. As the melted brass cooled and solidified, a brazed joint is formed between the tube and lug. Upon inspection, if rework was needed, it had to be done by hand. Finally, the bicycle frame went through a pickling procedure to clean off the black residue left by the flux from the brazing process.

"Obviously, this was a very time-consuming, labor-intense and potentially dangerous process," said Mr. Wilkinson. When Raleigh began making changes in the bicycle design to respond to the consumer demand for mountain bikes, the Waterloo facility had to look at different methods of welding the frame together. Welding was an impressive alternative because it maintained quality consistency, which ensured Raleigh's high manufacturing standards.

With welding, metal is fused to metal, eliminating the high costs of brass charges and pre-fitted lugs. "Welding was a less expensive manufacturing process that produced stronger joints and looked more attractive. So welded frames quickly replaced lug frames," said Mr. Wilkinson. Serious competition with welded frames immediately came from off-shore manufacturers that were using manual gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). In this welding process, a shield gas or gas mixture is used in the arc between a tungsten (nonconsummable) electrode and the metal piece. As the metal heats up, it coalesces to achieve the weld. GTAW is typically done manually and requires a highly skilled welder. Low labor costs in off-shore countries offer an advantage in using the GTAW process.

So Raleigh Industries looked for a viable welding alternative. As a solution, Hobart recommended automated GMAW using a robot. This process uses the intense heat of an electric arc to melt filler metal and the base metal. The consumable bare solid electrode wire is continuously fed into the arc. As the wire is heated, the liquid metal melts off the end of the electrode wire and is transferred through the arc to the metal piece, forming the weld. GMAW can be automated very successfully, thereby eliminating the need for skilled labor. Automated GMAW proved to be three to four times faster than GTAW, which cost-justified the bicycle manufacturer's expenditure for this technology.

Raleigh installed its first Motoman robot for GMAW in 1990, followed by additional welding robot purchases in 1992, 1993 and 1994. In all, Raleigh utilizes eight robots for GMAW. The company has learned over the last few years that accurate, consistent parts are essential to successful automated welding.



Fewer Steps

The milling machines and punch presses that were used to cut the tubes prior to the installation of the laser cutting system had been purchased thirty years ago when the Waterloo facility was built by the Thistle Company, a manufacturer of baby strollers, carriages and juvenile tricycles. Raleigh Industries of Canada Limited bought the facility in 1972 and switched the production to youth and adult bicycles.

"During the last several years, it has become increasingly difficult to find replacement parts to repair the milling machines and punch," said Mr. Wilkinson. "The difficulty with end mills is that they became dull quickly when used on chromoly tubes. It was also hard for a mill machine operator to have control in locating parts in multidie end cuts," he continued.

In addition, the labor was still very intense with milling machines and punch presses. First, the tubes had to be cut to the required length and then cleaned. After the first two processes, they were placed in end mills that notched out the tube ends for weld fit-up. Optional holes such as water bottle slots had to be punched by a hydraulic press, yet another separate process. Then the tubes had to be cleaned once again before welding could occur.

A milling machine changeover to another bicycle style required costly production downtime and different hard tooling like plates, drills and punches. "With robotic laser cutting, we manually load the tubes into the feeder bin and then transfer the finished tubes to the welding area. The laser cutting program handles everything in-between. An indexer positions and rotates the tube during the cutting process while the laser and robot perform all the cuts that are programmed. Changeovers are simple program changes," said Mr. Wilkinson. "The result is a dressed tube ready for welding."

The immediate investment into laser cutting technology is offset by the reduction of labor that end mill cutting incurs. Raleigh estimates that in three to four years they will recover their investment.



Marketplace Appeal

How important is laser cutting to the purchaser of a Raleigh bicycle? Important enough that Raleigh labels laser-cut bicycles with a sticker that touts Laser Robotic Technology. "That label indicates to a potential buyer that the latest technology has been used to produce the sturdiest bicycle Raleigh can offer," said Mr. Hanson, speaking from his sales and marketing perspective. "It definitely influences purchasing decisions."

8 The Breaking Look Pedals, A Cyclist's Prayer and More...

Here are some pollinations for this week.


1.
About 80,000 units of Look Keo bicycle pedals sold between 2004 and 2007 are being recalled, as of yesterday. The steel axle inside the pedal can break, it seems, and Look has received 14 different reports of accidents. Pedal models include Keo Classic, Sprint, HM and guess what...carbon. Titanium is not included. If you have any of these models, be a little concerned and spent some time reading this.



2.
One of the lightest in the market, the new Scott Road shoes seem like the perfect match for the Rock Racing team. Sorry, not me...



3. The following diagram presents Alpha Q's carbon Rooting technology, a fancy term for how they arrange bands of carbon fiber from the steerer tube down to the fork body. Read more here.





4. Here's an interesting picture.


It seems Team Barloworld mechanics etched this pattern onto this Mavic R-Sys front wheel rim (bike seems to be a Bianchi 928 Carbon) in the hopes that they will improve wet weather braking performance. This was during the Tour de France. See here.

So did it work in the end? I don't know, but I wonder if this action by the mechanics is in anyway telling of the wheel's original unsatisfactory braking performance?



5. Finally, my friend Dave Kina from East Aurora NY happens to be a good bike racer, and one of the deeper thinkers I have known in my circle.

In his blog, he presents us with his Cyclist's Prayer. I couldn't help grinning at a few of the statements, but really, when the T-factor gets going among us cyclists, lots of dangerous situations and conflicts can arise.

So what prayer suits you most?

Dave of Cyclelight says :

I say a few prayers while riding and racing bikes. These help me keep things in perspective and keep it real. Here are a few of my common prayers that aren’t too personal.

- Allow these bike racers not to rage against each other but to strive with each other. Amen

- Let these racers not get injured so they are able to continue doing purposeful work off of the bike and be able to do all the goodness they can with their families and friends. Amen

- Keep me from lusting after these bicycles. Help make my bicycle a tool for goodness as I pray while riding. Amen

- Help me not get angry at riders who don’t hold their line. Especially do not let me get angry when riders force their way between me and the racer in front of me because this is just a competitive move in racing bikes. Amen

- I know that the act of bike racing really doesn’t compare to more meaningful acts but at least let this time be enriched by prayer. And more importantly let this time be one of harmony between racers. Let us show support for each other and not trash talk or gossip. Amen

- Help me not get angry at this guy who is opening up gaps and riding at an uneven pace. Rather let me turn this anger over to energy toward catching the pack. Give me similar energy toward purposeful goals in my life. Amen

- If a racer causes me to crash may I not say anything until I can speak some peaceful words. Amen

Conflict management with a prayer? Amen to that! I find having to remind myself before I bad mouth some words on the road is a really good thing. Personally and more so socially, it seems less uncouth.

Here's the psychological science behind road bike rage for added reading, courtesy of Momentum Planet in British Columbia.

So goal for the month for us could be ---> lesser rage and more meaningful riding?

17 2009 Shimano Dura Ace Di2 Price Chart

So, do you have 3000 dollars to spare?

Just to shift.... ?

1 Tour de Chautauqua County : Area 8

42 MILES
1700 FT CLIMBING




On Saturday, we decided to drive and meet up in the town of Jamestown NY, where some local riders would lead us around Lake Chautauqua, an absolutely gorgeous place with plenty of Native American cultural and religious sites to see and scenic waterside restaurants to eat at.

This was a good ride as I would get to branch out west of Cattaraugus and continue flagging more territories in my Tour.

See the past rides in the Tour de Cat County I've have done so far here.

Chautauqua County is the westernmost county in New York. Chautauqua Lake, located in Chautauqua County New York, sits high at an elevation of over 1306 feet mean sea level (msl). It has been a popular resort area for Northerners since the end of the Civil War. The word "Chautauqua" probably came from the naming of the lake. It is said that Chautauqua is an American Indian word meaning "a bag tied in the middle" (to describe the shape of the lake) or "two moccasins tied together." [Source for this Information]

I had to forget both my helmet and my camera in the early morning brain fog. Luckily, my head stayed with me for the whole ride but I missed capturing some scenes of the gorgeous scenery as we sped around the lake. The rolling hills and the consistent sight of the Lake beside us made for a great ride.

Mike Higgins took a couple of pictures with his backup camera. Thanks man!

Photo moment before the start..

The Lake (Northern end?)

1 SRAM Red Chainring Failure

I'm thankful to a reader who made me aware of an incident of SRAM chainrings failing.

Check out these bizarre picture. Have you seen something like this?

SRAM Red couldn't have gotten any redder than this..
Note the rider's blood on the chainrings, from his fingers as he tried to bend if off the chainstay.

Long story short, the rider, who tested this setup out supposedly on some very steep alpine mountains, tells us the following (this was his quote on the Weightweenies forum) :

"Its a compact chain set 50/34 with 175mm cranks and actually this happened when i was shifting down from the bigger ring to the smaller one, and no damage was incurred during transit as i had been using a flight case for air transportation, and the fact that I'd done 260 miles on the bike in the previous week in hillier areas."

What may grip you, and me also, is the fact that AL 7075 is a pretty high strength material used even for structural parts in airplane fittings and other important applications.

But I'm sure to get the Red's overall weight down to sub 2000 grams, they must have CNC machined out some decent material off the AL7075-T6 chainrings.

Before we pin this as the rider's problem or a manufacturing problem, I feel there definitely is more to the story than we know at this point, to make a valid conclusion.

But here's the word though, and I'm not sure if this is true or not - The bigger riders in Team Astana this year were using normal Dura Ace chainrings with their other SRAM Red gruppo.

If that is true, and if the RED chainrings can't handle bigger riders with more power output, whats the whole point of this statement, from the SRAM Will You Make the Leap website :

Matched to the new crankset is an equally revolutionary pair of chainrings. Optimized exclusively for Red components, they're stiffer than anything ever before, for greater efficiency as well an incredible power transfer ability.

As a heads up though, for you riders out there using Red's chain rings, keep an eye out for this problem.

9 NYPD Officer Gets Pawned

I'm not crazy about critical mass. Infact, I don't even know the point of it all.

But by now, you must have all seen this, floating around the web on many sites.



My intuition is that the bicyclist, while out of the frame and riding towards the cop, must have yelled out some obscenity or even given the finger to the officer, Mr. Pogan.

I don't know.

The cyclist also rides a similar type of bike and come from the general direction as the other cyclists. So why was just he targeted?

Perhaps the answer is : The clip is too short and doesn't show other arrests, only one spectacular one.

While we don't quite know what may have been the real provoking element, it is quite obvious that Mr. Pogan's actions towards the cyclist was a little ridiculous and uncalled for.

A straight out, hard cold elbow at the cyclist, Chris Long, that eventually sent Long flying long over the curb at probably 10 or 15 mph.

Whack!

Not only must the rider have sustained a good amount of bruises, but the officer must have also gotten hurt since in the scuffle, it may have been hard to avoid the sharp components of the bicycle, like a pedal hitting the cop's urinary system or something...

The biggest surprise of the day though, was the officer's statement against the cyclist, produced in county court.

Check it out. I've circled some statements that may or will look pretty inconsistent to a viewer of the video above.

Arrest authorized? Third degree assault?

Being neutral, I certainly was surprised and slightly entertained by the punch but what I ended up enjoying on the other hand as well was the alleged prophetic message of the cyclist during arrest.

YOU ARE PAWNS IN THE GAME. I'M GONNA HAVE YOUR JOB.

Woo hooo...

That turned into humiliation over the weekend when the officer was stripped of his badge and gun on Monday.

Whether Mr. Long will be given the cop's badge and gun remains yet to be seen.

4 Tour de Cattaraugus Area 7 : Portville and Around

32 MILES
1900 FT CLIMBING




Our gang got together after work hours to ride a fast one to Portville and around, crossing slightly into PA and back up.

On way back to Portville, we took the a nice gradual climb known as Lillibridge Road. For all the feminine sweetness contained in its name, this one becomes a bitch towards the end when the road is unpaved for a half mile or so.

But we could take that just to get to the top, where the views of Haskell flats and Lake View Terrace were gorgeous.

The custom among riders here is to bring beers along on the bikes, get to the top of Lillibridge and chug a few down.

The merry descent on the steep downhill that follows is always a fun thing to experience.

Just keep tabs on the brakes though!

Left to right : Ted Branch, Mike Higgins and Tim Maxon

Ted remarks sarcastically how he hit 300 miles on his cyclocomputer at the moment the shot was taken, with 15 miles/week all season & Mike cheers for him on the right

Views while climbing Lillibridge

The top!

Wait, somethings missing.........me! Standard victory salute

Nice bikes for everyone...just got to work on ourselves now. :)

Showering in the sun...rock on! On top of Portville and surroundings (~2000 feet) You better sweat or you'll chill here.

3 Kurt Kinetic Releasing 911 Trainer

I got word on a new Kinetic Trainer called 911. Here's what Kurt tells me :

"Nature Valley Grand Prix fans and athletes alike got a sneak peek on the streets of Minneapolis of the newest release from the Kinetic R+D center: the 911 trainer. So named for its ability to store a rider’s energy as easily in a third world village as a summer power outage, the 911 stores energy in an accompanying rechargeable power pack. In tests, two hours of constant riding generated 1000 watts of power, or enough energy to power the average home for half a day. The 911 is expected to ship this fall with applications from camping and recreation to international aid relief."


Power storage device built into a trainer. Innovative business idea? Maybe. Ride your bike while saving that energy you put in for another need?

We've probably seen many of these devices in one form on another but I haven't heard of any commercial devices.

Anyway, here's an article about Kurt Manufacturing Company from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Kurt Manufacturing division becoming hub for bicycle trainers

by John Vomhof Jr. Staff Writer

Kurt Manufacturing Co. Inc. didn't plan to enter the cycling industry, but now its Kinetic cycling division is one of its fastest-growing units.

Kurt, a $125 million contract manufacturer based in Fridley, was making bicycle trainers -- devices that attach to standard road bikes to hold them in place, allowing cyclists to ride them indoors similar to a stationary bike -- for Cycle-Ops, when the bike maker went bankrupt in 1999. Left with $150,000 in inventory and tooling, Kurt decided to branch into the cycling business on its own.

Kinetic has since established itself as a leading brand for bicycle trainers. Sales for the division have grown from $1 million in 2004 to $3 million in 2007, and the company expects to hit $10 million to $15 million within five years.

"Even though the cycling industry as a whole is flat, we are continuing to grow and gain market share, cannibalizing on the competition," said Paul Carlsen, division manager for Kinetic.

Kinetic trainers are sold in 1,500 to 2,000 bike shops nationwide. The company's top-of-the-line trainer, the Rock and Roll Pro RU, sells for $669, compared to $200 for some competing products.

Avid cyclists are willing to pay a premium for a better riding experience, said Carl Gulbronson, industry consultant for Kinetic. "If somebody buys a $69 bike at Target, they aren't going to buy our trainer."

Kinetic makes fluid trainers designed to replicate an outdoor ride. The back wheel of the bike rests on a roller filled with fluid.

Kinetic's leak-proof design separates it from the competition, said Pat Sorensen, president of Bloomington-based Penn Cycle & Fitness, which runs six bike shops throughout the Twin Cities. Kinetic trainers are by far the best-selling trainers at Penn Cycle & Fitness, he said.

"All of our people sell them with great confidence, knowing that they're not going to have problems with them," Sorensen said. "We sold another brand that also makes a fluid trainer, and we had a number of those that have had leakage problems."

Kinetic trainers come with an unconditional, lifetime warranty.

In addition to trainers, Kinetic offers various related accessories. The Kinetics Power Computer, for example, calculates a rider's power output in watts. The company has about a dozen other products under development, including the 911 Trainer, a device that will capture the power a rider generates, storing it in a power pack that the rider can then plug electronics into.

Another key focus for Kinetic moving forward will be international sales. Currently, less than 5 percent of the company's sales come from outside North America.

"Just by hitting Europe, we can double our business," Gulbronson said.

6 Angelina Jolie and the Colnagos

Whats the connection, you ask?

Here's something I picked up - An article in Pez Cycling by Charles Manantan, dated Dec 23, 2003. Mr. Manantan was doing a side to side comparison of the Colnago C40 with the C50 series, and somehow he couldn't make up his mind about which one was better. You can read the original article here.

Anyway, so he finished his assessment and finally wrote in the end :

"So all in all the C50 is a little nicer than the C40. It’s not hugely better, but the performance boost is noticeable and, with the new tubes, head and stays, it warrants a new number. That seems like light praise for the C50 only because the C40 is so sweet! It’s like determining whether or not 20 nights would be better than 18 with an enamored Angelina Jolie when just one is more than most of us deserve."

Whoaa whoaa.... hold it! Where did nights with Angelina Jolie pop out from? We were comparing bikes a moment ago, weren't we?

Wow.... if Brad Pitt were to read this now, I guess he'd knock your cycling socks right out, Mr. Manantan. Forget about 18 nights!

5 Tagged With Additional Questions

I was notified that The Fat Cyclist responded to my Six Random Things About Me post, in which I blatantly tagged him. I guess in the end he mercilessly tore apart the whole plague that is the tagging phenomena and chose to devise his own intelligent questions, which he answered himself first.

And then he sneezeth and James @ Bicycle Design, among many, caught-eth the cold. The epidemic has been passed on to me.

Anyway, the questions are very bike related and since these two gentleriders chose to put their effort into answering them, I might as well too.

Here goes. Music first right? Ready..?






Q. If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?

A. I like my bike with a no nonsense traditional top tube. Sloping tubes feel like they've just broken their back to accommodate me. I'll get any bike with a proven geometry and lets me achieve my goals. Okay, I'm getting too philosophical here. Colnago has been something I've always wanted to try. I respect the name, their ISO Certification, their proven geometry...why else would they have the same specs for every bike? It feels good to be part of a long tradition, doesn't it?


Q. Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?

A. I ride plenty of miles, and if I had a choice, I would have a "stable" of bikes...50...maybe 100 of them for each occasion, to ride on my whim on any day I like. Life is all about balance. I guess you could dream all you want, but you have other priorities as well.


Q. If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?


A. The Stelvio Pass in Italy. Gorgeous and painful, its like sex and death.


Q. What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to do for the rest of her / his life?

A. Elden The Fat Cyclist. No... but I'd ride my favorite bike all my life. You did provide tools, grease and lube for maintenance, right? Non problemo, chico!


Q. Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrowminded?

A. Road for now and sparsely into mountain biking, whenever I can. I'm narrowminded now?


Q. Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.

A. I feel its for older folks. Maybe when I become 50, loose a couple of disks from my back, and my ass cant take a saddle this long and this wide, I'll think about it.


Q. Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?

A. I definitely don't want to tarnish my image, be it doing a triathlon or strangling myself with Fluoride and bleach, the last things I want sitting in my mouth before I die.


Q. Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?

A. Thats apples and oranges for me. Do you ride your ice cream? Yuck, don't even hint at your weird fetishes.

Ok here, suppose you gave up on ice cream and chose bicycles. Suppose I gave up on bicycles and stuck with ice cream. Then we can trade whenever we please. Fair enough?


Q. What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.

A.. Sweet Mary, its asked all the questions, thank you very much!


Q. You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?

A.

1. Dismount the bike, and give a speech to the bear on the health benefits and efficacy of cycling, rather than just crawling about on all fours, wasting energy.

2. Throw him my Cliff Bars. Don't tell me bears don't like the best bike food in the world. Who knows, maybe the bear would get into cycling after his experience...

3. Do a wheelie and pretend to be a horse.. a weird mutant horse to say the least.

If all fails.... ,

4. Take dog spray and apply it in my eyes so I wouldn't see my limbs being torn apart (thanks Blue).


Q. Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below.

Ron, Ron, and Ron. These are 3 bloggers I know very intimately. Ooops, looks like all of them answered the above questions at once.

Now that was pretty darn neat wasn't it?

Tagging plague closed.

5 Tour de Cattaraugus/Alleghany Area 6 : Olean-Wellsville

121 MILES
5000 FT CLIMBING


The Tour de France is once again over with a great win for Sastre, the oldest winner in the race's history.

Well, it'd be shame if I were to have sat down and watched the final stage this morning...

...since my magnificent Tour de Cattaraugus must go on!

Like a hen proudly ruffles her feathers in the morning, I donned my Lycra suit at 8am for yet another ride in the Tour de Cattaraugus series.

Ok, this is not to say I'm a chicken.

Don't even go there...

Well ok, so I didn't plan the ride very well and had no intention of riding for practically half my day. But whatever...100 miles is 100 miles.

I heard though some friends that there were some majestic hills out in the east in no man's land.. hence I decided to exit Cattaraugus, enter Alleghany, exit Alleghany...enter Pennsylvania, exit Pennsylvania...ok, I'll shut up.

Quick recap : Areas 1 through 5 covered prior to this ride is documented here.

So, here is Area 6 below, route and elevation for a saddle time of 7 hours. Red arrows indicate starting, blue indicate turning back and trying to get the hell home (without a map :) )



The ride is basically me trying to go from Olean to Wellsville through Bolivar and Alma. South Bolivar had some of the best country roads and scenery I've ever seen in my life and Alma Hill Road in Alma NY was a grinding climb up to the highest peak in Alleghany, standing proud at a little over 2500 feet or 760 metres at the highest point.

As I climbed Alma Hill, I passed acres of Maple syrup trees on both sides and my host on top of the peak was a lonely AT&T Tower.

And not a single good looking human female in sight!

After the sweet downhill at a conservative speed, I rode to Wellsville NY and did some local suckers - some very steep climbs - all paved thankfully. Here are the conquests of the day :



Pictures :

Portville-Ceres

Long road ahead

Golf course?

BOLIVAR AND SOUTH BOLIVAR

Very nice country..

Wanna sprint, huh?

Nice roads...

VILLAGE OF HANOEYE

Wonder what this plant makes..dairy?

Cows doing their things

CERES (PA)

NY-PA Border

Humanity's common language - Beer!

ALMA

Road to Alma (one of the best paved roads I've ever seen)

So which one of this is Alma Hill...hmm...

Nice to know...yohoo, anyone in there?

Dead as a dodo...

Time for lunch

in front of the Alma Pond (that's what locals call it..)

Some red indian red necks were here 2000 years ago

Nice..

Aaah, shying away are you, my bike?

A little unsettling to watch this hanging over your head during lunchtime..

Might as well take a dip

Bet that house is warm....bet there's no one living in this house at all!

Alma Hill road

Beginning section

Grind time

After the climbing, the road flattens..is this the peak?

Nearing...

There..! I found you, you little crook...this tower communicates with aircraft, not cellphones (I had no damn signal!)

Now thats what it should look like!

Being on top of Alleghany sure feels good (there's a
good chance this might be the top of South West New York)

PETROLIA

Petrolia on my left, pretty sights downhill on my right

WELLSVILLE

The country part of Wellsville...

City part

Smile guys...no no...don't give me the finger...

Main street

Going up Rauber Hill... with 80 miles in the legs, this one was a hard grind

On top of Rauber to Voorhees

Voorhees Hill....last one of the day

Time to head back home and blog about this !!! 40 miles to home... on the 417 highway, in 80 degree temp with a headwind all the way. You must learn to stop bitching...

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