Bike with engine (doped bike) and Cancellara (Roubaix – Vlaanderen)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

And this would be the easy way out…

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2013/04/business-networking

Business networking

Cycling is the new golf

Apr 26th 2013, 11:21 by G.D.

TRADITIONALLY, business associates would get to know each other over a round of golf. But road cycling is fast catching up as the preferred way of networking for the modern professional. A growing number of corporate-sponsored charity bike rides and city cycle clubs are providing an ideal opportunity to talk shop with like-minded colleagues and clients while discussing different bike frames and tricky headwinds. Many believe cycling is better than golf for building lasting working relationships, or landing a new job, because it is less competitive.

“When you play golf with somebody you have to decide if you’re going to beat them, or let them beat you,” says Peter Murray, a former architect, journalist and chairman of the NLA centre dedicated to London’s built environment. “If they’re a client and you don’t want to beat them you have to sort of cheat in order to lose. That seems to me not a good way of doing things.”

In 2005 Mr Murray, who is a keen long-distance rider, founded the annual Cycle to Cannes bike ride. This six-day charity event brings together architects and developers who want to cycle 1,500km from London to the MIPIM property fair in southern France each March. It now attracts around 90 riders and has raised £1.5m for a range of charities in Britain and abroad. This year Mr Murray has also founded a more ambitious ride called Portland to Portland. A team will depart Portland Oregon on April 27th and they are due to arrive in Portland Place, London, 76 days and 6575km later. Along the way they will visit cities to discuss the benefits of urban cycling and raise money for several architectural charities.

Group cycling, and especially long-distance riding, is a shared experience, Mr Murray says. Riders often collaborate and help each other out, taking turns to be at the front so that the riders in their slipstream can save almost a third of the effort needed to travel at the same speed. Some riders selflessly volunteer to stay in the front earning them the awe and gratitude of the entire group.

How someone rides a bike can give you a real insight into what a person is like, says Jean-Jacques Lorraine, founding director of Morrow+Lorraine, a young architecture practice in London, and a regular participant of Cycle to Cannes. “Some riders are very single-minded, others more collaborative; some are tactical, others an open book. Some don’t mind being soloists whilst others prefer alliance and allegiance.” A day in the saddle, racing uphill and downhill, creates a bonding experience that endures. “If I walk into a meeting and somebody says ‘I’ve done Cycle to Cannes’ it’s a done deal really,” says Mr Murray.

Mr Lorraine estimates that as much as 75% of the practice’s workload (around 45 projects) has come directly or indirectly from contacts made on the road while cycling, in particular on the Cycle to Cannes ride. Why does he think cycle rides lend themselves so well to networking and making professional contacts? “Grabbing a quick lunch or drink after work, whilst great for different reasons doesn’t give you long enough to get to know someone,” he says. Mr Murray believes long rides break down conventional hierarchical barriers. “A younger rider can be cycling along with a chief executive and take their wind or help them in some way and you get a reversal of the relationship. This changes the relationship when they are off the ride too.”

Many long-distance bike riders say cycling, especially over long distances, simply makes them feel good; it lifts their mood and concentrates things down to the essentials. “The pattern of fuelling, riding, fuelling, arriving, celebrating, sleeping and fuelling again puts all the focus on riding and the company of your fellow riders,” says Simon Mottram, chief executive of Rapha, a premium cycling-clothes brand. The simple repetitiveness eases the stresses and pressures of normal life, making it a powerful counterpoint to our sedentary lives, he adds.

Mr Mottram believes it is easier to get to know people while cycling than in other situations. “There is an easy rhythm about conversations on a bike.” Mr Lorraine makes the point even more strongly: “The adrenaline rushes, the serotonin pulses and the surges of endorphin create a kind of high, a sense of euphoria. I feel open, honest and generous to others. I often find I’m saying things on a bike which I wouldn’t normally say, and equally I’ve been confided in when I wasn’t expecting it.”

Perhaps the most compelling reason why cycling is a good way to network is because, for many professionals, it’s a passion and a way of life. “Getting out on the bike is what we’re all dreaming of doing whilst we’re sitting at our computers,” says Mr Mottram. And a shared passion is a fantastic way to start any relationship.

“Cycle to Cannes” happens each March. “Portland to Portland” leaves Portland, Oregon, on April 27th 2013

Attn: New York City riders,

I received yesterday a red light ticket, and the cop was kind enough to let me know that they were ordered to crack down on bikers this summer more than the last few years.

So you have 2 options:

1) Obey the law

2) Or don’t ride in the city

Whatever you decide to do. Ride safe.

Message from the Coach

Have a seat!

Other people give your bike a weird look. “How do you sit on that seat?”

Road bikes are notorious for having small narrow seats that make people wonder how we ride “comfortably” for hours on it.

Are you having trouble on your seat? You need 2 things to make your ride more pleasant.

First you need a good pair of bicycle shorts. Remember when you were a kid and your bike had a nice cushy seat?

That’s gone in your big boy/girl bike. All that padding is now built into the shorts. Bike shorts are expensive. I’ve always found the ones around $65 and up to be comfortable enough. You’ll find some for $20 but they don’t usually hold up long enough or come close to the comfort.

You also need some chamois cream. The chamois is the padding in your shorts. You put the cream on the padding where it’ll touch your skin to prevent irritation. Brands like Assoss or Butt’r are great options.

Take these 2 steps and be comfortable in all the riding you do!

Mark Izhak, RD

Tour de Simcha Coach

Training in Hohokus!!

Fast fixie: Bicycle with giant chainring aims for 100 mph

All those fixie-riding hipsters have a new bicycle to lust after. This British creation has already topped 60 mph.

 

by Amanda Kooser

April 18, 2013 11:18 AM PDT

Zoom, zoom.(Credit: Donhou)

Most of us don’t put much thought into the components that make a bicycle move. Things like chains and chainrings are pretty much out of sight and out of mind as we peddle along. With Donhou Bicycles‘ 100-mph bike, you can’t ignore the chainring. It’s so big, you could serve a large pizza on it.

The Donhou bike has a purpose in mind. It’s made to go fast. The strange-looking handlebars keep the rider hunched forward in an aerodynamic position. That humungous serving plate-size chainring then goes to work to propel you forward at speeds your Huffy would never even dare to dream of.

That monster of a chainring sports 105 teeth and is 17 inches in diameter. That means every go-round of the pedal sends the bike forward way farther than your standard road or mountain bike.

According to NPR, the bike has already reached speeds of 60 mph on the open road, but creator Tom Donhou would like to get it up to 100 mph. Getting there under pure leg power alone is a little out of reach, which is why many speedster bicyclists use a lead vehicle that provides a good draft to follow in. That’s how Donhou plans to get up to speed with this unusual bike.

The Donhou 100-mph bike won’t be breaking any speed records, but it does manage to look much more like a regular bike than most of the specially designed creations that have set records. That chainring is certainly an attention-getter.

The bike was unveiled at the Bespoked Bristol 2013 show, but so far it looks like it will remain an specialty item and not go into wider production.

This bad boy isn’t for dawdling around town on.

Ride to Harriman

Almost done….

Lunch at the top!

Message from the Coach

We’re not alone on the streets when we ride. You’ve got cars, pedestrians and other cyclists to share the road with. And we have to share it with respect. It’s very easy to ride through streets having fun, zipping by people, maneuvering through crowds like you’re a downhill olympic skier on a gold medal run.

Even if you’re a great bike handler, be cautious on the rode. Not only anticipate where people around you are going, but give plenty of space when passing somebody. It’s very common in parks to pass a runner at what a cyclist would perceive is a safe distance, but the runner you just whizzed by was scared out of his shoes. This is especially important when you wear your Tour de Simcha jersey.

You represent your Tour de Simcha jersey. Ride it with pride and respect for others on the road.

Mark Izhak, RD

Tour de Simcha Coach