Since this time, the technology of cycling has grown exponentially.  Having always been a fan of solid technological advances, this at first seemed a natural direction to me.  However after a decade of the next best marketing gimmick, the latest and greatest carbon weave and the immense “look at me” gear neatly parked at the local coffee stop I have found myself again yearning for more.  Not to be overly nostalgic, but the days of old where cycling was about human strength, will and determination were far more invigorating than the 3rd Lance Armstrong comeback!

2010 marks the year where I have decided to refocus my career and by refocus I do not mean go back for my MBA in International business but rather a much humbler undertaking.  With any Luck I will begin my path with 3 weeks of one on one instruction in the art of Bicycle framebuilding from David Bohm of Bohemian Cycles in Arizona. Learning the art and true craftsmanship of fabricating framesets of Steel, Aluminum hybrids and Titanium.  This career switch is likely to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-10 years but I believe I am up for the change.

With this focus in mind I present 3 beautifully designed and realized modern day frames that reference the best craftsmanship of yesterday with the tub innovations of today.

First up, Pegoretti’s Luigino. They are no stranger to modern classic steel craftsmanship, come to think of it, in Italy they are at the forefront of it.  Building off of the fantastic Columbus Niobium Spirit steel tubeset with a slightly oversized diameter to ensure adequate stiffness, this frame is beautifully built in all aspects! It is available in 1cm increments between 48cm-62cm and 34 different paint schemes at no added cost, though I love the Orange and yellow classic realized scheme shown to the right.  No details are overlooked with nice (not to fancy not to plain) lugs, well placed cutouts and one of my favorite headbadges.  I might also mention that Dario Pegoretti spends excessive time on the internet looking for classic 70-80’s era Campy dropouts and fork ends for the frames!

www.pegoretticicli.com

For the second frame of of the 2010 bike lust series, I bring you what is arguably one of the coolest best realized bicycle product company’s in business today, Rapha.  Even the name reeks of tradition and quality. So leave it to Rapha to enlist no less than 7 independent frame builders to make custom frames for their Continental Team!  Each frame is uniwue to the builder and the intended rider with the exception of the paintjobs, glossy black with the subtle Rapha logo in pink on the top tube near the junction of the seattube.  This section of the Rapha site is well worth exploring.  Not only do you get to see all of the builds but you get a sneak peak into the builders workshops and some one on one talk with each of them.  Check the images below and I think you will agree that these are some lust worthy steel Framesets! Rapha is known for the fantastic line of clothing that happily lives somewhere between the past and present but is firmly some of the coolest gear you can get yourself into!

Rapha

Last but not least Encyclista recently posted a rather promising looking frame made out of aluminum and hailing from Denmark.  Though I know little about this company Rivette, the R6 road frameset looks like a promising piece of Aluminum craftsmanship. A semi sloping design with internally routed cables, a 27.2 (thankfully) seat tube and oversized tubing make this an interesting offer from this relatively unknown Danish company.  I will do a more thorough write up on it in the future as I learn more about them.

So this post is to introduce you to the wonder that is  Copenhagen Cycle Chic.  It is a taste of the possibilities that are possible when the public is dedicated to a better form of transportation.  Explore the site, it is updated daily and full of phenomenal examples of Chic Cycling!

Zoom ahead 14 years and a steady stream of private race prototypes later and the brand rafael is unveiled at the First European Handmade Bike Show in 2009.  The frame are flawless! Fantastic attention to detail, true understanding and mastery of aerodynamics and everything, and I mean everything is built in house to custom specs!  Rafael developed his own custom monocoque construction method using adaptable moulds. This allows him to build coveted one-piece frames to custom sizes without needing a mould for every size which is prohibitively expensive and the very reason almost all of the known names in cyclings frames are now made in china!

The future of custom carbon frame building is emerging, and the pioneer of its development is rafael!

If this isn’t some of the most exciting news in cycling, I do not know what is!  Though I would much rather be living in the Mediterranean full time and watching the Giro every year, this would more than suffice in the interim!

The Giro d’Italia has considered a start in the states before, but the logistics, time difference and cost have stood in the way.  However, Washington DC has stood up and shown genuine, concrete interest in hosting the start of the event in the future.

For some time we have had the idea of holding the Giro’s start in America. But now there exists a concrete interest from the city of Washington,

said race director Angelo Zomegnan.

Since the undertaking of starting the epic race would be so large, it is quite possible that multiple stages could be raced here, say Philadelphia and NYC to name but a couple of possibilities.
How will the backdrop of the White House stand up to the Coliseum…I am not sure but all I can say is Bring It On!

This is a reprint of a good short article on what to eat and when for Cyclists.

We’re all obsessed with weight loss.

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, and we spend billions each year on products and services that promise to help us shed pounds. Cyclists typically aren’t overweight by average American standards, but we’re nonetheless fixated on weight, wanting to make bike and body alike ever lighter in a quest for better performance. Yet the latest research shows we’ve all misplaced our focus, and that body composition is a much better indicator of overall health and fitness.

“Body weight tells us nothing about health,”

says exercise–nutrition expert John Berardi, an adjunct associate professor of exercise science at the University of Texas at Austin.

“You could be 165 pounds and quite lean, or 165 pounds and quite fat. Regardless of your weight, the higher your body-fat percentage, the greater your risk of fat-related illnesses like heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.”

In terms of measuring performance potential, the bathroom scale is equally useless, says Paul Goldberg, a Colorado-based dietitian and coauthor of The Lean Look.

“It doesn’t distinguish muscle mass, which enhances performance, from fat mass, which hinders performance,”

he says. The key to going faster on a bike is improving your power-to-weight ratio, by either raising your power output or lowering your weight, or both. Power comes from muscle, so the best way to tune your body for better performance is to maintain your muscles while shedding only fat to lose weight.

Eating for pure weight loss tends to lead to the loss of both fat and muscle, as well as to undereating.

“Undereating carries with it a host of problems such as deficiencies in key vitamins and minerals, reduced muscle glycogen storage, loss of muscle mass and diminished power output,”

says Berardi. Inadequate carbohydrate intake may reduce blood volume as a by-product of depleted glycogen stores (because glycogen is stored with water), and insufficient protein consumption limits your muscles’ work capacity.

“Each of these factors is a performance killer,”

says Berardi. Combined, you don’t stand a chance. Eating for leanness is more complicated than simply restricting calories. On one hand, you need to provide muscles with the nutrition they need to function optimally. On the other, you need to deliberately starve your body’s excess fat so it’s broken down to provide energy for muscles and never replaced. The key is in consuming the right kinds of calories at the right times throughout the day. Here are 10 proven strategies.

1. Monitor your body-fat percentage to be sure you’re eating enough calories. The typical cyclist needs to consume 15 to 18 calories per pound of body weight per day to maintain muscle mass, but don’t waste your time counting calories, advises Goldberg. “Counting calories is like tracking every pitch of a baseball game,” he says. “Stepping on a body-fat scale is like jumping straight to the final score.” If your body fat holds steady or decreases, you’re getting enough calories. If it goes up, even though your weight may be holding steady or decreasing, it’s a sign that your body is breaking down muscle because you’re not consuming enough calories.
2. Consume at least 0.5 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Protein is the primary structural component of muscle. Research shows that this is the minimum level of daily consumption required to maintain muscle in endurance athletes engaged in moderate to heavy training.
3. Eat a high-carb meal before each ride, such as a bowl of oatmeal or a vegetable stir-fry with brown rice. Also, during rides lasting more than one hour, consume carbs on the bike; the simplest way is to sip a sports drink according to your thirst. “Ensuring that your muscles are well supplied with carbohydrate fuel for training will minimize the amount of muscle tissue that is broken down to provide fuel,” says Goldberg.
4. Drink or eat a recovery supplement or snack within an hour of finishing a ride. In this time frame, the body uses carbohydrate and proteins most efficiently to replenish and rebuild muscles. A study from Ontario’s McMaster University found that female cyclists maintained muscle mass and performed better during a period of increased training when they consumed a carb-protein supplement immediately after workouts, rather than with breakfast.
5. Limit your consumption of extremely calorie-dense foods, such as ice cream and just about anything fried. These foods provide far more calories than your body needs to meet short-term energy needs. When you eat these, the excess calories are stored as fat.
6. Keep fat consumption to no more than 30 percent of total calories, and ideally no more than 25 percent. The average American consumes 34 percent of daily calories from fat–and remember, the average American is overweight.
7. Get most of your carbohydrates from low-glycemic-index sources, such as vegetables and whole grains. Carbs from these foods are slowly absorbed into your bloodstream for longer-lasting energy; carbs from sweets and refined grains are rapidly absorbed. Choose low-GI foods at all times except during and immediately after rides, when quickly absorbed sugars will replenish glycogen stores fast.
8. Divide your daily calories over four to six eating occasions, not just two or three. “Eating frequently encourages smaller portions,” says Berardi, “and eating smaller portions minimizes the number of excess calories you’re likely to consume each time you eat.”
9. Concentrate your calorie intake during times of greater energy needs: first thing in the morning and before and after rides. Your body is least likely to store calories as fat when your muscle and/or liver glycogen reserves are low, such as when you wake up, and during and after exercise.
10. Get enough omega-3 fatty acids. Known for boosting heart health, the omega-3 fats found in foods such as wild salmon, flaxseed and mackerel may also promote leanness. One study from Berardi’s lab showed a 400–calorie-per-day increase in metabolic rate, -1 kilogram of fat lost and 1 kilogram of lean mass gained in subjects who supplemented with fish oil daily for three weeks.

Matt Fitzgerald, coauthor of The Lean Look, is a health and fitness writer in San Diego.