TGE Sat.Morn.Ride w/Garmin Connect - Details

The Great Escape Greenville Sat. Morn. ride. brought to you by Garmin connect and the garmin 800.
Todays ride was slow and steady, thing tortoise not hare. Still nice to be out before the serious heat hits.
The Sat. shop ride starts at 7am meet behind TGE, Greenville. Come on out it's nice at 7am.
Click the link for detailed map from Garmin Connect.

TGE Sat.Morn.Ride by tgeric at Garmin Connect - Details

Driven by Yellow

Check out Trek’s latest installment in the “Driven” series: Driven By Yellow. Frank and Andy Schleck along with several members of the Trek family discuss how July’s most coveted color inspires them as they prepare for the Tour de France.

Voice Your Support for Bike Lanes in Greenville

How many times have you ridden down a road and thought "This would be perfect if there was a bike lane?" It's tough to get bicycle facilities added to roads after the fact, but keeping an eye on road projects and getting involved in the planning stages can be much more effective in meeting bicyclists' needs.

There is one such opportunity right now in Greenville. Portions of Pelham and Roper Mountain Roads are scheduled to be resurfaced over the summer, and bike lanes on these roads would be a great step toward connecting the central business district with the suburbs and other parts of the county, allowing residents to safety travel the area by bike. These roads are already part of the Greenville Bicycle Master Plan, making the resurfacing a good chance to take a step forward towards the city's goals.

The proposed bike lanes are not without support. The county's Transportation Planning Manager, the Greenville Spinners and many employees in the area (and let's not forget the PCC!) are all in favor of adding bike lanes to these roads. Also, the Greenville Complete Streets Resolution and SCDOT's Bicycle Accommodation Policy advocate for roads that new roads and improvement projects should include facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians as well as cars. However, policies alone cannot get the job done.

In the city's quest to upgrade its ranking and become South Carolina's second silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community, Greenville needs vocal support to complete its goals for bicycle infrastructure. Contact your city council representative to show you support bike lanes and further efforts to make Greenville more bicycle friendly. Through active and respectful participation in the planning process, we can have a real impact on the design of Greenville's roads.

Steve reviews his Garmin 800 and Trek Cronus Pro

Up Paris Mountain

May 1st, was a beautiful Sunday. It was a comfortably cool, clear morning. A great morning to climb with the new bike, as well as put the Garmin Edge 800 cycling G.P.S. and training aid through its paces. So, up Paris mountain it was to be on a 32 mile, 1400 calorie burning ride. Just myself, the Garmin, and the new bike. The Trek Cronus Pro is part of the Gary Fisher Signature line. It can be seen at www.trekbikes.com under the Gary Fisher Collection tab. The bike sports the F.C.C., which stand for Fisher Control Column. It has a 25mm hub cap, which is much larger than the norm. This means shorter bladed spokes, greater strength, and the ability to corner well, and climb like a goat. The climb up Paris Mountain did seem a little easier than on the Madone 5.2, and the decent around the first hairpin turn was amazing. It was like the bike was reading my mind.

Those who know me best know that among my many shortcomings is the fact I get lost going to the mailbox. That is particularly sad since my bloody mailbox is screwed next to the front door of our modest condo. The GPS features of the Garmin Edge 800 kept me on course for a 31 mile ride, and got me home without calling my wife in panic. All, the while I measured my distance, total distance, speed, average speed, cadence, heart rate, average heart rate, calories burned, and elevation gain all on one screen. Other measurements I had on a second screen. One may have 10 different ride calculations on 3 screens for a total of 30 ride statistics, including climb and decent graphs. If you are not impressed yet consider this, one can connect to Garmin connect, create a free account after registering their Garmin, then download the entire ride statistics. You can then print it out, share it, save it, and even post the ride to facebook.

When you look at your ride you can see what amounts to all the above specs complete with color graphs of cadence, heart rate, it looks like an EKG, the route, and ascents, and descents, as well as other specs. You can even record the route you just did for future rides. If you are a premium user of www.mapmyride.com you can download maps to a micro SD card and follow those routes on your Garmin. The Cronus Pro retails for $3849.99 and the Garmin Edge 800 bundle with heart rate strap, and cadence attachment retails for $650.00 U.S. If that is a little steep for the Garmin Edge 800, and you do not need the GPS features consider the Garmin 500 which is significantly less expensive and offers many of the Edge 800 features.

Come see us soon at The Great Escape in Greenville, Anderson, or Spartanburg. Let us fit you and hook you up with the latest technology in cycling.

Till next time,
Steve

Trek implements carbon recycling program

US’ largest bicycle manufacturer now recycling all scrap carbon in domestic manufacturing.

(Waterloo, WI) – Trek Bicycle has instituted a full-scale carbon recycling program at its Waterloo, WI-based US manufacturing facility and is now recycling all scrap carbon fiber; the material primarily used in its domestic production. The material that Trek introduced to the cycling world and has pioneered the usage of since 1992 is revered for its strength and weight properties but has long been believed nearly impossible to recycle.

Through a partnership with Materials Innovation Technologies (MIT LLC) and its wholly owned subsidiary MIT-RCF, a South Carolina carbon reclamation facility that is revolutionizing carbon recycling processes, Trek completed a three month trial period to determine the viability of adopting the step as an official part of the manufacturing process. “Throughout the trial period we worked with Trek to show them how beneficial carbon recycling can be to their overall business practices.” Said MIT’s President and CEO, Jim Stike. “Working with a world leader like Trek to help them become the first bicycle company to begin recycling carbon fiber is very exciting for us.”

Throughout the manufacturing process, Trek collects excess trimmings, non-compliant molded parts and combines it with select reclaimed warranty frames to send to MIT’s South Carolina facility to begin their reclamation process. Reclaimed carbon fiber is currently being used in reinforced thermoplastic applications while research and development is ongoing for use in automotive, aerospace, medical, and recreational applications.

“One of the company’s major initiatives is that we will work to drive more eco-friendly processes into everything that we do,” said Trek Senior Composites Manufacturing Engineer, James Colegrove. “Carbon fiber recycling holds massive potential not just for Trek, but the entire industry.”

Trek 6 series Madones, Made in America, Recycling Carbon Fiber in South Carolina. Trek USA, the Bicycle industry leader.

The Case for Cycling in the Upstate

We seem to have "friends" on local talk radio who do not understand the tremendous payback & great social benefits of cycling in our three beautiful cities. Please take a few minutes to see what it has done for the good people of Denver, Colorado.

Boulder Bike Story from Bikes Belong on Vimeo.

Find this video and more great info at: www.bikesbelong.org

SPREAD THE WORD! Share this video with your friends!

TREKFEST Starts April 6th and Ends April 10th.

Winter's over. Hurry in to let the good times roll with a Trek bicycle! We're discounting select bicycles, helmets, lights and much more! Ride away with a deal at our TrekFest Sale!