Panic

Still think this needs to be stickied. Especially after all the damn BD crap threads.

Surferbruce

One of the most interesting things I learned was how few people in the U.S. are responsible for buying bike components on any real scale. For instance at Trek there is one guy who picks every single OEM component on every bike they sell. There's like maybe 7-8 people who basically control the OEM market overall. It's a small small (bicycle) world.

celticfrost

My fav shot of a very impressive lot. The angle and/or lens captures so much vertical scope -- awesome.

Surferbruce

thanks. i really wanted to capture the reality of the cobbles. In most photos they look like no big deal, but in truth they're awful, particularly if they're not in really good shape. The climbs on them were hard in a technical sense, just keeping traction in the back wheel, but the flats at speed were a total body workout and after a couple K your hands are numb and and your whole upper body starts to fatigue really fast. doing a long ride with multiple pavé sections becomes basically interval work. It's why Paris-Roubaix is so great because it's a war of attrition and at the end it's truly the strongest guy who's going to win.

botto 

bump.

wanders

couch bound?

botto 

winter time - this is why we ride - bump.