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A number of counterfeit Specialized Tarmac framesets (no, not the prototype on the right) were found recently on eBay and Craigslist.  In the past, fake Specialized low-end models stayed in China but now a higher-end product is being ripped off and sold on international marketplace.  Specifically, fake frames detected are blue and red 2007 and 2008 frames and forks in 52 and 54 centimeters.  The fake frames have no serial numbers and are near duplicates of the Outside 3D frame shape.  Their composite construction is reported to be different from Specialized (meaning that an outside factory produced them).  Anyone with any questions regarding the authenticity of a Specialized product should contact their customer service (877-808-8154).

SRAM, after reasonable time post Zipp take-over, have launched a line of road wheels under their own brand name.  The range has three carbon models with different rim depths.  All have the aluminium surface for braking and clincher convenience.  Their rim depths vary from 38 millimeters (the S40 weights 1615 grams a pair) to 60 millimeters (the S60 weighs 1750 grams a pair) and 82 millimeters (the S80 weights 2077 grams a pair).  Each model is SRAM and Shimano cassette compatible.

Trek Bicycle is introducing two single speed “urban” bikes that will feature carbon composite belt drives instead of chains.  The Soho (SRP $990) and the District (SRP $930) will be lighter than comparable commuters by avoiding the traditional metal chain, and the belts are low maintenance, durable (said to last the lifespan of three chains) and make these bikes very quiet.  At some point of our riding careers we will witness move away from the traditional metal chain-based power transmission.

Rumors:

Litespeed is seriously in trouble in terms of financial condition.  Maybe it is finally time for the American Bicycle Group to figure out what to do with two competing Ti brands in their portfolio (Litespeed and another “has been” - Merlin).

The German Schaeffler Group (that took over Continental in September 2007) is shopping it out.  It is said that Continental’s tire division is about to be taken over.  Rumour is that both Bridgestone and Michelin are looking at it.

Ron D., arguably main candidate for a title of TriLife’s “nicest Canadian,” is an honest man now…  Angela and Ron got hitched weekend ago, and recovering in honeymoon training camp.  And Ron thought ironman racing was hard.

Congratulations to Angela and Ron.

Bizarre news from Canada via Vancouver Sun.  The New Balance shoe in question is the SIXTH severed human foot in a running sneaker that was found recently on British Columbia south shores.  All six of the feet - five rights and a left - were found starting August 2007 in the Strait of Georgia, which is sheltered from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island, or nearby in the mouth of the Fraser River. 

Seems that high frequency and geographic concentration of these finds are very suspect even if you include usual by-products of assorted ethnic mafias, accidents and suicides…  If I wrote for a scandal magazine, I would speculate that B.C. has a serial killer with affection for runners’ feet. 

Here is inventory of the prior finds:

Foot No. 1 - a male’s right foot in a Campus brand sneaker found August 20, 2007 on Jedediah Island.

Foot No. 2 - a male’s right foot in a Reebok sneaker found August 26, 2007 on Gabriola Island.

Foot No. 3 - a male right foot in a Nike sneaker found Feb. 2, 2008 on Valdes Island.

Foot No. 4 - a female’s right foot in a New Balance sneaker found May 22, 2008 on Kirkland Island.

Foot No. 5 - a male’s left foot in a Nike sneaker found June 16, 2008 on Westham Island.  DNA testing has confirmed it came from the same person as the foot found on Valdes Island on Feb. 2, 2008.

Independently if such are result of foul play or not, this is a troubling development for Canada, running shoes manufacturers and runners.

“Crime Scene” is a sub-category under the Casualty Department tag to record and to warn athletes about locations of sport-related accidents, mishaps and dangers.  It is perhaps instructive to determine and note if there seem to be accident “hot spots” where more than one incident have occurred.   Obviously, due to the density of athletes in the Central Park, Riverside Drive, Route 9W, etc., such routes will see higher volume of incidence.   Motor vehicle traffic, pedestrians and other athletes/commuters are all suspects but certain locations with their unigue traffic patterns, road surfaces, route configurations, turns, street “furniture,” etc. present a consistent and sustained element of danger that should be known and anticipated.  By visualizing the kinds of places where dangerous situations tend to occur, athletes will hopefully gain an advanced knowledge, and will reflexively utilize extra caution approaching such locations and situations, diffusing real and potential danger with defensive attitude/riding.

This Sunday, 11/9/08, a 54-year-old male rider from New York City traveling north on Route 9W was hit by a female motorist at around 10pm on a straightaway a few miles south of Closter Dock Road.  Rider had grey beard and was on a black carbon LeMond with Bontrager wheels.  He was moved to the Hackensack Emergency Medical Center, where he is listed in critical condition.  His helmet was cracked in half and he was not breathing on his own.  The rider has a serious head injury; and after many hours, has been identified.  He is unmarried, no children, but friends and other family are with him.

Ariel from the current TriLife IronTeam was 10 minutes late to the group ride this Sunday and reports: “… although I did not actually see the crash, I could not have been more than a few hundred yards behind when it happened. I don’t want to go into details, and from what I saw, it appeared that he was riding on a wide, flat shoulder and was hit from behind. Although I can’t imagine anything he could have done to prevent something like this, I still want to say to everyone here to please be careful. I know you can’t always be perfectly focused - when you’re tired, or reaching for some water, or stretching out your muscles deep into a ride. But try. As many things as we don’t have control over, there’s a lot that we do. And we shouldn’t need these horrible events to remind us of that.”

Tragic visuals and details about the rider are posted by Benepe’s Bike Blog.

12/1/08 UPDATE

Camille Savoy, a rider struck by a car on 11/9/08, has died on 11/26/08 at the Hackensack Medical University Hospital.  The scope of his injuries, primarily damage to the brain was too intense…

The police report and a witness say that both Camille Savoy and the car that struck him were traveling close to the white road shoulder line when accident occurred.  The car, Subaru Forester, was driven by 71-year-old Wha S. Kim from Englewood, NJ.

TriLife IronTeam got an undeserved retrieve from the post-run core session last night.  Deanne and Gerry’s marital bliss anniversary was revealed and was used to undermine scheduled festival of planks, bridges, leg lifts and crunches… replaced by bacchanalia of Champagne consumption.  This coach was not amused by transparently high tolerance to alcohol among the current IronTeam athletes.  He is also confused why NYPD did not put a stop to such a disgrace or joined in? 

Congratulations to the IronCouple!

For your viewing pleasure and wonder of WTF…  Objects in question are in the left hand.  This photo is from the last week’s Ironman Florida.  Photo credit to slowtwitch.com forum contributors.

Instructive video on correct warm up - integrating non-static stretching to loosen muscles and tendons, actually warming up the body and achieving correct level of pre-race mental arousal - demonstrated by the Rugby League New Zealand Maori team and the Australian Dreamtime team.  Reminds coaches to be a bit more polite since there is a number of TriLife athletes from these two nations - please consider this post a very respectful request to teach the rest of us your Haka and your Aboriginal War Dance.  (Do you think doing Haka in wetsuit before the swim might diminish its psychological impact on your competitors?)

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk2Cwl_flZc

Short article in the New York Times by Gina Kolata on injuries and endurance sports athletes misleadingly titled “Clues to Help Explain the Frequency of Injuries”.   But it provides a good reminder on unfairness of Life and need to be cognizant of your own “type.”  In short, “… a lot of injuries that are largely unexplained.  And that means that for some people, injuries may just be a fact of life.”

More from the article: “… leads to some of the most difficult problems in exercise science: Why do some people become injured even though, like Birgit, they try to do everything right while others, like Jen, who flout every rule, avoid injury? And how can the injury-prone protect themselves?

Exercise scientists say they have a few answers that can help with some common injuries. But all too often injuries remain a mystery and people may have to figure out how much exercise is too much for themselves and what sort of routines tend to produce injuries.”

This is what we, as TriLife coaches, have observed in athletes (including ourselves) over many years, and now try to communicate to our athletes - that every human is an unique system put together by combination of the inherent traits (DNA) and learned/acquired characteristics.  And some athletes are lucky and have inherent bulletproof robustness while some are cursed with sensetive fragility and their body response in a large degree is independent of their approach to training and injury prevention.

Austrian pro triathlete, Lisa Hütthaler, was banned from competition for two years by Austria’s anti-doping agency for illegal use of EPO product.  Old news here, result of pre Summer Olympics failed drug test.  But lovely Lisa adventures in triathlon fun do not end here…  criminal charges are on a way for attempted bribery.  Allegedly (she is not convicted yet, right?), she offered a drug testing laboratory technician 20,000 Euros (more than US$31,000) this summer to “insure” that her “B” sample will not have the same result as her initial “A” sample.

Another anecdote about this ex-biathlete is her “team spirit” - pre-Summer Olympics, during the season opener World Cup race in New Zealand, sweet Lisa crashed her countrywomen Kate Allen (who won overall in 2004 Olympics triathlon).  Per Kate Allen: “Lisa Huetthaler crashed into my bike and I came down head first onto the road. I had 22 stitches in my face, lost three teeth, I tore a tendon in my thumb, bruised ribs and got terrible burns all over my body.”  The Austrian triathlon federation and the ITU were investigating if that accident may have been caused deliberately…

Is there a lesson somewhere here?

One of my imaginary assistant coaches, Sigmund (Freud) once said: “The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is “What does a woman want?”"