Aaaahhhh, coffee.  How would we ever start a ride without it.  As I was glancing at a bag of beans from Kinetic Koffee at the local shop, I thought what better subject for an interview than the man behind the brand.  Actually, his wife Charlie started and is president of the company, and Mark’s history in the cycling industry helped put the two together into the brand it is today.

So…as you’re brewing up your own pot, enjoy the story of how Mark rolls…

BIKERUMOR: What separates Kinetic Koffee from other roasters? What makes it better than the next guy’s beans?

MARK: We roast all our own coffee; we do not outsource our roasting. This means that we control every step of the process from choosing the beans, blending them, the roasting process, to packaging and shipping. We roast in small batches (less than 30 pounds per roast) and usually ship the same day. Since we are the roaster, we can also offer private label coffees to shops and other companies as well as non-profits to use for fundraising purposes. We also donate 10% of our net profits to non-profit organizations.

BIKERUMOR: It seems like a lot of small (and even some big) roasters claim to use Organic, Fair Trade and/or Shade Grown beans…is sourcing the beans really much of a competitive advantage anymore?

We didn’t choose to exclusively roast certified organic coffee for a competitive advantage; we did it because it was the right thing to do. Organic coffees are grown in a sustainable environment and this, in conjunction with the higher prices that farmers can get for organic beans, means long term viability and stability for the farmers. Organic coffee currently comprises less than 5% of the total coffee crop in the world.

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Sugoi has a new online custom clothing interface that allows you to upload your artwork and see it in 3D on the selected pieces of gear.  According to a press release, they’ve also updated their pricing to a flat fee per quantity regardless of how many colors you want.

Printing is done through sublimation, which basically means the colors become part of the fabric, rather than silk screening, so it really doesn’t matter how many colors you use anyway.

A big addition to the Cowbell Challenge 12 Hour this year is the U.S. Cup Race, part of the new NORBA/USA Cycling National Series.  Now you can duke it out in the 12-hour on Saturday or race the XC on Sunday (June 20-21).  There’s a category for everyone—the kids all the way up to the masters, beginners to pros. And like all of their races, they’re offering equal cash payout to top three Pro men and women.

Register now to save a little coin. Entry fees for the Cowbell Challenge Marathon Mountain Bike Race go up by $10 on Sunday, February 1st. We’re doing our part to keep prices low for the races this year, so please take advantage of the early registration price while you can.

Race will be held at Fisher Farm Park in Davidson, NC, same as last year. The Marathon race, sponsored by Kenda Tires, will run on Saturday, June 20, with an anticipated start time of 10 am.  If you’ve never done the Cowbell, Taylor and Connie put on a phenomenal event and draw a great crowd.  The trails are fun, too!

Registrations is available at Sports Base Online.

Hunter Allen and Dr. Andrew R. Coggan are collecting data for the second edition Training & Racing with a Power Meter via www.peakscoachinggroup.com online power profile analysis survey, with the first 250 applicants receiving a free power profile analysis and the first 1,000 receiving a sneak preview of the results.

“Power is THE tool for training endurance athletes,” states Hunter Allen, cycling coach and co-author of Training and Racing with a Power Meter, “By comparing power results between cyclists, it gives insight into the athlete’s strengths and weaknesses, helping us improve our training and racing techniques and strategies.”

“Peaks power profiling system takes comparative data and builds a strengths and weaknesses analysis that allows self coached and/or coaches a way to utilize power data comparisons to build more effective training programs and produce better race results”, continues Allen. “I am hoping to collect over 1,000 data files to be part of a new comparative analysis which will be featured in the second edition of our book, Training & Racing with a Power Meter.

Road racing and famous comebacks weren’t the only racing in Australia recently.  This past weekend, Mick Hannah won the Elite Men’s Downhill event. Hannah finished first with authority, winning both the Elite Downhill qualifying as well as the final round.

This would be Mick’s last competition on his Mongoose Boot’r. He will race on GT bikes for the balance of the 2009 calendar using the new GT Fury full carbon downhill bike. Hannah raced on SRAM X.0 shifter and rear derailleur, RockShox 2010 BoXXer World Cup and VividTM suspension, Avid Elixir
brakes, and Truvativ Holzfeller OCT cranks. (Can you guess who sent us this release?)

Stromlo Forest Park, located in Canberra, Australia, hosted the Australian National Championships. The 2.2 mile track will also be home to the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike Championships in September.

Felt Bicycles is pleased to announce the sponsorship of the Hawk Relay Cycling Team, a UCI professional Track trade team based in Los Angeles, CA. Hawk Relay Cycling Team members including 2-time World Pursuit Champion Sarah Hammer, 2-time US Olympian Adam Duvendeck, and Canadian National Champion Travis Smith (shown) have already begun using their new Felt frames.

“I basically told Felt Bicycles we wanted to be associated with the best technological partners in the world and Felt Bicycles is at the top when it comes to producing world-class track frames. Their work with Sarah and other elite athletes over the last couple of years is well documented and I’m very excited about this partnership. I believe this relationship is going to give our team every advantage.” says Robin Horwitz, Team Director and owner.

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Come summer, London-area cyclists (that’s London, England, BTW) will be allowed to ride against traffic in limited areas in a field test to see if it encourages more people to ride by opening up routes off the main roads.

As quoted in The Evening Standard, Christine Mackenzie Cohen, chairwoman of the corporation’s planning and transportation committee, said: “This project has two main benefits: safety and convenience. It will make cycling in the City safer by enabling cyclists to avoid busy streets.”

She said council chiefs were confident that allowing two-way cycling on one-way streets would not endanger the lives of motorists or cyclists. “The City of London Corporation has spent a lot of time and effort researching the safety aspects.”

More details here.

A select group of elite triathletes will be representing USA Triathlon and its partners as members of the USAT Trade Team in 2009.

Highlighting the team is 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Susan Williams.

USA Triathlon began the USAT Trade Team in 2008 to support elite multisport athletes who are pursuing competitive excellence while promoting the sport of triathlon, USA Triathlon, and USAT’s top corporate partners. Athletes on the USAT Trade Team race at the highest level in the U.S. and around the world and represent USAT at school programs, corporate meetings, and pre-race expos.

The 2009 lineup includes 11 athletes that compete across a range of multisport disciplines and distances. Read “more” for the full lineup…

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Coach Levi, who holds the self titled honor of being the “Internet’s Cycling Coach” (funny, I didn’t know the internet rode a bike. – Editor) had these posted on his site, which he copped from another site, about how to get aero on your mountain bike.  I needn’t comment.  Click the pic to enlarge, and hit “more” for another pic…

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In an encouraging bit of news, Portland, Oregon’s Bike Master Plan is officially including mountain biking as an important part of the growing cycling infrastructure.  Here’s why:

Committee co-chair Mia Birk (former city bike coordinator now planner at Portland-based Alta Planning + Design) told the group that mountain biking has been included because “it’s a gateway activity.” People who might be afraid of riding on city streets, she said, like the appeal of riding off-road and they later become bike commuters. Birk also said that the League of American bicyclists has taken note of Portland’s lack of off-road riding opportunities and that “the community has been on our backs about it for a long time.”

Sounds like a good idea to me.  See what else the Master Plan is up to on BikePortland.org.

With the introduction of BMX Supercross at the Olympics, kids need to learn how to do 40-foot jumps and launch from 26-foot start ramps if they want to be competitive.

At least, that’s what USA Cycling proposes, and they’re putting together a development camp to make sure our “kids” aren’t left behind as they progress from typical BMX racing to the larger, more technical “Supercross” courses used at World Cups and The Olympics.

Squirt Lube is a water/wax emulsion dry lube that claims to keep your chain clean and quiet while environmentally friendly.  The biodegradable formula contains no harmful solvents and breaks down quickly, making it good for your bike and the earth.

It uses several waxes in a much higher than normal concentration compared to other wax lubes.  There are a lot of cool things about this lube, and I’m trying to decide whether to lure you into the review with “The Best Lube Ever!” or something more intriguing like they have “The Best Sticker Ever!”

How ’bout both.  Read “more” to see why this stuff rocks and their sticker…

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