The Tour de 'toona starts today:

[happyslug]

Starts TODAY at 6:00 PM:

6 pm Sheetz Time Trials Broad Ave./40th Street (Altoona/Blair County)

Tuesday, July 27 (Johnstown/Cambria County)
9 a.m. Crown American/Cambria CVB Road Race Johnstown
10 a.m. - noon PennDOT Bike Derby (ages 4-12) Start-Finish line
1-4p.m. BMX Race (ages 13 and up) Start-Finish Line
1-3p.m. Live music by Dubmissive Start-Finish Line

Wednesday, July 28
9 am Team PA/Westsylvania Johnstown - Altoona Road Race Finish: Logan Valley Mall
5-7 pm PennDOT Bike Derby (ages 4-12) Finish Line
4-7 pm Taste of Toona Heritage Plaza
5-7 pm Free Ritchey's Ice Cream Festival Finish Line
7 pm Free Concert - Backdraft Heritage Plaza.

Thursday, July 29,
9 am GM Hollidaysburg Race Diamond
10 am - noon PennDOT Bike Derby (ages 4-12) Start-Finish Line
10 am - 3 pm Entertainment by Hollidaysburg Com. Partnership Allegheny Street
1-3:30 pm BMX Race (ages 13 and up) Start-Finish Line
4-7 pm Chicken Dinner Heritage Plaza
5 pm Blair Co. Hist. Society Trolley Tours - Historic Altoona Altoona Transit Center
6 pm Easter Seals Tricycle Race Heritage Plaza
6-7 pm Meet the Racers Heritage Plaza
7 pm Free Concert - Prime Time Heritage Plaza

Friday, July 30
9 am Hoss's Martinsburg Road Race Memorial Park
10 am - noon PennDOT Bike Derby (ages 4-12) Start-Finish Line
11 am - 2 pm Free Ritchey's Ice Cream Festival Start-Finish Line
11 am - 2 pm Live Music by Phil Sukenik Start-Finish Line
All Day The Hossman with free Hoss's prizes Start-Finish Line
7 pm Jazz Concert SAMA, Altoona

Saturday, July 31
9 am Verizon Blair Co. Road Race Jaffa Mosque
10 am - 1 pm BMX Race (ages 13 and up) Start-Finish Line
1-3 pm Live Music by Dubmissive Start-Finish Line
6 pm Race Reception for Volunteers Jaffa Mosque

Sunday, Aug. 1
9 am Atlantic Broadband Criterium Heritage Plaza
11 am - 2 pm Ethnic Food Booths Downtown Altoona
1 pm BMX Race (ages 13 and up) and awards Start-Finish Line
All Day Free music by Three Generations of Strings Downtown Altoona

http://www.tourdetoona.com/default.asp

[LostInAmerica]

1. Hey, that's my hometown

Altoona, that is. Any other Altoona DU'ers?

[happyslug]

2. Not even I

I'm from JOHNSTOWN, the Tour de 'toona started out as an exclusive Altoona race, but over the last four to five years have expanded to Johnstown, Bedford, Somerset and even close to the West Virginia line.

It is now more a regional event than a local one, but staying along Allegheny Mountain.

[Bunny]

3. So, are you racing this year? n/t

[happyslug]

4. No

At 100 pounds over weight (I am 6'2" 290 Pounds) you have to be kidding. Anyway my Cad 3 Cannondale is a Mountain bike NOT a 636 (Cannondale's latest road race bike).

Let me put me this way, I bike the same route as the race is doing today, but they do three circuits in the time I do one.


http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/

My bike has 26 x 1.9 tires (NOT 700 x 19), It weighs a lot more than the bike that are racing and I carry more in my saddle bags than these racing bikes weigh.

No I am NOT riding in this race.

[Bunny]

5. I could stand to lose a few pounds myself.

But bicycling just seems so, well, grueling! I could handle a stationary bike, maybe? ;)

[happyslug]

6. Depends on the bike

When I first switched from a High Tension steel bike (Most store types bikes) to an Aluminum bike, I was amazed at how much EASIER it was to peddle. I can see why the races race, $3-8000 bikes (As I said above West Liberty Cycle has a new Cannondale 636 racing bike for $3000).

The 636 is very stiff (for easy peddling) and its carbon fiber frame makes it feel easier on the body. The 636 is the type of bike you can peddle at 30mph all day long (The Bike race today was over in 3 hours having gone for 72 miles or about 24MPH on average and that includes some hills).

Now me myself bike the same path but I like to go 10-15mph and I walk up the hills the racers peddle on (When I walk I drop to 2-3 mph). My Average tend to be about 7mph (Including walks up hillsides).

Biking at my speeds tend to be enjoyable pastime. I can not see using a stationary bike when I can see what my exercise is taking me (Or could take me).

Remember to really enjoy a bike you have to get a decent model with decent component's. If you do not you just going to hate the bike.

One last comment, women have a tendency NOT to put their seat on a bike high enough (The seat should be high enough so your leg can fully extension out as you peddle. When you hear of people complaining of their knees when biking it is generally because they are NOT leaving their leg fully extension out because their seats are to low).

In Women this problem of low seats is made worse by women's center of gravity being about two inches below their belly button (Men's center of gravity is in the middle of their chest and as such between the seat and the handlebar when men bike). If riding a bike women become unhappy because their center of gravity is sitting high right on over the bike's seat. It fells awkward (and it is). To compensate for this women tend to want their seats lower but this prevents their leg from fully extending while peddling.

Solution to this problem have been done, but the best solution is for women to use an recumbent bike instead of a regular bike. In a recumbent a woman's center of Gravity is still over the seat but so is the rest of her body. I believe it is the best solution to the problem but they are other solutions also.

Cannondale's Recumbent: