Archive for the 'Cycling' Category

Taking a Look at Shimano

Posted on May 3, 2009, 6:34 pm. 3 Comments

Yesterday I did some cursory research into Shimano Inc., the world’s largest bicycle component manufacturer. Before I go on, I must admit that I am a serious road cyclist and I use Shimano components.

Here are some preliminary facts to get you acquainted.

  • Shimano has about a 70-80% share of the worldwide bicycle component market
  • Bicycle components make up about 78% of sales while fishing tackle makes up the rest of sales
  • Operating margin has increased nicely for the past seven years: from 9% in 2001 to 14.8% in 2007
  • Operating margin has averaged about 14% for the past eight years
  • Strong history of sponsoring some of the best athletes and cycling teams in the world (I believe Lance won all seven of his Tours riding on Shimano components)

Here’s a picture of some of Shimano’s end products:

ultegra_slimage-grouptextimage-single-imagedash512384

So what about the price of Shimano stock?

shimano-stockprice

I’ve done a basic discounted cash flow analysis (make sure to note that all figures are in Yen) and found that Shimano stock is most likely about 30% beneath its intrinsic value.

shimano-dcf

If I had some more cash, I might invest a bit in Shimano. I see it as a stable, well-run business with good margins. Bicycles have been around for a long time and people will continue to use them. And especially as fuel prices rise, I think at least a few people will try to use bicycles for short commutes.

Another Plateau

Posted on July 13, 2008, 1:48 pm. Closed

I started this cycling season as a Cat 4 and upgraded to a Cat 3 in fairly quick order. As a Cat 3, I took 2nd in a straight Cat 3 race, 4th in a 2/3 race, and yesterday I took 4th overall in a Pro/1/2/3 race and also took 1st among the Cat 3s in that race. There was only one pro team in that race, and then a fairly even mix of 1s and 2s and 3s. There was break a little before halfway on the first loop; I bridged over a little after the main field turned around at the halfway point. In the breakaway group, we shelled three or four guys, but we also gained the rest of the pro cyclists as three bridged over to us on the second lap.

Even sitting behind the pro team that was doing most of the work was a tough job, especially with the summer heat. If I had to go any harder my legs would have cramped up and I would have had a huge problem trying to finish the race.

Being able to do so well in a tough race, I feel like I’ve summited yet another plateau of fitness. I’m down to what I call my “fighting” weight of 138 (my weight fluctuates between 138 and 143). I can only imagine what would happen if I cut ice cream and beer out of my diet…

Nonetheless, I’ve accomplished both of my goals this season: (1) upgrade to Cat 3, and (2) finish first in a race. My only remaining goal is to finish 6-gap in under 5 hours.

Chattanooga Road Race

Posted on April 16, 2008, 7:34 am. 1 Comment

This past weekend I went to Chattanooga to participate in my first races as a Cat 3. I did alright in the TT, much better than I would have without borrowing Robert’s TT bike. The crit was in a beautiful part of downtown Chattanooga. I started off in the back and stayed there for most of the race. The course was an L-shape with six turns and was extremely fast and it was very difficult for me to work my to the front. There was perhaps only one opportunity for me to get to the front, but that would have required me to attack almost immediately at a turn, something which did not seem like a very safe thing for me to do. Thus I stayed near the back and was constantly sprinting after all the corners due to the yo-yo effect. Though I finished with the field, I was pleased with my effort and a little surprised at how fast we went. We averaged 30 mph for 40 minutes.

The road race was a race that was much more suited to me. One large hill and rolly and windy for the rest of the course. The Cat 3 field had 3 loops of 22 miles each for a total of about 66 miles. Again I started off on the back and was rather impatient for the race to start, which would be at the large hill about halfway through the 22 mile loop.

Up until we got to the hill, I could not tell what was going on. There were a couple of times when the field sped up, most likely to catch a break attempt, but I could not tell what was happening.

We finally got to the hill and there the real race started. I quickly made my way up to the front, threading my way through all the non-climbers. Once at the top, we did not let up and accelerated quickly to the bottom. At the bottom there was a long, flat stretch over a bridge before a right turn. At this point, the cyclists at the front were forming into a line for drafting purposes, leaving lots of room for any rider to get up to the front on the left side. This looked like a great opportunity for me. I could slowly accelerate to the front and then explode as I reached the 3rd rider from the front. From there I would be in a good position to take the turn without breaking and continue on by myself along the hilly course.

My plan worked an no one attempted to follow me for about 30-40 seconds. After that there was a solo rider from Iron Data making an attempt to bridge the gap I had created. I knew I needed him to reach me so we could work together, but I also did not want to slow down too much where the rest of the field would catch up. The Iron Data rider caught up to me fine and then we began our breakaway effort that lasted for 55 miles until the end.

Along the way, we picked up one other rider who had taken off really early in our race and he worked with us for 1 lap until we dropped him on a hill. The largest gap we had was roughly 3 minutes and then it fluctuated between 2 and 2.5 minutes.

The Iron Data rider took first and I took second. This was one of the longest, most difficult efforts I’ve put out in a race. I was impressed with myself and with the Iron Data rider. I was very glad he chose to bridge my gap.

Why Do I Ride?

Posted on March 6, 2008, 9:01 pm. Closed

Why do I ride? Why do I race? These are tough questions to answer in any greater detail than just saying “Because it makes me happy” or “Because I’m good at it.” Cycling can be an extremely expensive, time-consuming, and dangerous sport, so it seems like the impetus to go through a such a large amount of trouble must be great.

I remember the time when I was on my mountain bike riding on the road from FPD back to my parent’s house and when a car hit me from behind as I was making a left turn. I probably would have been killed had it not been for my helmet. Now fast-forward a decade and I’m cycling 10-14 hours a week. My mom told me recently she never would have thought I would be racing after being hit by a car.

A matador with a lance and a bullSo why do I race? For now, the simple answer is, “I’m very good at something that only a very small amount of people do.” But beneath this simple answer are two more “sub-categories” if you will. First, I occasionally take pleasure in punishing myself and second, I take pleasure in punishing others. Perhaps those two factors are part of what makes a great cyclist?

Albany Race

Posted on March 5, 2008, 10:25 am. Closed

Last weekend I raced in Albany, Georgia and did quite well. I took 5th in the prologue time-trial, 2nd in the crit, and helped Jake win the road race by protecting him and leading him out at the end. I took 3rd overall for the weekend. Here is a pic of me in the break.

In the break during the Albany crit

I was most pleased with my performance in the crit. I started the successful break from the pack and took two other racers with me, the same two people who placed ahead of me overall for the weekend. What hurt me he most was the fact that I failed to win any of the primes; I am just not a great sprinter.

Now, I am looking forward to hillier courses and more training.

Pine Mountain Challenge

Posted on February 2, 2008, 7:40 pm. Closed

Today was the Pine Mountain Challenge, a 128 mile ride starting at Gordon College in Barnesville and going to the top of Pine Mountain and back. The goal this year was to do the ride in 6.5 hours; we did it in about 6 hours, averaging 20.8 mph.

The ride started off a little chillier than I expected, but the weather was excellent the whole way through. Lots of sunshine. I was in some difficulty at one moment in the first half of the ride due to some people deciding to go way too fast, but I was able to stay on. But asides from that one difficult point, I rode very well and participated in an extremely fast rotation during the second half of the ride.

This fast rotation was comprised of myself and seven others going 24-28 mph for about 20-30 minutes. This was a very hard effort to say the least and two of my friends had to drop out of the rotation in order to just hang on to the back. This was a wise decision for them, else they might have been dropped if they tried to beat themselves up.

So the ride was excellent, my legs are tired, and I think it’s now time to grab a beer or three from the fridge.

Longest Time in the Saddle Yet

Posted on January 26, 2008, 9:36 pm. Closed

Today was one of the last couple of Peach Peloton rides. We started at Bernd Elementary school at around 9am. The temperature was in the high 30s to low 40s and was a little damp as it had rained in the very early morning, the northern part of the rain clouds just barely scraping by Macon.

I think every time I have been on a winter training ride, from the time we get going ’til about 30 minutes into the ride, I have always asked myself, “What am I doing out here in the cold?” I don’t think I’ve answered that question yet. But as I am asking myself if I’ve temporarily lost my sanity, I know I must have a sour and mean look on my face as I push myself along on my bike and the chill from the wind forces me to grit my teeth. I imagine that I look like someone from whom you would stay away.

Anyways, those feelings last only for about half an hour, basically until my body and fingertips warm up. But today I think was the longest it has ever taken me to regain warmth and a half-way decent attitude: probably 45 minutes. It was cold out there, a little damp, muddy water was being flung into my face from the back wheels of the rider in front of me, and my fingers hurt. But as time went on, I slowly recovered, and the rest of the ride was truly one of the best this winter.

There were six other riders and myself, making a total of seven. This seemed to be the perfect number. I think we could be described as the most dedicated of the winter riders. We rode a total of about 107 or 108 miles. Throughout the ride, we had many smooth and fast rotations going. Everyone knew what they were doing and showed that they were skillful and confident in their bike-handling abilities. It was a pleasure to ride with them all.

Today was a great warm-up for the assault on Pine Mountain coming up in a week. 128 miles total. Plus sag wagon. I’m sure that will be an interesting ride. I know it will be a long one.

Six Gap Century

Posted on September 10, 2007, 8:53 pm. Closed

I signed up for the Six Gap Century that will be taking place in Dahlonega at the end of this month. It’s not really an official race, but I have heard that quite a few people treat it as such. I’m looking forward to it as another test of my cycling abilities.

A New Plateau

Posted on August 30, 2007, 7:37 pm. 1 Comment

It’s been a while since I’ve written here.  I blame my laziness and also the fact that in addition to working 8 to 5 everyday during summer break I was cycling nearly everyday after work and on the weekends.  Though I only entered two stage races over the summer break,  I won both of them.

So, here is the reason why I’m breaking the silence.  I feel today, after having taken a day of rest yesterday, that I have reached a new plateau in my cycling fitness.  For the past month I was figuratively slowly climbing up the mountain towards a higher level of fitness.  I had purchased a heart rate monitor and made conscious decisions regarding how I would train on each ride and how I would recover. I made subtle changes to my diet (e.g., substituting a little more protein, fiber, and fruit for the crazy amount of carbs I felt I had to be eating).  I feel that all of this has culminated in my arrival at a new plateau of fitness.  I felt amazingly good and amazingly fast out there all by myself for the 3.5 hours I was out on the road.

My goal is to maintain this level of fitness throughout the winter and next year to start climbing the next mountain to the next plateau.  I want to win many races next year.

Tour de France

Posted on July 25, 2007, 6:36 pm. Closed

First it was Vinokourov and now it’s Rasmussen.  The yellow jersey has been pulled from the race because of lying about his whereabouts when he missed drug tests.  I will now agree that this year the tour may be labeled “Tour de Farce.”  I am really disheartened by the state of cycling.