Tony C. McCray Blog: September 2016

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Decisions, Decisions – What to consider when choosing a road bike.

It may seem like an odd time of year to be talking about getting into road riding, but if you are a savvy shopper, now is a great time for a new road bike purchase. Most bike companies have just released their shiny new 2017 bikes. This means all the obviously obsolete 2016 models can be found at some quite astonishing prices.

My recent road experience has shown me that tarmac is my friend and I am keen to explore this side of the sport more, and actually use cycling as a sport rather than just a slightly obsessive hobby. To that end, I am getting rid of a bike (or 2) and getting myself a lightweight road machine.

Road bike

There is a lot to buying a road bike and it can be quite overwhelming. I have gone through quite the decision making process in the last week or so. I am sure I am not the only one who is somewhat baffled by the choice in front of them, so I hope the criteria I used prove helpful to some of you.

Budget

This was probably my most important parameter, as it is will be for many of you. It is a very useful one for road bike shopping though as it helps to constrain the choices. It can also stop you getting carried away and convincing yourself that you should spend thousands of pounds on a super lightweight race machine you don’t really need.

It is certainly possible to get a well functioning bike for general weekend riding and commuting for between £500-£1000. Spending less than that means sacrificing everything that makes a road style bike a good choice over a hybrid or mountain bike – light weight and speed.

There are a lot of great options around £1000. This is somewhat intentional as it is the limit for the cycle to work scheme and a figure people are often happy embracing. For this price you can get a pretty good bike that is relatively light, has good gearing and will be suitable for all but the most competitive riding.

Beyond £1000 you start getting into full carbon bikes, high end gearing and various things to make the bike as light, fast and high performing as possible. If you are specifically looking for a carbon bike around £1000, check out this post. If you want a higher end women’s road bike then head over here for some choices (there will be similar men’s models).

Bike Spec

Frame material

The frame is probably the one part of the bike you will not end up having to replace or upgrade over the years. It is therefore worth going for the best you can and making sure you know what you want.

Aluminium, carbon, steel, titanium or a bit of a mix? This choice will be somewhat constrained by your budget – titanium and carbon don’t come cheap, aluminium does (a bit). Steel is a bit of an outlier, and while I normally adhere strictly to a steel is real mentality, it is a little heavier unless it is prohibitively expensive.

It seems from reading around that aluminium has been shunned for carbon. However, if you are looking for something under £1000, an aluminium frame can allow for better component specifications and they are no where near as harsh as they used to be. Most aluminium bikes now, other than really cheap ones, have carbon forks to help dampen road vibration, lower overall weight and help with speed.

Aluminium is only a little heavier at the cheaper bike end, and lets face it, most of us are not as light as we can be, so really does the cost/weight trade off matter for carbon?

Road riding

Gearing

Shimano is probably the most dominant gearing manufacturer for bikes, certainly at around the £1000 mark. Sora, Tiagra and 105 are the specific group sets you can expect to get for between £500-£1000. 105 is considered one of the best and some tests have shown no performance downsides compared to its more expensive Ultegra sister.

The new Sora group set looks suspiciously like 105 of yesteryear and performs pretty well (it was on the Aprire bike I borrowed a while back). It seems to represent great value for money, so if you cannot find a 2016 bike you like in the sale, you could get a lower spec gearing option for a good performance/cost balance with Sora.

Brakes

This is what I got hung up on the most – did I want traditional rim brakes, or should I go with the revolution and pick disc? I like my mechanical disc brakes on my tourer, but did I really need them on a road bike? If pro cyclists can stop going down mountains with rim brakes, why are they not good enough for me? Should I go with hydraulic discs as they need less adjusting and self align when replacing a wheel.

Ultimately I think at this point there is no right decision – unless you plan to enter races in which case go rim – it’s up to personal preference. Things seem to be moving in the direction of discs though generally so there is that to keep in mind. Also, if you are intending to commute on it too, rim brakes help in gross weather when a pedestrian, car or squirrel decide to cut you up.

Brake types

Geometry

Endurance, aero, performance? This will be something else you have to decide and it ultimately should be based on what you want to do with you bike in the next few years. Endurance bikes are pretty popular as they don’t require quite such an aggressive position as performance bikes. They are therefore good for riding for longer periods by those of us who can only touch their toes on a good day.

Pretty much any of the road bike geometries will be good for general commuting, weekend riding, club riding and sportives. If you are going high on the budget and ambition, then it might be worth thinking about getting an aero bike, which will allow you to be a bit more competitive should you get serious – you don’t want to have to buy another bike in a years time (or maybe you do, I am not one to judge!).

Fit is the most important thing here – the bike that fits you will allow you to perform best and get out and ride.

My outcome

My bike of choice has ended up being an aluminium framed bike with carbon forks, rim brakes and Shimano 105 gearing. I ended up finding a 2015 bike in an even better sale. I was tempted by disc brakes, but the sale bike was basically the same other than brakes, and over £400 cheaper. To me this was unjustifiable for a feature I was kind of on the fence with anyway.

So, what bike was it I hear you ask – well, it was a Liv Avail SL 1 – a bargain 2015 model that I got at an exceptional price. The men’s version, the Giant Defy has hardly been out of rankings for best bike under £1000, and the Liv follows in its footsteps. Liv bikes are truly women’s bikes, not slightly altered men’s ones, and it shows. It is super comfy, not at all harsh and super speedy, particularly when accelerating. I took it to the Velodrome road track at the weekend and was very, VERY pleased (I held off a guy on a very expensive Cervelo aero bike, not that I was being competitive of course).

Liv Avail 1

What were your deciding factors when buying a road bike (or thinking about buying one)? What road bike do you have and why do you like it?

The post Decisions, Decisions – What to consider when choosing a road bike. appeared first on London Cyclist.

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The Grey by Westland – Ultra Luxury West Point Grey Pre-Construction Residences

Epitome of Modern Elegance
The Grey is situated at the north end of Dunbar Village on West 16th Avenue, The homes in the neighbourhood are predominantly single-family. With this in mind, homes are designed to appeal to the luxuries and comforts of single-family living. Designed by acclaimed IBI, the four-storey building complements the historic neighbourhood with a composite of natural stone, metal panel, glass and concrete. The Grey is a timeless illustration of contemporary elegance.

Aerial perspective of Westland's The Grey.

The Grey will have a selection of two-bedroom to three-bedroom plus den homes, also included in the plans are penthouse level homes, and ground-level commercial space. Penthouses will have their own private rooftop balconies and many homes will benefit from large outdoor terraces.The Grey is located on the crest of Dunbar, north-facing homes will have amazing views of the water, North Shore mountains and Downtown Vancouver. All large homes will carry the Westland pedigree that can only be offered from an ultra luxury single-family builder.

Pricing for The Grey
Details have not yet been released

Floor Plans for The Grey
All residences will consist of two or more bedrooms, including two 1,087 sq ft 2-bedroom suites, 18 2-bedroom + den homes from 1,132-1,353 sq ft, two 1,400 sq ft 3-bedroom condos, and seven penthouses from 911-3,500 sq ft.

Luxurious interiors at The Grey by Guo Interiors.

Superior Interiors

Two finely-crafted, custom colour palettes by Guo Interiors coordinate with your personal style
9’ ceilings in living and bedroom areas visually expand the scope of each room
Wide-plank engineered hardwood flooring flows throughout the living and bedroom areas
Side-by-side washer and dryer laundry closets
Solid core doors in each room create additional privacy and security
Custom-designed built-in closets allow for plenty of room for organization of your possessions
Automated smart-home technology by Creston controls temperature and lighting through a sleek wall-mount keypad
Additional smart-home technology available through the Westland Design Centre
Tailor your home with our pre-selected options for customization and personalization at the Westland Design Centre

Open-plan kitchen concept for spacious living at The Grey.

Connoisseur Kitchens

Italian-imported, custom-stained oak veneer cabinets designed for the needs of the at-home chef
Oversized kitchens with islands
Renowned, state-of-the-art Gaggeneau appliances:
Multi-language options
- 36” 5-burner gas cooktop with stainless steel high CFM hood fan
- Stand-alone 24” integrated refrigerator column
- Stand-alone 18” integrated freezer column
- Built-in microwave
- Built-in, ultra-quiet speed dishwasher
- 24” handleless, automatic door-opening wall oven
Each home includes the option for a one-of-a kind culinary entertainment centre with an integrated pantry that features:
- Gaggeneau coffee maker
- Gaggeneau refrigerated wine column
- Pull-out storage
- Custom bar with mirrored wall and lit display shelving for your finest cognac
Custom-designed drawer and door organizers keep kitchen essentials in their place
Integrated soft-touch, self-close doors and drawers maintain a visually clean kitchen and minimize noise
Kitchens offer convenient under-cabinet task LED lighting for precision work
Easy-to-maintain solid quartz countertops with full-height quartz backsplash and marble-top island make a statement
European-designed, arched chrome Hans Grohe faucet

Show-Stopper Bathrooms

Italian-imported, wood veneer cabinets hover over exquisite tile floor
Master bathroom features:
- Opulent free-standing tub enclosed within a stunning frameless glass bathing room
- Flush-mount, custom-stained oak, mirrored medicine cabinets with built-in lighting and electrical outlets
- Nu-heat flooring for year-round comfort
- Pristine white countertops are paired with Hans Grohe wall-mount or free-standing faucets and fixtures
- Oversized 5’-wide porcelain marble slab creates a spectacular bathing experience
Powder room features:
- Exceptional oversized, three-sided vessel sink
- Duravit wall-mounted lavatory
- Sparking chrome Hans Grohe faucet

Developer Team for The Grey
Westland, a family company, was established in 2008. Since then, Westland has designed and built over 40 ultra-luxury custom homes in some of Vancouver’s most prestige neighbourhoods – Shaughnessy and Kerrisdale. Completely original, each of these custom homes have been meticulously designed to express the unique personality of the homeowner.

Expected Completion for The Grey
Sales start Fall/Winter 2016. Completion date is yet to be determined.

The post The Grey by Westland – Ultra Luxury West Point Grey Pre-Construction Residences appeared first on Vancouver New Condos.

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Hazeltine Golf Club: Hole by Hole Preview

It might sound like the name of a cracker company, but Hazeltine is actually a picturesque golf course in Chaska, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.

A private club, it opened in 1962, with a length of 7,678 yards and a par of 72. It has hosted four Majors – the 1970 US Open (Tony Jacklin, -7); the 1991 US Open (Payne Stewart, -66); the 2002 PGA Championship (Rich Beem, -10); and the 2009 PGA Championship (Y.E. Yang, -8).

The weather won’t be a problem, in fact many of the northern Europeans should feel right at home as temperatures are expected to crest around 70 degrees F and get down into the mid-50s at night. There is no chance of rain on any day of the tournament.

Here’s a hole-by-hole preview of Hazeltine in advance of the 2016 Ryder Cup.

#1 Par 4, 442 yards – A common theme at Hazeltine is a pinched drive zone which favors accuracy over length. The wind can be a major factor here as when it’s up, it can limit players’ ability to shoot for the multi-tiered green.

#2 Par 4, 429 yards – A dogleg left means an early birdie chance, although there are new bunkers on the left side of the fairway and the right as well. Bunkers front left of the green mean an off shot is bad news.

#3 Par 5, 633 yards – The first par-5 is a doozy with little patches of obstacles to ruin anyone’s day; among them a thick rough on the right and bunkers on the left. A flat spot makes for a tantalizing layup third shot short of the green for the conservatives in the bunch.

#4 Par 3, 210 yards – It can be a game-changer, as it was for Fuzzy Zoeller and John Inman at the 1991 US Open when each man aced it. The green is surrounded by bunkers and a shelf in the back. Even if you land on the green, the sharp slope might induce a bogey.

#5 Par 4, 352 yards – Once hailed by Billy Casper as the greatest short par 4 in the game, it has a new cross bunker in front of the green that will force most players to make a tough decision on how much risk to take here.

#6 Par 5, 642 yards – The sheer volume of bunkers on this hole are borderline ridiculous, both at the end of the second shot and encircling the green. If the wind is blowing into players’ faces, as it usually does, this one could get messy.

#7 Par 4, 402 yards – The land of 10,000 Lakes (actually there are 11,842) finally delivers one into the course, and boy does it! A creek parallels the flight path of most balls, making it a serious hazard from the opening tee. The green is out on a peninsula and the hole on the far right side of that, making Hazeltine Lake loom even larger than it already is.

#8 Par 3, 186 yards – As picturesque as you’ll ever see, there are bunkers, a narrow stream, and deceptively narrow shelves to absolutely ruin your day.

#9 Par 4, 475 yards – The final hole of the front nine looks like a pickle from overhead and can leave you in one with its three separate elevations on the green.

#10 Par 4, 452 yards – The hole forces you to shoot right, then performs dog leg left to ensure nobody’s getting anything better than a birdie.

#11 Par 5, 606 yards – There are so many bunkers on the final third of the hole, you’d think a truck carrying sand siply crashed here. Rich Beem eagled this at the 2002 PGA Championship to secure his victory. Reaching the green in two seems borderline impossible.

#12 Par 4, 518 yards – There’s no room for error with big bunkers on either side of the green, and three more on the right side of the first landing zone. Already thought mighty tough, the new tee box is 50 yards further from the hole.

#13 Par 3, 248 yards – It’s the hardest Pr 3 here with a pond on the left, trees on the right, and bunkers everywhere else.

#14 Par 4, 448 yards – You can swing for the fences if you want, but you’ll likely land up in a fairway bunker. It’s a secret favorite for habitual fans of the course as it’s near the end of the property and never attracts a big crowd.

#15 Par 4, 405 yards – If you come up short of the green, you can take your pic – sand or water. Neither very appealing.

#16 Par 5, 572 yards – It’s the shortest of the par 5s on the course, but it’s zig-zag approach leaves plenty of players a bit woozy.

#17 Par 3, 176 yards – When the 17th hole is only 176 yards long, you know something’s up: fire-breathing dragon? quicksand? The small green is basically an island surrounded by water and sand. Great attempts have been made here in order to make up for earlier mistakes.

#18 Par 4, 432 yards – If you walk the straight and narrow, you’ve got it made in the shade. If you stop to smell the roses, you should probably bring a rake to get the sand out of your shoes.

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By The Numbers: Our Progress In Digitizing Health Care

Over the past seven years, the United States has seen a historic health IT transformation, moving from a primarily paper-based health system to one where virtually everyone has a digital footprint of their care because of the dramatic uptake of electronic health records (EHRs). Recent data have helped quantify just how rapidly technology has transformed […]

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Treating the primary tumor can improve survival in men whose prostate cancer has spread

New research has shaken up a time-honored strategy for treating advanced prostate cancer that’s begun to metastasize, or spread. Doctors ordinarily treat these cases with systemic therapies designed to kill off metastatic tumors appearing throughout the body. But they don’t use local therapy to treat the primary tumor in the prostate. That’s because the primary tumor — unlike the metastases that it spawns — is rarely lethal. So doctors have been reluctant to give local therapy, such as radiation to the prostate or surgery to remove the organ, if it’s not going to improve the odds of survival.

Now investigators are turning that assumption on its head. According to their findings, men who received local therapy while being treated for metastatic prostate cancer lived longer than those who didn’t, “and that makes a case for being more aggressive in how we manage patients who present with metastatic disease,” said Dr. Chad Rusthoven, a radiation oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, and the study’s first author.

Looking back

Rusthoven and his colleagues scoured eight years of data collected by a national cancer registry between 2004 and 2014. Their retrospective study identified 6,382 men who had metastatic prostate cancer at initial diagnosis. All the men were treated with systemic androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for metastatic prostate cancer, but 538 of them were also treated with local radiation to the prostate. At just over five years of follow-up, on average the men who got local therapy had a median overall survival of 55 months compared to 37 months among those who did not. In addition, 49% of the men who were treated with both ADT and local radiation lived for five years compared to 33% of the men who got ADT alone.

Should the findings be confirmed in studies that monitor survival forward in time, “then standard therapy for metastatic prostate cancer will shift to a comprehensive strategy that includes control of the primary tumor,” said Dr. Ana Aparicio, a medical oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who was not involved in the study.

Why this approach might work

Aparicio said that treating the primary tumor makes sense for several reasons: First, since men now live with metastatic disease for longer than they used to, they’re more likely to develop symptoms— pain, urinary obstruction, and infections — that can be controlled with local treatment. Furthermore, mounting evidence suggests that tumors in the prostate release chemical and biological substances that promote the cancer’s spread.

Still, Rusthoven and Aparicio both emphasized that local treatments should only be given to men participating in a clinical trial. Local therapy can have significant side effects, “and moreover we need a better understanding of who benefits from the treatment most,” Aparicio said. Her team at MD Anderson is currently enrolling patients for a clinical trial that provides standard systemic therapy for metastatic disease to one group of patients, and ADT combined with either local radiation or surgery to remove the prostate to another.

Rusthoven said he would only give local therapy outside of a clinical trial to a “select group of young patients with limited metastatic burden who are interested in maximally aggressive therapy and who clearly understand the risks and benefits of that approach.”

“This study suggests a different and very novel way of thinking about how to manage men who present with metastatic prostate cancer,” said Dr. Marc Garnick, the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and editor in chief of HarvardProstateKnowledge.org. “There are other cancers where treating the primary cancer in the setting of metastatic disease has been associated with improvements — and this study provides an important impetus to consider this option both in the context of clinical studies and individualized patient selection.”

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Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Tyre pressure – what’s it all about and should you care about it?

It’s a topic of hot debate among those that consider themselves hard core cyclists. To many tyre pressure is all about marginal gains; the speed improvements between 100psi and 110psi or what suits the specific gravel surface being ridden. Couple this with detailed analysis of tread patterns and things can get picky really quickly and way out of the range that most regular commuters need to worry about. Unless you commute on a aerodynamic time trial bike in a skin suit….in which case, as you were.

Flat tyre

However, there are some aspects of tyre pressure that are of great importance to regular cycle commuters, as I am sure some of you already know. Hopefully the following advice will help those not already in the know.

What is Tyre Pressure?

Tyre pressure is a measure of how much air is inside the inner tube on you bike. This is direct corollary of how inflated, or hard or soft, your outer tyre will be.

Every tyre has a range that it should be inflated within. This will be printed on the sidewall of the tyre. It will say something like ‘100 psi MAX’ or ‘inflate to 50-85 psi’.

Tyres meant to be run at very high pressures are designed to minimise contact with the road and therefore be as fast as possible. They often have a very smooth surface as there is no need to for nobbles. Low volume, skinny road tyres are a good example of this.

Wider, nobblier tyres tend to be designed to have more contact with with ground and therefore be softer. However, this increases drag on the road and means you have to put more effort into riding on tarmac.

Tyre pressure

Why is correct pressure important?

Not only will having the correct tyre pressure make riding easier, it will also help prevent punctures.

For riding on roads, it is generally best to have your tyres at their maximum pressure, regardless of tyre type. This will make it harder for bits of glass and stone to penetrate and puncture them. It will also limit pinch flats. These are punctures that occur when the inner tube gets trapped by the rim of the wheel when going over bumps or rough ground. For example, going over a curb or average lovely London road pothole.

What can you do?

The easiest thing to do to keep your tyre pressure good is by regularly pumping up your tyres. It seems obvious to some, but in the last few years I have been surprised by the number of people who buy a bike and don’t really realise that they require any kind of attention.

When I used to work at Brompton, we used to get people coming back for their post sale checkup 2 months after taking it home and they hadn’t pumped their tyres once. The worst one was someone riding around with 36psi in both tyres. Brampton tyres have to be between 100-120psi.

Topeka Joe Blow

A track pump with a pressure gage is one of the best accessory purchases you can make, after a lock and lights. If you don’t want to buy one, every bike shop has one you can use and there are some other public ones dotted around.

Generally tyres need toping up once a week if you ride regularly. If your bike has been sitting for two weeks or more then you will probably want to put some air in them before you ride. Having your own pump makes this possible.

What else?

If all of this seems like far too much hassle for you, then you could look into getting a set of Tannus solid tyres. We reviewed them a few months ago and they have proven to be pretty good on London roads. They remove the need to worry about pumping your tyres, or getting a puncture on the way to work. There are very few performance drawbacks for the average commuter and they come in snazzy colours.

Tannus Tire Some tyres hold their pressure better others. I have noticed that the more puncture resistant the tyre, the slower it looses air. I assume this is something to do with them being stiffer?

Avoiding large bumps, holes and curbs will keep your tyres happier for longer as well. Just today I witnessed someone speed up a curb and blow out two tyres (they were riding a trike). Even if the tyres don’t blow, repeated jarring will reduce their pressure quicker, meaning you might be at risk of flats sooner.

What are your tips and / or experiences with tyre pressures?

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Tony C. McCray Blog

Friday, September 30, 2016

US Leads Ryder Cup 5-3 After First Day

The Kirkland by Bogner – A Limited Collection of Distinguished Kerrisdale Residences

The Grey by Westland – Ultra Luxury West Point Grey Pre-Construction Residences

Triomphe by Millennium – 340 Brentwood Park Pre-Construction Luxury Condos

What exactly is cupping?

What is cupping supposed to do?

Does cupping work?

Are there risks involved with cupping?

So, what’s next?

Related Post:

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Decisions, Decisions – What to consider when choosing a road bike.

Budget

Bike Spec

Geometry

My outcome

The Grey by Westland – Ultra Luxury West Point Grey Pre-Construction Residences

Hazeltine Golf Club: Hole by Hole Preview

By The Numbers: Our Progress In Digitizing Health Care

Treating the primary tumor can improve survival in men whose prostate cancer has spread

Looking back

Why this approach might work

Related Post:

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Tyre pressure – what’s it all about and should you care about it?

What is Tyre Pressure?

Why is correct pressure important?

What can you do?

What else?