Thursday, November 11, 2010

Supercruise.


The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F22 Raptor. The United States' most technologically advanced fighter aircraft. It has a radar-elusive coating, an airframe so advanced that it can only stay aloft with computer assistance, internal armament to decrease it's radar signature, and something else....

"Supercruise."

Supercruise is a term used to describe a top secret engine technology that allows the aircraft to fly at a rate of speed that is just short of a full blown afterburner cook-off...but with the fuel economy of a Yugo GVX. Thanks to its' Pratt & Whitney F119 turbofan engines it can fly faster, farther, on less fuel.

Turns out you have Supercruise too.

*Jr.Olympic Gold Medalist Claudia Espinoza on her way to another win..clearly in Supercruise mode.



There is a magical blend of power output, gear ratios, calorie intake and cadence that give you your very own version of "Supercruise." It's that sweet spot between effort and speed that you can sustain for what seems like forever. For me, that usually ends up being somewhere around 92 on the ol' SIGMA ROX 8.0 cadence meter. At that point, I'm not blowing up my heart rate monitor, but my average speed seems to be "pursuit mode" high. It's a great feeling to be in that zone, and while in Supercruise mode, you feel unstoppable.


*U.S. Cup West Champion Vanessa Humic racing in Fontana, CA. Supercruise in full effect.

On the mountain bike, Supercruise allows you to flow over and through the obstacles before you even remember where they are. On the road bike, it ends up allowing you to TRUCK over mountain passes at a speed that just sucks other riders in and discards them behind you, at a pace that you feel could continue forever. Supercruise is a state of mind.

*2006 Super D National Champion Bert Blanchette in Los Olivos a few years ago racing Pro XC in Supercruise mode.




Find your Supercruise with the help of a new SIGMA wireless computer today. Be sure it has at LEAST cadence...better if you can lump in a heart rate monitor. Ask your friendly Backbone racer for help in dialing in the perfect SIGMA computer for your riding needs, and show your friends what Supercruise looks like...even if they only get to see it for a second.

1 Comments:

At 7:00 PM, Blogger Vegas said...

I thought this article was gonna be about Tommy in "Top Gun."

 

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