TRAILER

It is not a complicated matter. Cyclists love espresso and cyclists love to race. Sometimes the dilemma is having both of them together.

Welcome in The Start Village. We are taking the traditions of European racing and bringing them to the mid-west.

You have seen the pictures from the Giro and the Tour, even the one day Classics. That VIP area where the riders sign on, hang out, sip their espresso..... the place everyone is trying to get into.

The Start Village.

We are not as fancy as the big races!! No haircuts, no email,no phones to call half way around the globe to tell mom when you are going to attack, but we do have great espresso (and coffee). As well, other treats to help satisfy. Try the Pascuccci, straight from Italy and guaranteed to be worth it.

So next time you go racing, stop by. Forget your gel and energy bars, stop by. Need a 'pick me up', stop by. Feel you earned yourself a treat in that last race, just look for the trailer with the flags.

One flag flying means we are here, two flags flying come in and order up.

LOGO

We really like our logo and it means a lot to us. We would like to share a few of the representations with you..

The most notable(maybe) is the color. Green, white and red.

These are the colors of the Italian flag. The Italian flag in its current state can be traced back to 1797 in Modena. The history is fascinating and you should take some time to read about it. Italy, of course, is considered the home of many things. For us, it is espresso and cycling. We feel they go hand in hand (like a patch kit and a pump on a ride)

Logo with just colors or colors bright and everything else faded.
Moving on, in the center is emblazoned a cup. We like to drink our espresso(and coffee) out of cups and believe most others do as well, thinking they would be able to relate to our cup. It simply means, '...come here for a great cup of espresso(or coffee)....'

logo with cup highlighted
Finally, everything is encircled in a gear. A bicycle gear that is.

Outline of logo

Although there is only one in our logo we do not discriminate. Single or multiple, fixed or loose, if you are "turning the screws" or "on the rivet" stop in at The Start Village for some great espresso(or coffee).

Full logo

ESPRESSO MACHINE

You may ask, 'how does it work in a trailer?'

To put it in layman's terms; It runs off propane.

But there is so much more to it. In the dark and gloomy daze of mass cookie cutter coffee shops the art of the simple, aromatic and enticingly powerful espresso shot is lost. Our machine, a Rancilio Class 6, hark ens back to the 'days of yore' when a bit of muscle and the deft control of the human hand extracted a nectar once band in Europe.

The machine is semi-automated in the sense we use electricity to run a small water pump that will keep the boiler full. Not to fear though, there is a by pass valve to fill it manually just in case. Once the tank is full the water is heated by propane. (our fridge runs off propane as well)

Then with no buttons to push, ours just has knobs and levers, comes the fun part. To make that addictive nectar called espresso, water is forced through the finely ground coffee instead of just being poured over the top.

How much pressure you ask. Nine bars. Nine bars is equivalent to the pressure you have in your bike tires. 135 psi. The name of our Fair Trade/Organic espresso roast.

In the 'daze' it is done with hydraulics. (Next thing you know there will be hydraulic shifting on your bike.) Our Rancilio uses a lever that is pulled manually. When the lever is pulled down water comes from the boiler into a chamber above the ground espresso. Then when the lever is lifted back up a piston forces the water through the ground espresso. You can control the shot, lungo or ristretto, by how you pull the lever. True espresso lovers believe ristretto is the only way to go.

We love our machine and love to show it off. If you ever want to know more about it stop by The Start Village at the next race.

Quote about the TSV Rancilio espresso machine:
       ".......propane fired, semi-automatic, its like Italian barbecue!!"
                     TSV sponsored rider Corey Behrens