If, like me, you are a cyclist, you already know all about the carbon fiber revolution; pretty much all high-end racing frames are made from this super-light, super-strong substance. My Trek Madone weighs 16 pounds. You can pretty easily lift it with two fingers, yet it's quite a bit stiffer than my steel bike (the average bike frame flexes quite a bit as you pedal, wasting energy that could go directly through the pedal cranks).
The other day I stopped by the bike shop hoping to check out the new 2006 carbon mountain bikes, but I was out of luck; production has been delayed by a carbon fiber shortage. Reason? The companies that make super jumbo jets and wind turbine blades are sucking up the supply.
The very next day there was a stir in the office; "Look outside!" my sister said. A train out back was hauling what I first though were a bunch of submarines, or sailboat hulls, or missiles. A closer inspection revealed that they were wind turbine blades, maybe a hundred of them!
Wonder how much each of these weighs? Less than 1000 pounds, I'll bet. Still, that's a lot of Trek Madones...
