Image : Smart Shelter Foundation
would you like some inspiration for a future ride, or a reminder of your journey along the TNR route?
2021 TNR Supporter's print
You may be familiar with the work of Martijn Schildkamp at Smart Shelter Foundation, to develop safe houses and schools in earthquake zones with rubble stone masonry - his designs withstood the test of the earthquakes in Nepal in 2015 without a scratch.
We're hugely grateful for the support from everyone who has donated to SSF in the past. To continue their important and ground-breaking work is what this is about and I'm asking if you can support our cause. TNR riders are a significant part of Smart Shelter's funding and it's amazing that we can continue that.
A limited edition supporter's print is here, to be sent to everyone who kindly supported this appeal. It's a shot of the Altopiano della Gardetta and the Rocca la Meja from a bright morning on the 1st TNR, by Ben Mills. My all-time fave TNR image. Thanks for the image and the great layout, Ben. And thanks to Biff Bacon for your print experience here and with the route cards. A classic TNR landscape as a memory for your wall or bike shed.
It's a limited run of 100 and there's a few left. If you'd like one and you're able to help, you can donate here: Direct donation to Smart Shelter Foundation
For your print, just send on your donation receipt by email to torinonicerally at gmail dot com with your post address - the same process as the rally patches. As always, your donation goes directly to SSF 100%. The print costs will be covered by the TNR.
The work of SSF in 2021
Smart Shelter Foundation is a charity with a 16,000 Euro annual budget, a very modest amount considering the impact of the work. That's what we're hoping to help with here.
You probably ride a carbon fork on your bike, or maybe a carbon frame and fork. Think about the amount of R+D, design time and testing that goes into making carbon parts able to handle the use and abuse they get on a bike. A lot of hard maths, complex modelling and testing. Thankfully carbon and resin are uniform materials and the lay-up processes are well-understood.
Now imagine the “non-engineered” wall of a house in Nepal made of stones of different sizes, with old cement and polluted water mixed in variable or the wrong proportions. How would we test it, how would we know if it was safe?
It seems crazy that a bike, a luxury item for us, is engineered to a far higher level than the homes of so many of the world’s population. We know everything about high-tech skyscrapers but have no basic information about a family home made of local stone - almost all research funds go to modern developments and buildings.
This year Martijn will continue developing reliable guidelines and building codes through testing and modelling. What makes his work stand out is that he transforms scientific knowledge into simplified hand calculations and develops field tests that replicate expensive lab tests. This takes the technical knowledge back to the local masons and carpenters. In the near future in the world's poorest areas, more buildings will be built to be safe for those who live and work in them and national building codes could be based on the test data SSF are pioneering.
For those interested to learn more, just get in contact with him via SmartShelterFoundation.org and he will be happy to show you a presentation of his work. You can download his papers for free here.
With thanks, and thank you reading this far,
James
You may be familiar with the work of Martijn Schildkamp at Smart Shelter Foundation, to develop safe houses and schools in earthquake zones with rubble stone masonry - his designs withstood the test of the earthquakes in Nepal in 2015 without a scratch.
We're hugely grateful for the support from everyone who has donated to SSF in the past. To continue their important and ground-breaking work is what this is about and I'm asking if you can support our cause. TNR riders are a significant part of Smart Shelter's funding and it's amazing that we can continue that.
A limited edition supporter's print is here, to be sent to everyone who kindly supported this appeal. It's a shot of the Altopiano della Gardetta and the Rocca la Meja from a bright morning on the 1st TNR, by Ben Mills. My all-time fave TNR image. Thanks for the image and the great layout, Ben. And thanks to Biff Bacon for your print experience here and with the route cards. A classic TNR landscape as a memory for your wall or bike shed.
It's a limited run of 100 and there's a few left. If you'd like one and you're able to help, you can donate here: Direct donation to Smart Shelter Foundation
For your print, just send on your donation receipt by email to torinonicerally at gmail dot com with your post address - the same process as the rally patches. As always, your donation goes directly to SSF 100%. The print costs will be covered by the TNR.
The work of SSF in 2021
Smart Shelter Foundation is a charity with a 16,000 Euro annual budget, a very modest amount considering the impact of the work. That's what we're hoping to help with here.
You probably ride a carbon fork on your bike, or maybe a carbon frame and fork. Think about the amount of R+D, design time and testing that goes into making carbon parts able to handle the use and abuse they get on a bike. A lot of hard maths, complex modelling and testing. Thankfully carbon and resin are uniform materials and the lay-up processes are well-understood.
Now imagine the “non-engineered” wall of a house in Nepal made of stones of different sizes, with old cement and polluted water mixed in variable or the wrong proportions. How would we test it, how would we know if it was safe?
It seems crazy that a bike, a luxury item for us, is engineered to a far higher level than the homes of so many of the world’s population. We know everything about high-tech skyscrapers but have no basic information about a family home made of local stone - almost all research funds go to modern developments and buildings.
This year Martijn will continue developing reliable guidelines and building codes through testing and modelling. What makes his work stand out is that he transforms scientific knowledge into simplified hand calculations and develops field tests that replicate expensive lab tests. This takes the technical knowledge back to the local masons and carpenters. In the near future in the world's poorest areas, more buildings will be built to be safe for those who live and work in them and national building codes could be based on the test data SSF are pioneering.
For those interested to learn more, just get in contact with him via SmartShelterFoundation.org and he will be happy to show you a presentation of his work. You can download his papers for free here.
With thanks, and thank you reading this far,
James