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Natooke Fixed Gear Bike Article on sina.com

Dienstag, August 17th, 2010

Reporter and a photographer from CityWeekend had come and interviewed me and taken beautiful pictures around the forbidden city. There was an article in the printed City Weekend magazine. I also found this article on sina.com:

City Weekend goes full throttle all this week
2010-08-17 08:49:46 GMT2010-08-17 16:49:46 (Beijing Time) City Weekend

Ines Brunn wheeling around the Forbidden City

After the adrenaline-fuelled excitement of Fixed Gear Revolution 2 last weekend, City Weekend feels the need…the need for speed.

Accordingly, throughout this week we’ll be introducing you to those in Beijing who were born to roll. From full-throttle speed demons to pimped-out cruisers, we’ll be featuring daily posts on the various ways that expats hit the road.

Today, we’re catching up with a growing group of two-wheeled daredevils who don’t know the meaning of the word ‚brake’…

Fixed Gear Revolution

„On a fixed-gear, the pedals are constantly moving. It’s like the bike is talking to you,“ says Ines Brunn, fixed-gear cyclist, acrobat and co-owner of Beijing’s only fixed-gear bike store, Natooke.

Bicycles have long been the vehicle most associated with Beijing, but fixed-gear is a new arrival. With a single gear attached directly to the rear wheel, the pedals on a „fixie“ spin constantly as the bike moves forward. Advanced riders can even pedal their fixie backwards or maintain a still, standing „track stand“ pose when waiting at a red light. Beijing riders are learning that these lightweight bikes—long used for acrobats and in training for serious cyclists—are perfect for getting around the city.

Beijing’s fixed-gear community numbered about 60 when Brunn and her partners launched Natooke and the first Fixed Gear Revolution Festival in summer of 2009. Since then, fixed-gear bikes in Beijing have skyrocketed, with more than 300 riders, fixie polo matches and weekly community rides.

Join in the madness with a fixed-gear bike at Natooke.

DETAILS:

Vehicle: Custom fixed-gear bike from Natooke

Cost: ¥2,800 and up

Perfect For: Hutong hipsters and serious cyclists

Get Rolling: Pick up a fixie at Natooke, 19-1 Wudaoying Hutong, 五道营胡同甲19-1号, Tel: 8402-6925

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling, Fixed Gear, Media, Natooke | 1 Comment »

Montag, August 9th, 2010
2010 BEIJING FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II

  • August 13th
    22:00 – 23:00 North 5th ring road, at North-East corner of the Olympic Forest SCRATCH RACE Speed Race around Olympic Forest (3 laps)
  • August 14th
    15:00 – 18:00 Worker’s Stadium East Gate ALLEYCAT Race
    20:00 – 22:00 Worker’s Stadium South-West Gate, open space TRICK Contest, BUNNY HOP Contest, TRACK STAND Contest
    22:00 – 24:00 MGM bar (Worker’s Stadium South-West Gate) JISU PK (Goldsprints) & PARTY
  • August 15th
    14:00 – 17:00 Worker’s Gymnasium East Gate BIKE POLO (polo on bikes)

Detailed Schedule:

Date: Friday August 13th
Time: 22:00-23:00
Event: SCRATCH RACE Speed Race around Olympic Forest (3 laps)
Requirement: Fixed gear bikes only, need to have small lights, helmets are recommended
Meeting Point: Inside North 5th Ring road, at North-East corner of the Olympic Forest
Race course: 3 full laps around the Olympic Forest, finish is at the North-East corner (same as starting point)
Race distance: 19 km
Prizes for place 1-6 (men) and place 1-3 (women), prizes from Adidas, Flying Banana, Natooke Cost: This event is free

Date: Saturday August 14th
Meet-up 14:30 for sign-in and notice
Time: 14:50 (at 15:00 the manifests (maps with the race stations and empty space for stamping) will be handed out to the cyclists)
Meeting Point: Worker’s Stadium East Gate
Opening ceremony, addressing the race rules

Time: 15:00-18:00
Event: ALLEYCAT Race
Requirement: Fixed gear bikes only, helmets are recommended, cyclists should need to sign up before the event. You can email ines@natooke.com or call Maggie 010-64075030 (Mess Shop) or sign in on August 14th before 14:30
Meeting Point: Worker’s Stadium East Gate
Race Start: At 15:00 the manifests (maps with the race stations and empty space for stamping) will be handed out to the cyclists that then need to run to their bikes
Race location: 8 undisclosed stamp points in Dongcheng, Xuanwu and Chaoyang District, the manifest (map with addresses in Chinese and English) will be handed out at race begin (15:00)
Activities: Cyclists can chose their own route, need to go to all 8 stamp points and achieve small games at each location to get the stamp on their manifest. At some locations there might be a queue, so cyclists need to chose their route wisely
End: Back at Worker’s Stadium East Gate with all stamps on manifest
Prizes for place 1-8, huge prizes from Adidas (huge voucher), Motorola, Flying Banana. Plus a surprise for last place
Cost: This event is free

Date: Saturday August 14th
Time 20:00 – 22:00
Event: TRICK Contest, BUNNY HOP Contest, TRACK STAND Contest
Requirements: Fixed gear bike
Location: Worker’s Stadium South-West gate, open space
Event details: Three different competitions. First trick contest: The person doing the most amazing tricks on the bike wins, then a bunny-hop (jumping over a pole) contest and last a track standing contest: who can stay the longest on his/her bike without touching the ground, after 3 minutes first 1 then after 6 minutes 2 hands must be removed, after 9 minutes 1 leg must be removed
Prizes for place 1-3 for each contest
Cost: This event is free

Date: Saturday August 14th
Time: 22:00 – 24:00
Event: JISU PK (Goldsprints) & PARTY
Requirements: None. Anybody can join and have a good time
Event Details: 2 people sitting on stationary bikes pedaling as fast as possible for only 30 sec – it is fun activity. People can come up and race again to improve their time
Location: MGM Garden bar (near Worker’s Stadium South-West gate)
Prizes for places 1-4 (men) and places 1-4 (women), prizes from Adidas, SAG, Natooke
Cost: This event is free

Date: Sunday August 15th
Time 14:00 – 17:00
Event: BIKE POLO (playing polo on bikes)
Requirements: Any kind of bike can be used. People should group in teams of 3
Location: East Gate of Worker’s Gymnasium (not Stadium)
Prizes for teams on place 1-3, prizes from Adidas, Flying Banana
Cost: This event is free

2010 BEIJING FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II

  
Fixed Gear活动日程安排 8月13日至8月15日 FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II

  • 8月13日
    22:00 – 23:00 北五环路内的奥林公园东北角 速度比赛 Scratch Race奥林公园（3圈)
  • 8月14日
    15:00 – 18:00 工人 体育场东门 ALLEYCAT 比赛
    20:00 – 22:00 工人 体育场西南门空地 TRICK CONTEST – BUNNY HOP – TRACK STAND (技术比赛)
    22:00 – 24:00 MGM花园（工体西南门）极速PK (Goldsprints) & Party
  • 8月15日
    14:00 – 17:00 工人体育馆东门 BIKE POLO (自行车马球)

活动日期:8月13日
活动时间: 22:00-23:00
活动内容：速度比赛 Scratch Race奥林公园（3圈）
活动要求：每个车必须准备车灯
活动地点：北五环路内的奥林公园东北角
比赛路程：19 Km
奖品：男子1－6名, 女子1－3名 (Adidas, Flying Banana, Natooke)

活动日期:8月14日
通知14:30到起点 活动时间：14：50(给外地选手地图)—–15：00
开幕内容：开幕仪式
活动要求：开幕演说
活动时间：15：00—–18：00
结束：重点准备警戒线拉带，作为Finish Line
活动内容：ALLEYCAT
活动要求：2小时内完成规定地点盖章，抵达终点。
地点：东城区，朝阳区内共8站
奖品：1－8名 再加最后车手 (Adidas代金券10000元, Motorola, Flying Banana)

活动日期:8月14日
活动时间: 20:00 – 22:00
活动内容：TRICK CONTEST-BUNNY HOP-TRACK STAND (技术比赛)
最后是伊泉的表演
地点：工人体育场西南门空地
奖品：3比赛每 1－3名

活动日期:8月14日
活动时间: 22:00 – 24:00
活动内容：极速PK (Goldsprints) & PARTY
地点：MGM花园（工体西南门）
奖品：男子1－4名, 女子1－4名 (Adidas, SAG, Natooke…)

活动日期：8月15日
活动时间: 14:00 – 17:00
活动内容：BIKE POLO (自行车马球)
地点：工人体育馆东门
奖品：1－3名 (Adidas, Flying Banana)

Posted in Beijing | 1 Comment »

Article: Peddling her Love of Bikes

Donnerstag, Juli 29th, 2010

Today a nice article about my person was printed in the China Daily newspaper. The interview had been done a few days ago by William Axford. The online version of the China Daily article is here. The pictures I gave them were taken by the photographer Simon Lim. On the cover of the metro Beijing section of the newspaper it says: Peddling her Love of Bikes – German cyclist wants to share her two-wheeled passion.

Here is a copy of the online article:

Freewheeling acrobat peddles love of bikes

By William Axford (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-29 07:48

Freewheeling acrobat peddles love of bikes
Ines Brunn, a German-born trick bike performer, demonstrates one of her tricks. [Photo Provided To China Daily]

Merely peddling her bike from A to B isn’t enough for Ines Brunn.

In addition to navigating her way through traffic, the German-born cyclist likes to perform gymnastic moves while zipping around on her bike.

She says for her, her bike is like a mobile balance beam. „I quit gymnastics when I was 13 because I wasn’t happy with the coach,“ she said. „By chance, I came across trick biking and I’ve been doing it for 21 years.“

From performing a handstand on the seat to standing on the handlebars, the acrobat, who has impressed countless audience, has done things most people would think impossible on a moving bicycle.

With the fusion of her gymnastic talent, Brunn has even created new tricks and her rare skills have taken her all over the world.

„Once I cooked dumplings for a segment on CCTV while riding my bike. It took a lot of picking things up, putting them down, building up speed and then going back to cooking.“But such impressive feats come with a price.

Brunn says that an extensive amount of practice has to go into mastering the moves. A wrong mindset or the slightest mishap can be devastating.

„You have to be focused. During one performance in Beijing, I tried to tell people I needed space and taped off a circle. Someone didn’t listen and I crashed, chipping my tooth on my handlebars.“

She hasn’t let the experience ruin her passion.

„My tongue touches the chipped tooth every five minutes or so, reminding me to keep my cool.“

Brunn stretches herself and rides her bike constantly in order to practice her amazing feats. Even the weather can’t keep her from peddling around.

„I rode my bike from the Fifth Ring Road to the Second Ring Road in the rain for a meeting recently,“ she said nonchalantly.

„My colleague was baffled but I didn’t mind. I love riding my bike.“

 

Freewheeling acrobat peddles love of bikes
Brunn shows off her amazing skills. [Photo Provided To China Daily]

Brunn brought her enthusiasm for the fixed gear bike to Beijing by opening Natooke, China’s first fixed-gear bike and juggling shop. With the ability for customers to pick out every part of their bike and customize it to their liking.

Brunn predicts fixed-gear biking will become more popular in the coming years and she hopes that her shops and bike outings with other enthusiasts will rekindle an interest in bike riding.

„My friends and I just want to inspire others to ride bikes again,“ she said.

„It’s so environmentally friendly and a real smart thing to ride.“

Q & A

Q: What makes fixed-gear bikes so special?

A: The back gear of the bike is fused to the wheel, so the bike is capable of pedaling forward and backward. The petals turn with the wheels. There’s no gearshifts or cables.

Q: Have you ever had an accident that made you think about quitting?

A: No. I think some things are addictive. People told me that I would quit after I got a job. If you have a passion for something, you’ll do it.

Q: What are some tricks that people commonly do?

A: One is called skidding, where you lean forward to stop the bike, causing the back wheel to come off the ground while riding. There are competitions to see who can skid the longest. There’s tricks too involving putting your legs over the handle bars, riding one handed and switching your feet on the pedals.

Q: Where do you get your parts for the bikes?

A: We order them from all over the world – America, Europe, Australia. Most of the parts have come from Taiwan but more are starting to be made on the Chinese mainland. I don’t like mass-produced bikes that are one color and just one style.

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling, Fixed Gear, Media, Natooke, Performers | 1 Comment »

2010 BEIJING FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II – Aug 13-15 2010年8月13日至15日

Mittwoch, Juli 28th, 2010

2010 BEIJING FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II

2010 BEIJING FIXED GEAR REVOLUTION II

The Fixed Gear Revolution II will be held in Beijing on August 13th to 15th 2010. This is the second time that there is a domestic professional Fixed Gear competition held in the capital. The Fixed Gear Revolution II is divided into a SCRATCH race, an ALLEYCAT race, TRICK CONTEST-BUNNY HOP CONTEST, JISU PK (gold sprints) competition with party and BIKE POLO match. These major competitions mainly for Fixed Gear bicycle fans (only bike polo is open to any kind of bike) are interesting and huge prizes are waiting for you! The ALLEYCAT race includes a game at each of the eight unknown sites, each site will have different difficulty and cultural characteristics. The map and the address of the eight sites will be distributed 1 minute before the start of the alleycat. The other three competitions also have great prizes waiting for you. Or just come and watch the event.

On the Friday August 13th at night there will also be a 19km fixed gear scratch race where it is just a matter of cycling speed and no knowledge about Beijing is required to win it. The fastest will get prizes.

Fixed Gear Revolution II Event Schedule

Friday August 13th
Event: SCRATCH RACE around the Olympic Forest
Location: North 5th Ring Road Northeast Corner of Olympic Forest
Time: 10pm

Saturday August 14th
Event: ALLEYCAT RACE
Location: Start at Worker’s Stadium East gate, then 8 undisclosed stamp points in Dongcheng District and Chaoyang District
Time: Afternoon

Saturday August 14th
Activities: TRICK CONTEST-BUNNY HOP
Location: Workers Stadium Southwest gate, open space outside of MGM Garden bar
Time: Evening

Saturday August 14th
Event: JISU PK (goldsprints) & PARTY
Location: MGM Garden bar (Worker’s Stadium Southwest gate)
Time: Night

Sunday August 15th
Event: BIKE POLO Match & FAIR
Location: To be determined
Time: Early Afternoon

Note: All participating bicycles must be Fixed Gear (no bikes with gears or freewheel), except for the BIKE POLO. Any bike can be used for BIKE POLO. If you know who you want to play with please sign up for BIKE POLO as a team of 3-4 people.

If you would like to participate (for free) in the Fixed Gear Revolution II, please contact Maggie to register or send me an email.

Registration phone number: 010-64075030 (Maggie 12pm-8pm)
Information required for registration: name, phone number, city

Special thanks to: adidas, motorola, SAG, Mess, Natooke, Flying Banana, STC

大家期待的Fixed Gear Revolution 2将于2010年8月13日至15日在北京举行。这是在国内第二次举办Fixed Gear专业性比赛，比赛分为ALLEYCAT、TRICK CONTEST-BUNNY HOP、极速PK、BIKE POLO四个大项，其中ALLEYCAT作为参与性最强的一项比赛被很多Fixed Gear爱好者所期待，这同时也是最具有趣味性与难度的一项比赛，丰厚的奖品正在等着大家！比赛里我们安排了八个站点，每个站点都会有不同难度和具有北京文化特色的游戏需要你完成，为了公平起见比赛的路线图和各站点地址将在比赛前1分钟公布。其他三项技术性比赛同样也有丰富的奖品等着大家，希望各位喜爱Trick的骑手们踊跃报名。

2010年8月13日晚上还有Fixed Gear自行车19公里比赛.

Fixed Gear活动日程安排

活动日期：8月14日

活动内容：ALLEYCAT
地点：东城区，朝阳区内共8站

活动内容：TRICK CONTEST-BUNNY HOP (技术比赛)
地点：工人体育场西南门空地

活动内容：GOLDSPRINTS (极速PK) & PARTY
地点：MGM花园（工体西南门）

活动日期：8月15日
活动内容：BIKE POLO (自行车马球)
地点：待定

如果您想参见本次比赛，请速与我们联系报名（免费）

注意：所有参赛车辆必须是Fixed Gear,参见BIKE POLO可以使任何自行车，但尽量请大家在比赛前以3-4人一队的形式报名

报名电话: 010-64075030(Maggie 12:00-20:00)
提供资料：姓名，电话，城市

特别鸣谢：adidas、motorola、SAG、Mess、Natooke、Flying Banana、STC

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling, Fixed Gear, Natooke | 2 Comments »

Magic Hospital Donations

Samstag, Juli 10th, 2010

In our shop we have a jar to collect donation for the Magic Hospital organization. That is called „Fen For Fun“ jar as the collected money helps the organization send clowns and performers to cheer up children with severe deseases that are stuck in hospitals in China.

Natooke has so far raised 183.15 RMB thanks to our customers. Keep dropping some change in the jar. It is right at the entrance of our shop 🙂

Posted in Beijing, China, Performers | 1 Comment »

3G Software Industry Event

Freitag, Juli 9th, 2010

A friend Zhang Xiang Dong invited me to perform at an event for the 3G industry to share the latest software developments. He was the MC of that event and he thought that my passion and love for bikes is similar to some of the developers passion for the 3G mobile applications they are developing.

Ines Brunn at 3G Event

It was the smallest stage that I have ever performed on. It was just 3x5meters with a big blob coming out of the wall and covered in fake plastic grass which limited the space to about 2.5 meters. Plus it was actually a stage, so it was elevated from the ground with one fragile light box on each side as well as a screen and a projector.

Trick Bike Shop on Small Stage

But luckily I did not fall off the stage, nor brake anything. Of course I could not do all of my bicycle stunts, but enough to fill the 5 minutes and impress the crowd.

Ines Brunn During her Trick Bike Show

More pictures are on my webalbum, just click here. They were done by the chef of the HLQ bar Frank Jiang.

Ines and Frank Jiang

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling, Performers | 1 Comment »

Tour de Beijing

Freitag, Juli 9th, 2010

There is a nice article in the Global Times about the Beijing road bike group called „The Beijing Peloton„. The past 2 years I have been riding with the group. Just this year I did not yet go on a single road bike ride in the mountains as the weekend is busy in the shop. Maybe I can join again in winter when there is less going on in my shop.

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling | 1 Comment »

IBM Global Study on Commuter Pain shows Beijing Status

Dienstag, Juli 6th, 2010

IBM did a global study on motorists and how they feel about their communte. Here is an excerpt of their report:

IBM Global Commuter Pain Study Reveals Traffic Crisis in Key International Cities

– Overall, traffic has gotten worse in the past three years

The daily commute in some of the world’s most economically important international cities is longer and more grueling than before imagined, reflecting the failure of transportation infrastructure to keep pace with economic activity, according to IBM’s first global Commuter Pain study released today.

IBM surveyed 8,192 motorists in 20 cities on six continents, the majority of whom say that traffic has gotten worse in the past three years. The congestion in many of today’s developing cities is a relatively recent phenomenon, having paralleled the rapid economic growth of those cities during the past decade or two. By contrast, the traffic in places like New York, Los Angeles or London has developed gradually over many decades, giving officials more time and resources to address the problem.

For example, the middle class in China is growing rapidly, with the number of new cars registered in Beijing in the first four months of 2010 rising 23.8% to 248,000, according to the Beijing municipal taxation office. Beijing’s total investments in its subway system are projected to be more than 331.2 billion yuan by 2015 as the city expands the system to more than double its current size, according to Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co., Ltd. The city plans to invest 80 billion yuan in 2010 in building its transportation infrastructure.

Overall, though, the study paints a picture of metropolitan-area commuters in many cities struggling to get to and from work each day. For example, 57% of all respondents say that roadway traffic has negatively affected their health, but that percentage is 95% in Beijing.

Similarly, 29% overall say that roadway traffic has negatively affected work or school performance, but that percentage rises to 84% in Beijing.

IBM Commuter Pain Index: Beijing wins with the highest commuter pain index!!!

IBM compiled the results of the survey into an Index (called Commuter Pain Index) that ranks the emotional and economic toll of commuting in each city on a scale of one to 100, with 100 being the most onerous. The Index reveals a tremendous disparity in the pain of the daily commute from city to city. Stockholm had the least painful commute of the cities studied, followed by Melbourne and Houston (which tied) and New York City. [Beijing wins with the highest commuter pain index reaching the highest possible level of pain of 99 out of 100!!! Melbourne is one of the best cities with 17]

„Traditional solutions — building more roads — will not be enough to overcome the growth of traffic in these rapidly developing cities, so multiple solutions need to be deployed simultaneously to avoid a failure of the transportation networks,“ said Naveen Lamba, IBM’s global industry lead for intelligent transportation. „New techniques are required that empower transportation officials to better understand and proactively manage the flow of traffic.“
31% of respondents said that during the past three years traffic has been so bad that they turned around and went home. The percentage in Beijing, however, is 69%, the high for the survey [Beijing wins again]

The Commuter Pain Survey was conducted by IBM to better understand consumer thinking toward traffic congestion as the issue reaches crisis proportions nationwide and higher levels of auto emissions stir environmental concerns. These events are impacting communities around the world, where governments, citizens and private sector organizations are looking beyond traditional remedies like additional roads and greater access to public transportation to reverse the negative impacts of increased road congestion.

This year marks the first global Commuter Pain survey. IBM previously conducted the Commuter Pain survey in the United States in 2008 and 2009.

IBM is actively working in the area of Smarter Transportation using a worldwide team of scientists, industry experts and IT services professionals to research, test and deploy new traffic information management capabilities in cities around the world. Findings from the Commuter Pain Survey will be used to assess citizen concerns about traffic and commuter issues; expand solutions like automated tolling, real-time traffic prediction, congestion charging, and intelligent route planning; and serve as a basis for pioneering innovative new approaches to traffic mitigation.

Posted in Beijing, China | 1 Comment »

Urban Liveability and the Bicycle

Freitag, Juni 25th, 2010

Unfortunately I missed the speech of Shannon Bufton last Sunday. It seemed there was an interesting mix of people that had many questions at the end how the bicycle can improve the living quality in Beijing and how those kind of changes can be achieved. Shannon’s presentation and talk can be found at this link. I like the following quotes he had used:

  • Molly O’Meara, Reinventing Cities for People and the Planet:
    „In an urbanizing world there is an inherent conflict between the automobile and the city. After a point, as their numbers multiply, automobiles provide not mobility but immobility.“
  • Enrique Penalosa  – Urban visionary and former Mayor of Bagota:
    „Anything you do to make a city more friendly to cars makes it less friendly to people.“
  •  Dan Bruden –  US Urban Planner:
    „Cars are happiest when there are no other cars around. People are happiest when there are other people around.“
  • „CYCLE CITY = HEALTHY CITY“

Just an anecdote from the shop today: I had a Chinese person riding a cheap road bike with upward turned drop handlebar come to the shop. He had heard about fixed gear bikes and was looking for a white bike with some golden parts. He did not mind the idea that you can pick and chose each part separately in my shop. At some point he said it might be better if he can just quickly buy a bike that is already built up. I unformatunately only had 3 of which he liked the yellow one best. I thought he would buy a bike, but then his girlfriend came. She was shocked that he was thinking of buying a bike for around 3000.-RMB. She kept saying that he can buy a bike in any shop for 500.-RMB. He still wanted this bike but she just kept on telling him that it will be stolen and he should buy the same bike in another shop. What does that mean? If you want a fixed gear bike, do not tell your girlfriend to drop by as she might not understand the difference between a shitty mass produced Chinese freewheel bike for 500.-RMB and a nice fixed gear bike from my store. On the positive side: At least I do not have to worry about him turning the drop bars upwards on one of my fixed gear bikes.

Mark came with his cool matt black Fyling Banana bike. I finally took some pictures of it.

Posted in Beijing, China, Cycling | 2 Comments »

Black Flying Banana Fixie

Freitag, Juni 25th, 2010

Mark passed by the Natooke shop with his elegant matt black Flying Banana fixed gear bike.

Black Flying Banana Fixie

I like the Oury lock on grips that he chose to have on his bike. Actually after taking this picture he decided for a new more classy Selle Italia seat.

Oury Lock on Grips on Flying Banana

Due to the upcoming bike parts swap meet on Sunday we decided not to do the monthly STC Friday Light Ride tonight. But next month we will have it again on the last Friday of the month.

Posted in Beijing, China, Fixed Gear, Natooke | 1 Comment »

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