You talked...and we listened.

CycleTo asked our loyal readers to fill-out a short survey, to let us know who you are and what you want.

We found out some very interesting things. And we're taking your comments and suggestions to heart.

Sometimes we come across something that is just too cool to pass up.

In the files of the US Patent Office, hidden among all the inventions that never went anywhere, is the 1896 patent filing "to provide improved means for varying the driving-gear in bicycles without removing or otherwise disturbing the gears."

In other words...without Charles Matthern's invention, the SRAM, Shimano and Campagnolo gearing that we use today might be very different.

Check out the two chain assemblies, and the double-sided gearing on the rear hub. And try to imagine what it was like to actually ride a bike like this.

And keep this in mind...this bicycle patent was issued in the same year as the patent for the first automobile internal combustion engine.

Vanderkitten pro Liz Hatch is many things...shy is not one of them.

This week, Liz is featured in a Maxim.com photo layout, as one of the "Girls of Maxim."

So, why did she do it?

In a CycleTo exclusive, Hatch talks about her reasons for posing for Maxim...what it was like on the day of the shoot...and how she will deal with the heat she expects to get.

You could tell that something bad was going to happen.

At the AT&T women's criterium in Austin, Texas, Aaron's racer Anna Lang was leading the pack, but she came into the first left-hander a bit too hot.

What follows is a frame-by-frame look at a crash, as it happened, captured by CycleTo contributing photographer Robert Inserni.

The feed zone is the place where riders can pick up any food and drink they need to keep fueled-up during a race. Support staffs are there to take care of their racers, and make sure they're fully fed.

Water, drink mix, energy bars...those are the regular staples of the feed zone. But occasionally, someone slips in a little something extra to quench the thirst on a long, hot day.

Click image to launch video

Remember the ugly scene last week at the Tour de Suisse, when CSC's Frank Schleck over-cooked a corner, slammed into the guardrail, flipped his body over it, while he bike came to a rest in the road? If not, you can see it here.

That spot along the Swiss roadside looks even scarier when you see it up-close. Lugano resident Francesco De Vittori (www.frenk.com) shot these photos of the crash scene, and agreed to share them with us here on CycleTo.

How Schleck managed to survive the fall, let alone mount a new bike and finish the stage, is amazing. Take a look at the photos for yourself.

We're offering three freebies in one this week.

CycleTo spent the weekend in the California high county, at the Tour de Nez bike races in and around Northstar at Tahoe.

We'll have stories from the Nez in the coming days, and we have some great Tour de Nez goodies for you this week.

If you want a shot at this package, click here to enter.

This week marks four months since we first launched CycleTo.

Since February, we've published hundreds of photos, videos and stories from races and places around the globe...America, Italy, France, Belgium and Switzerland. And hundreds of thousands of people have come to CycleTo for a look at our unique perspective on cycling.

Our motto is "Free Stuff, Great Stories"...and here's another opportunity to get more free stuff.

Just answer ten questions for us, we'll give you a chance to get a free CycleTo shirt. These black, all-cotton t-shirts have the CycleTo logo in white on the front and the back, and we'll be giving five of them away.

If you want a shot at a shirt, answer the CycleTo survey questions by clicking here. We'll pick five names at random, and those five will each get a free CycleTo t-shirt.

No catch...no gimmicks...no BS. Just more free stuff from your friends at CycleTo.

The British bike racing team for the Beijing Olympics has spent a million pounds...that two million dollars...in an effort to grab as much gold as possible this August.

Olympic gold medal winner Chris Boardman is the head of R&D for British Cycling...he gave the BBC a peek inside the super-secret lair where they keep all the newest, lightest, fastest goodies for the UK's summer games team.

Want to see what they're up to? Check this out:

Boardman thinks that the Brits can come away from Beijing with as many as five gold meals in cycling. Not bad, considering that the entire British Olympic team won only nine golds at the Athens summer games.