The Trek factory is located in Waterloo, Wisconsin, about 30 miles east of the capital city of Madison. Tours of the factory are available on Wednesdays at 10:00am and are open to anyone ages 4 and up. For those of you unable to make it to Waterloo in the near future, here's what you're missing (plus some exclusive tidbits that aren't on the usual tour):

While driving to Trek's factory in Waterloo, you'll think to yourself, "There's no way a large manufacturing facility exists in the middle of all this beautiful farmland." And then you'll see the occasional road sign with a bicycle on it and have some of your hope renewed.

Just inside a side entrance sits a long hallway that is lined with bicycle racks for commuting employees to stow their rides for the day. This hallways is a major artery in the facility as it connects the lobby, offices, production floor, and even the employee gym.

A large atrium houses a comfortable sitting area for guests and visitors, as well as several displays of historical interest including the "Lance Wall." Lined with bikes and Maillot Jaunes from all of Lance's Tour de France victories, the display is a must-see for the Texan's fans. Above is the 5900 from the 2003 Tour, which was famously brought down by a roadside fan's musette bag, causing Lance and the pursuing Iban Mayo to hit the pavement.

Opposite the Lance Wall is the Alberto Contador Wall, with bikes and leader's jerseys from the Spaniard's Trek-mounted Grand Tour victories. At last year's Trek World, RBA wondered if the wall would still be on display since Contador switched to a competing brand for the 2010 season... it's still there (having replaced the LeMond wall). Trek is also currently in the process of converting the original factory location (about a mile up the road) into a full-fledged museum of Trek history.

The Trek Art and Design department features sleek, modern office furniture and dim lighting. Graphic artists have access to a vast selection of paint color samples and frames from which to draw inspiration.

When you walk through the Trek factory you'll see countless inspirational quotes on walls and desks, some from cycling celebrities and Trek employees, and even some from such sports icons like Vince Lombardi. This quote happened to be on a whiteboard in the design offices. Another slogan that was repeated quite often throughout the facility was "Think Continuous Improvement Everyday."

The graphic design department is privy to state-of-the-art computers and software. Each department (road, mountain, lifestyle, etc.) has one or two dedicated graphic designers. Upstairs is the industrial design department.

The industrial design department was filled with all sorts of cycling nic-nacs. On display were several one-off creations including a prototype District city bike. The carbon fiber bike had the District's standard belt-drive, but was also equipped with a rack system with an integrated set of LED lights.

The offices of the Road and Triathalon department have more frames and parts than you can shake a finger at. As we strolled through the area, many employees streamed in from their lunchtime rides.

While many Trek models are manufactured overseas, Trek's proprietary OCLV (Optimum Compaction Low Void) carbon fiber production process is all done in Waterloo and yields the Madone 6-Series line of road bikes and the Speed Concept bike as well as a few carbon mountain bikes. Much of the process is not shown to the public, but visitors are treated to viewings of select stages of the assembly procedure. These carbon pieces will be attached using resin and cured in an oven the size of a Volkswagen bus.

After curing, the finished carbon frames are sanded by hand and then sent to the paint department. This rack holds a number of Madone 6-Series and Fuel EX mountain bike frames, as well as a lone Speed Concept frame, awaiting color application.

Frames are carried via conveyor belt to the paint facility for base color application, and then transferred to this area: the decal station. Water-based Trek logos and other designs are put in place by hand, and then the frames are sent to another area for a layer of clear coat.

These frames are awaiting clear coat. Some of them will not have standard decals affixed, but instead be given a custom paint job by hand - some of these are future Project One creations and some others will be sent to Trek-sponsored race teams.

After paint, all frames, forks and other parts are inspected for flaws and defects, and then sent to this area where they await either assembly or shipment to Trek dealers. Have you ever seen so many forks in one location?

With Trek so close to the state capital, Wisconsin's cycling community is one of the most prevalent in the United States. For more info on Trek, go to Trek Bikes. That's it for RBA's coverage of Trek World. In just a few short weeks, we'll have exclusive coverage of the world's largest bicycle expo: EuroBike!