Three different week long events in the past month... I am totally fried! The good news is that this last trip to Moab was really great. The Outerbike event- more of a recap to follow- was great, but very slow. However, it allowed for some great bike riding in the Utah canyonlands, which is something I'd never had the chance to do before.

Here are a few pics from the trip... I'll have more to share later...

See! Here I am! Though certainly heavier than I'd like to be for this time of year, I am at least alive... and on a bike.

We were working on photos for our upcoming catalog and got out today with our Creative Director- Pete Demos- and myself to snap the one remaining photo we needed. The above picture is not that picture... but it's still kinda fun.

Special thanks to Twin 6 for supplying us with clothing for the catalog again, and thanks for making the shorts with very robust strength seams... I'm normally an XL bib, so the LG bibs were straining a little under the pressure, but they made it!

Tim

Yes- for those keeping score, I fell asleep again last night before I could get on the rollers. There... I admit; I'm getting old. Time for dinner at 4:00, re-runs of Matlock and Murder She Wrote and bed by 9:00. I guess it's all down hill from here... well, until the baby is born.

So, umm, yeah... I was asleep by 9:00, but at least this time I managed to make it to my bedroom first. My neck was killing me, so I tried to lie on the bed with my head hanging to the side- turns out that was kinda comfortable. Oh well.

Today I took my daughter to her dance and guitar lessons- the punkin is too damned cute! Her mother is the one who has set up both the dance and guitar lessons, so I can not take any credit for being anything other than a chauffeur and bystander. Still, it's amazingly cute to watch a room full of 5-9yr old girls doing tap and jazz dance. How I don't get caught giggling is beyond me.

Ann went swimming before the classes, so after we got home from the lessons, I hopped on the bike for a 2hr-ish ride. The weather is starting to turn, since there are storms coming, so the wind was a little bit of a factor... though not that much. The skies were cool and grey, so the temp was beginning to drop as I headed out around 2:00. My legs felt ok- the power was there when I was trying to push the pedals, but I never felt very good overall. My heart rate was consistently too high and I always felt a bit short of breath. Just felt "off" the entire time. My neck and shoulders were unhappy, the cardio systems was wonky... but the legs didn't seem to mind the work. So, who knows... we'll see what happens tomorrow morning when I get out again. Stats; 1:56:32, 17.6av/33.9mx MPH, 34.33mi, 75av/128mx RPM- HR was somehow lost... but the numbers were not favorable anyway. It was nice that I didn't feel even worse after 2 days of not riding and the little bit of leg weights I did yesterday. Maybe I'll survive after all... maybe.

I began the day around 207lbs and was down to 203.8 after the ride. Still not close to my fighting weight... but closer than I was a few weeks ago!

Tim

Ok- so I'm not dead. Promise... though I did once again try to kill myself; Saturday evening while getting ready to pack for demo, I sliced my right thumb (yes- that thumb) with a very sharp knife and spent the evening in the ER getting stitches... stoopidity is a dangerous thing.

Anyway, Interbike was awesome. Had a great time and the bikes got a great reception at both Dirt Demo and the actual show. Lots of good buzz and conversations and time spent with my friends from the industry. I was once again reminded why I love this silly business.

My brain is far too fried to recap it all, so I will simply leave you a few links for now and then I'll be back later with a more comprehensive retelling of festivities. Yes- I still love you and I hope you know I've missed you.

New stuff worth knowing about.
Little video interview.
THE coolest schwag from Interbike!

Tim

Interbike is nearly upon us and the stress levels at Bike companies across the US and the globe are through the roof... unless they're not attending. Eurobike is the biggest of the bike trade shows, but it can still be argued (possibly flimsily) that Interbike is the more "important" show in terms of global impact. Many of the newest products from manufacturers are still officially unveiled at Interbike- though more and more are being introduced now at Eurobike. If for no other reason, the products that were not ready by Eurobike for their launch, sure as hell need to be ready by Interbike if the companies want to have a chance at reaching the global audience effectively. Like Eurobike, Interbike commands the attention of the world's cycling press and with the success of the Dirt Demo component of things, test editors can also get knee deep into the fun and sample numerous products all in one spot- perfect for instant "side by side" comparisons. Needless to say... both shows are a big damned deal. Maybe because we're still primarily "an American company", Interbike carries the greatest amount of stress for us each year.

Over the past few weeks and months, we've been ratcheting up the work and preparations in anticipation of Interbike... or Interbeast as some like to call it. Our creative guys have been working nearly 24hr shifts getting all the needed signage and other art needs ready. The Product Managers have been scrambling to make sure all of their samples are ready to be displayed- using duct tape and bubble gum to make them work, where necessary. Lots of hand painted and hand decaled items exist this time of year. We Brand Managers have been scrambling to coordinate the efforts of our Product Managers and assist where we can while providing the creative guys with the copy they need, or other direction. We've also been working with the sales folks to make sure we're all getting ready for the same things- communicating the right messages and delivering what is needed to make the show a success. We've also been getting demo fleets of bikes ready for test riders at Dirt Demo, as well gathering up the various sundries required to pull off Demo.

That's just a small part of it all too. Countless hours have been spent gathering the catalogs, building the booth, packing the supplies, making sure things work and are ready, etc, etc, etc... and a small army is required to make it all happen. We have a particularly small army, so it's always a matter of "all hands on deck". Sunday morning I will be part of the caravan driving the big rental trucks to Las Vegas. One half of the fleet will be headed to the convention center to set up the booth and all of the displays and the rest of us will be heading to Bootleg Canyon in Boulder city for the Dirt Demo action- we're not setting up the booth, but we are standing in 100+ degree heat, with sand being blown into every crack or crevice. It's a fun job... but a hot, dry and dirty one. Every year I leave Demo and head to the show totally dried out from the sun, possibly a little burned, and usually pretty sore from all the standing and running around. It's fun... but it hurts.

One might ask, "then why do all this?" We've all been asking that question for decades! Interbike- and other shows like Eurobike in Germany and ExpoCycle in Montreal- still remain the most effective ways to launch products to the retailers, media and ultimately consumers. A few brands are skipping Interbike in favor of smaller regional shows just for their retailers, so that they have a captive and focused audience. Show dates are moving farther and farther away from the dates of product releases and selling seasons (selling to the retailers), so they are losing a little of that particular power, but they still remain the "necessary evil" that works more than it doesn't work. Shows continue to evolve or devolve as demos prove more successful and regional/ private shows become more popular, but for now the shows still remain the best option available- especially for small brands still growing dealer base and with limited funds that make regional shows unaffordable... brands like Masi.

Another reason why we subject ourselves to the torturous amounts of stress is because we're a pretty social group of people, we bike industry wankers. We still suffer psychologically from an inferiority complex compared to other industries/ businesses, so we tend to do many things "the old way"- meaning tradeshows that no longer really meet the function they were originally created for. I can count the number of actual orders I've written at a tradeshow in the past five years on one and a half hands. BUT... the follow-up business has been significant as we've worked to rebuild the Masi brand. Most of our retailers have already gotten their catalogs and sales information long ago and are already placing orders now, so Vegas becomes a social event, if they chose to attend. Vegas is much more party than business function, but that's the whole point of evolution.

So, yes, I'm down to the last weathered tatters of sanity now. The show is looming large on the horizon and sleepless nights abound. I know I'm going to forget something or mess something up- it's just a matter of "what"... not "if". BUT... I will also see friends I only see once a year if I'm lucky, I'll get to look at really nice bikes (even the ones that aren't a Masi) and I'll hopefully get to see that new product that becomes the BIG THING. Most importantly, hopefully there will be that one conversation with a friend or somebody new that I walk away from the show remembering for years. Some years it's as simple as chatting with a "hero"- like the year I talked with John Tomac for a long time, or the time I hung out with Bob Roll- or maybe it'll be one of those quiet sidebar conversations that are too many to remember and too few to be satisfied with. In the end, the main reason I go through this nutty nonsense- aside from not having a choice because it's my job- is because I love this stuff. Every Interbeast comes and goes with so much fuss and calamity that I feel like I need to change careers... until the the anxiety fades and I remember the fun and the cool stuff. Between all the chaos lies my favorite time of the year. Go figure...

Tim

Did I mention that I went to Minneapolis? Well... I did! I don't even know where to begin other than at the beginning. So lemme start things off...

I was up late Sunday night doing laundry and getting the bike packed safely into the travel case. I was up at 4:00AM so that I could finish packing and ended up taking a lot longer than I wanted to- because I'm a "light traveler" (those who know and work with me are surely rolling their eyes at that). After getting into the taxi and getting to the airport, it was the usual frustration of checking in with the bike case- it seems that I am charged a different price each and every time and that nobody ever knows how to go through the process. Pete, our Creative Director- aka "Sticker Boy"- was already at the gate and sending me text messages every 3.5 seconds... which by the way causes all kinds of problems when you are going through security screening and your phone is going off constantly through the x-ray. I could see the latex gloves going on to hands and could sense an imminent cavity search in my future. Thankfully, the screener could understand the concept of "smart ass coworker".

Our flights to Minneapolis went smoothly and without incident, even carrying the two heavy camera bags that Pete had. It didn't take too long to get our bags once we arrived and after a little confusion, we found our way to the car rental to get our minivan. It should be noted at this point that Pete and I both are confessed directional idiots- neither of us is Magellan. Even though I had directions to the hotel, as provided by the hotel, we also used the GPS on Pete's iPhone as I drove. It should also be noted that Pete is about as a big a Mac iGeek as you can possibly be... I'm just sayin'... but we did make it to the hotel without any problems.

The hotel was in the warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. After getting settled in and getting my bike built, we waited for Chuck from Behind Bars Bicycle Shop , Nathan Freeman (the videographer/ model/ cool dude) and Spencer Haugh (model/ cool dude/ LGR rider/ guide/ scout) to show up for our first night time location recon' ride. After the guys showed up, we cruised the city looking for a few locations to shoot and even got a few good impromptu sessions in while simply cruising around. It wasn't on our original agenda to get any production work done on Monday night, but it turned out to be a very good night of shooting. After we got done with the shoots and recon, we headed back to the hotel. Pete and I were both still very excited about the city and the evening's first productive shots, so we hopped back on the bikes and took off for some more riding around the area and didn't end up getting back in until about 4:00AM!



Part Two- the first day of shooting... More to come!

Tim

Had another excellent ride on the rollers tonight. It was nearly zen-like in some ways. Riding the fixed gear on the rollers can be very relaxing... very.

Here are few jams from the Shuffle tonight;


(Love the Muppets!)









So now you have some ammo for your next roller session too!

Tim

Well, I got into Ohio at nearly 11:00AM on Wednesday after a late night flight from San Diego to Chicago. Needless to say, I was far from my "freshest" when my friend Stefano, from Kenda Tires, picked me up at the airport and we began our drives from Columbus to Greenville.

The drive went through some truly beautiful country and I was shocked to not see any snow at all. However, I did see numerous icicles hanging off of rock faces along the roads where the water was seeping through the rocky hillsides. Otherwise, the drive was pleasantly uneventful and we managed to not get lost along the way.

Camp was based in a beautiful part of Greenville's downtown area and we stayed at the Westin Poinsett, which is a wonderful hotel. When we arrived, the hotel was practically over run by the team riders, the staff, sponsors and a fleet of bikes being assembled and riders being fitted by Tom Coleman and his Wobblenaught staff. It looked a high end bike shop had exploded in the hotel as people scurried to get riders equipped with bikes and all the other sponsor products. It was pretty cool to see the riders being fitted, bikes being built and a season's worth of gear being handed out... it was like bike nerd Christmas come true.



Morning came very early after such a long previous day and it came pretty cold. It was cold and grey, but we got out and rode to the Hincapie Sportswear headquarters for a visit with Rich Hincapie and then some team photos.






After the team photos, we headed out for a nice little bike ride which felt great to my legs after all that travel the day before. My legs were dead, but getting them moving felt awesome and it was a lot of fun to get out and ride with the team.

We're about to board the plane, so I have to go for now... but maybe I'll post more pics from Chicago during my layover if I can get the wifi working.

Tim

Hopping on a redeye flight tonight for Columbus, Ohio with a short layover in Chicago for a couple hours. Once in Columbus, I'll be joining forces with my friend Stefano Lumbaca of Kenda Tires. Since Kenda is the title sponsor of the pro team we also sponsor, Kenda Pro Cycling p/b Spinergy, Stefano and I will be making the drive from Columbus to Greenville, South Carolina for the team's training camp and media launch. Oh yes... I will have my bike with me!

I'll also be traveling with some cameras, my iPhone and an HD video camera, so there will hopefully be plenty of great images and interviews coming from the camp... as well as possible footage of me way off the back on the team training rides. WAY off the back. (Thank God the bikes look so good from behind.)

So, I might be a little invisible for a few days, since I don't know what the internet situation will be like in Greenville... but I do know that we will be staying at George Hincapie's resort/ residential community, so it can't exactly be all bad.

Stay tuned for updates and news along the way. Should be pretty good!

Tim

It's gonna be really hard to go back to work on Monday after the 4 day weekend this week. The break for Christmas was bad enough, but this second 4 day weekend in a row is going to be murder to get back in the full week routine. Ugh...

Took Masidaughter to the San Diego New Children's Museum today, thanks to my sister getting us year passes (thanks Sis'). It is such a cool place with really interesting architecture and tons of really amazing activities for the kids. The punkin loves the place and I have to admit that daddy digs it too. The weather wasn't as wet as I feared it would be, but it was cool and grey all day, so the indoor fun of the museum really made the day into something much more fun.






The place was literally crawling with tons of children today- apparently I wasn't the only parent in San Diego looking for something fun to do with their kids with the iffy weather. It was so much fun though and we were there all the way until they were closing at 4:00.

Tomorrow is likely to bring more of the same sort of cool, grey weather; maybe I'll end up using that video rental gift card for a few fun flicks to watch from the warmth of the couch...

Tim

All the family Christmas festivities have begun...

... hope you are enjoying yours too.

Tim

I know I have been missing in action for the past few days, but I'm back in the real world and no longer on vacation. Things have been very busy since arriving here in Taichung. We've had numerous visits with vendors and have had plenty of factory trips as well. It's been very busy indeed. But I'm not dead yet and many photos have been taken that I will post soon. Until then, thanks for your patience... see you soon!



Tim

I posted a long post with many pictures over on the company website yesterday, so go look over there for more pictures and commentary... but here's a little sumthin fer ya as well...

Looking too awake on a red-eye flight to the East- we left San Diego after 10:00PM.
Me and Eastern Regional Sales Honch, James- "BB58/ DSO"- Ayres.
James pretending he doesn't like having a camera pointed at him when he's trying to sleep.
MTB/ Adult Brand Manager Jill Hamilton trying to ignore my camera pointing... after this picture was taken, she threatened to have me beaten and dumped in a field somewhere... that's why she's cool. Our hero for the trip and event, Shannon Traglia (spelling). Shannon is a former pro BMX racer who is now driving our BMX truck and trailer to races and wrenching on bikes. Thanks to him, we didn't have to drive the demo trailer ourselves!He turned out to be a very valuable part of the demo for us- thanks Shannon!

This was part of the music pavillion at Roger Williams Park, where the demo event was held... very, very cool.


Chris DiStefano- "the other Chris"- of Chris King, pretending to know how to inflate a tire. Once the tire pressure got over 20PSI, it was greater than his weight and he had to stand on the handle to pump... I saw it myself.

It's like they knew I was coming or something... I was honored... truly.

The fountain in de Pasquale Square, right in front of our hotel. Very nice indeed.


The Fall colors were unreal. The trees looked like they were on fire, they were so brightly colored.
James Ayres eating a doughnut as big as his head!

CD talking about the doughnut as big as James' head.

This little pavillion on the water was beautiful. As the sun was setting it became spectacular.


This was part of the little Japanese Tea Garden they have at the park. Very pretty and very serene.

I have to wait until after the end of the year before I can get any more ink- gotta get off the massive doses of blood thinners first. But they had tattoo studios all over the place!


I never could decide which one I wanted more- the fresh ravioli or the vintage Vespa. I love Vespas... LOVE them.

Even though he was raised in the DC area, you'd never know James had ever experienced cold before. However, he did sleep with the window open and the AC on at night...


Jill doing some prototype testing at demo. New race bike platform... feels prety stable...

James needed a little nap after a couple days of actual... I mean, hard work. Poor little guy was all tuckered out.

And that's it for the demo... more pictures to follow later, I promise.

Tim

Home again and with my daughter, so things are pretty good right now. However, I really did love my time in New England. The colors and the people (and the food) were incredible. I got tons of pictures as always and will have them to share soon... so stay tuned.

Now, however, my body is telling me that it is past midnight (New England time)... so I'm headed to bed.

Good night my friends- more to come very soon.

Tim

Hey there kids- it's been a while since I've done a little contest around here... so we're gonna do one now!

Watch this video for details:


Here are the links I mentioned:
I Can Haz Cheeseburger/ LOL Cats
SockGuy
What got this started

Pics to be used for contest:


Have fun and make us laugh!

UPDATE: Oh yeah... email your submissions to tjackson (at) masibikes (dot) com.

Tim