Bicycling to New Jobs

by Martin Larsen, messenger

Bicycle street vendors in Copenhagen are forging new ways for the city.

There were new businesses on bikes this summer as a couple of guys started to sell coffee from trikes. They are quite popular.

Now that the cold has descended on the city there are half a dozen rolling soup kitchens moving about the core providing hot meals to those in need. Fortunately they tend to their jobs while being at their bikes. A lot of the messengers have had to change from the traditional Copenhagen lock that just attached to the frame and was enough for working until the last year and a half . There has been an upswing of theft targeting messenger bikes. So now something like 75% of the messengers in Copenhagen use Kryptonite mini locks to keep their tools safe.

2008 Markus Cook Messenger Award Announced

by Buffalo Bill, Moving Target Ezine

The International Federation of Bicycle Messenger Associations (IFBMA) has announced that Copenhagen messenger Martin ‘Banana’ Larsen has been honoured with the 2008 Markus Cook Award. The MCA is presented annually to the courier who inspires and empowers the wider messenger community, the messenger that puts all of us before themselves.
Martin is a veteran messenger who, as IFBMA president, Andy Duncan, notes, is known for tireless hard work, organizing messenger races and pulling people together. Messenger championships all over the world have benefited from his sacrifice and dedication. From Copenhagen, Oslo and New York City to Sydney, Dublin and Toronto, Martin’s influence is not only upon the Championships but also the messenger community.

Congrats to our friend Martin!

Winter Adventure

by R-

Plenty of snow around here; we got almost 2 feet from 2 storms in 2 days. If you can’t have an outdoor adventure, have an indoor one. My great adventure of choice is reading...the best way to exercise the gray matter! I can go back in time or to other worlds. I can walk with famous people of the past, or visit someone’s idea of the future. If the story is scary enough I can get my heart rate up as successfully as any other aerobic workout. Rain, snow, sleet and wind can not keep me from my unbreakable bond with reading.

So, if you can’t get outside for your adventure; pull up a chair, add marshmallows to the hot chocolate and grab a good book.

Wishing all bloggers and readers of the blog a safe, healthy and Happy Holiday Season!

One More Picture From The Camera Phone

The last time Rob Z. was in Taiwan, he snapped this picture of a BMW police car - no Crown Vic's to be found there. You couldn't miss this coming up in your rear view mirror. Bet they don't have too many officers calling in sick when they have something like this to drive around...

Kids Don't Try This At Home

Those of you who know Rob Z., our Director of Engineering, know that he's a guy who is quite comfortable in the woods, spending his free time expending a lot of energy in very cold temperatures. One of his latest projects is no exception. Rob, and a few other hearty souls, agreed to help a good friend raise a barn on his NH property. This is no prefab wonder - it is the real deal post and beam...complete with pegs the size of a large man's thumbs and constructed from tools you won't find at the local orange or blue big box hardware store. Here are a few shots of the work in progress...it is going to be a thing of beauty when all done. If you wondered where Rob got the strength to maul products the way he does when he's doing destruction testing, this should give you a clue...

Very Cool Last Minute Gift Idea

Over the weekend, my hubby stumbled onto a very cool gift idea in December issue of Wired Magazine. If you haven't seen it yet, check out this bicycle helmet design, perfect for the commuting or recreational cyclist who doesn't want to look like a velo club refugee. You can find more information on them at http://www.coolhunting.com/.

The Royal Flush Poker Run

by Eric Anastasia, National Sales Manager, Bicycle

Last week I helped support an alley cat here in Boston. The guys who put it together are also opening a new shop soon in an undisclosed spot in the Harvard Sq. area….stay tuned. openbicycle
These guys are real good guys and are super energetic about bikes and the community that surrounds it. They are a focused and progressive crew that are making huge efforts to help build the urban cycling culture in the city that I have called home for the past 10 year. (damn, time flies).
Anyway with 20-degree weather, gusting winds and our first snowfall, The Royal Flush Poker Run was better than we imagined! Over 80 people from all over New England collected cards, drank beer, ate burritos, completed the Poker Run and partied to their heart's content. Here are some pictures of the night.

Photos courtesy of Justin Keena - http://www.justinkeena.com/

Business Slow Down? Not If The Perewitzs Can Help It!

By Jody Perewitz...
Our crew has settled at the shop for the month of December. After many miles of traveling it is nice to have a month off!

With all the talk about the economy and such I thought I would share a couple of Perewitz theories. I am sure that everyone no matter what has been hit by the economy in some way or another. Hopefully it hasn’t been anything major! Maybe with any luck a new president will bring change!

I feel as though the motorcycle industry is one of the last hit. We haven’t been extremely busy but still busy enough that everyone has something to do. So that is the important thing that we can keep working. We are also able to adapt to new things. We have been dipping into the metric market. Fortunately our mechanics can work on a plethora of things, making our business able to change with times. One of our latest projects was a Vespa Scooter!

In the summer time when the gas prices were $4+ a gallon, motorcycle sales skyrocketed! It was much more efficient to ride a motorcycle to work than your gas guzzling car. So as you can imagine we were busy with service work. Now gas is down to under $2 (we never thought that would happen!) it is the perfect time to bring your bike to us and drive your car in the cold winter months! We can winterize it, store it, upgrade it, add chrome, etc.

Another effect of a slower economy is the repairs of older stuff. Many people are fixing their old vehicles, motorcycle or car, rather than buying new ones. Although we would love to work on clean new bikes, we like the old ones too! Our customers seem to be adding chrome, paint, motor work, etc. to their bike. Some minor adjustments can make a bike look like something totally different.

We are hoping, like most Americans, that this draught won’t last much longer. America needs some aid and I really hope that Barack Obama is what we need…

Bike2Work

Three cheers for the latest UK/US collaboration! Two cycling mavens written about before in our blog, Carlton Reid and Tim Grahl, have completed their book, Bike to Work, and to borrow their words, it is a page-flippin' beauty! To download a free 50 page sampler , go to http://tinyurl.com/Bike2Work. Once you do, I bet you won't be able to wait for the full 250 page version due out at the end of December.

Another Happy Cranksgiving!

Congrats to our friend, Ken Stanek, and all the hearty souls who made the 10th Annual Cranksgiving charity alley cat race in New York City the best one yet. 106 racers succeeded in raising and donating more than $1000 in food to Saint Mary's soup kitchen on the Lower East Side, as well as over 200 jars of baby food for two Women & Children's charities (Nazareth Housing & Hudson Guild). If that wasn't enough, $1682.40 was raised for City Harvest and $420.60 was raised for the New York Bike Messenger Foundation.

Plans are already underway for the Cranksgiving 11 event, so if you'd like to know how you can help or join in the insanity, bookmark http://www.nybma.com/ and watch for details.

Mother Nature as Artist

We've been pretty lucky to have a mild fall in New England so far, but there are hints that winter is right around the corner. Rob Zuraski, our Director of Engineering, came out of his house this morning to find his car totally transformed by Mother Nature as a cold front moved through last night. Check out these amazing pictures of the frost patterns literally covering the car.

Celebrating a New Unbreakable Bond

Congrats to Eric Anastasia, National Sales Manager, on his recent marriage to longtime girlfriend, Cheryl!

Welcome Next Generation Team Kryptonite!

We're happy to report that Team Kryptonite member, Nicole Hoffman Roesch and her husband became parents last week, welcoming daughter Lucia into the world! Luci, Mom and Dad are all adjusting nicely to each other and rumor has it, Nicole has already been lulling her to sleep with instructions about how to stay balanced on her bike rather than childish nursery rhymes....we're expecting her to be the next blonde on wheels.

Happy Days Ahead!

I've got the best 'unbreakable bond' story. After many many years of dating my honeybunny, we finally got married on 9/21. Now to choose this perfect special day I did a lot of research. Wanting an outdoor beach ceremony late in the year in New England I knew I had a challenge ahead of me. However it paid off and that weekend was 70 degrees, sunny and not too windy out. The day was perfect and everything went as planned. This is a bond that will last for many more years to come…..

Signed, Mrs. Bashful, Customer Service

Happy First Century!

Props and Happy Birthday to Josh, the eleven year old son of a good Kryptonite friend in the UK, who did his very first Century ride this weekend....yes, you read that correctly...eleven years old, one hundred miles on his bike....boy, do I feel like a lump!

For pix and more details from his proud dad, check out http://quickrelease.tv/?p=662

Look Good, Stay Safe While Riding

I've seen too many cyclists and runners almost become hood ornaments lately because they have earbuds in and aren't paying attention to the sounds of traffic around them. At least they don't have to ill-combine with someone's bumper because they didn't see the car coming up behind them with these cool new Nike Hindsight glasses, spotted in Trend Hunter. The glasses are designed with a lense that gives the wearer 250 degree view versus the standard 180 degree view that most glasses give. And, you don't even have to turn your head...think about it - no need to give away the fact that you're staring at that good-looking person you just went past! Wear them and ride safely!

iThink iCan iThink iCan

Car and Driver reports that Steve Jobs recently met with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to talk about the possibility of an iCar! How wild would that be?? I wonder if you'd have to send the car back to Apple when it was time to change the battery, like your iPod?

Let's see if there's talk soon of an iBike or iCycle...

Lance and Twitter

If you just can't get enough of Lance Armstrong these days, here are a few more places you can find him and even follow along with his training:

Lance was at the Web 2.0 Summit 2008 this week. He was interviewed on a host of subjects including football, his comback and the web. Check it out.

You can follow along with Lance's training and his life on his Twitter stream. He talks about his kids, where he's off to each day and, yes, where he's training. He's even encouraged Taylor Phinney to sign up so you can follow this rising star along his journey.

Speaking of Twitter, there are a lot of cycling related folks on this microblogging site. Carlton Reid at BikeBiz has started a list for you. I knew about a couple of them, but had no idea the list was so extensive. Check out some of them. Your favorite shop might even be on the list.

Get Out And Vote!

I saw a program on early Athenian democracy last night...now that was democracy in action. Ours is a slightly more watered down form, but successful, nonetheless. Its a perfect day to vote! I voted on my way into work this morning, and I hope you have plans to do so, as well. Don't squander your right to vote, regardless of which way you're leaning....too many people in the world don't get to do so and would love to, at least once. Enough from the soap box, although the view is fine from up here today.

Bob Roll in California this Saturday

If you live in Costa Mesa, CA or any of the surrounding towns, c'mon down to Two Wheels One Planet on Saturday night. Kryptonite is hosting An Evening with Bob Roll starting at 5pm.

Bob will be talking about his experiences racing in some of the classics as well as his observations commentating on some great Tours now.

And, we all know Bobke isn't shy about sharing his opinions...ask him pretty much anything you want. What does he think about Lance and the comback, Rock Racing and the state of cycling today? Ask him. He'll let you know.

Here's the info:
420 E. 17th Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
Phone: 949-646-7717

Happy Halloween!

Expecting more ghosts and goblins at my door tonight than last year. How 'bout you? The scariest will be a posse of marauding 80+ year olds that terrorize our neighborhood in a Mercedes Benz! Made sure we got the candy that we don't like to eat too much so we won't have to do many minutes on the treadmill. Its hard to run in a witch's costume...

Have a scary but safe evening! And, oh by the way, don't have so much fun this weekend that you forget to set your clocks back....end of daylight savings for another year...BOOOOOO!!!!

Can You Say Road Trip??

Back from my desert vacation (which was wonderful, thank you!) just in time to learn that the US Bicycle Route System project, which has been not much more than a vision for the past four years has become a reality! For more information about this advocacy triumph check out www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs . (Nice to read about something uplifting for a change...) Just think, if this project is fully executed we could have as many as 50,000 miles of an interstate cycling route network. How's that for a road trip?!?

Alternative Transportation Day at Ingersoll Rand

by Holly Emerson, Ingersoll Rand


Wednesday, October 22nd 2008 proved to be a beautiful day here at the Davidson campus of Ingersoll Rand for our inaugural Alternative Transportation Day and a great opportunity for employees to learn more about greener ways of getting to work and how we can reduce traffic congestion and help clean the air.

The day started off at a crisp 37degF and dark. Four of us, that would be Elizabeth Newidomy (a true greeney), me and my assistants, Ryan (9) and Kayla (7), froze for about 90 minutes handing out lunch vouchers and Starbucks gift cards to alert carpoolers and some very dedicated bicyclists. One woman rode in at about 7am on her beach cruzer. How cool is that? I think she gets the prize for most creative alternative transportation method, whenever I decide what that is.

Several carpoolers sped right past us, apparently we looked like some crazy family waiting for a ride. Lesson learned: wear the Progress is greener gear so people can spot you. We were soon joined by Gabe Workman from Clean Air Works! and Michael Gart, an energenic young grad. All in all we recorded almost 100 carpoolers, three bike commuters and one vanpool group.

As the day warmed up so did the activities. Chris Vasiloff, Arleigh Jenkins, Steve Doolittle, John Wilcox and Sarah Matchett from Cool Breeze Cyclery were on hand to inspect bikes and lead a lunch ride through Davidson. Their large yellow and black tent was a good draw for the avid cyclists on campus. Also joining them was Lauren Blackburn, Davidson town planner. The town of Davidson recently approved a bicycle transportation plan which will improve bicycling conditions on many roads and eventually link a Mooresville to Charlotte route, encouraging more to commute by bike.

Elizabeth Lintner, also from Clean Air Works!, and Gabe had a table with lots of information about reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. And Dan McGuinness and Michael were on hand to answer any questions about carpooling and recruit new Green Team members.

Folks from Industrial Technologies, led by Dipen Shah, dedicated their time to help with a jam-packed Nitrogen fill day. They filled the tires of 31 cars with Nitrogen! With an increase of approximately 3.3% in fuel efficiency gained from properly inflated tires, this could potentially prevent 50 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere in just one week! The Nitrogen fill is always a big draw. It's great to see people taking advantage of it.

Charlotte Mecklenburg Air Quality gave free gas cap checks and gas cap replacements for those getting Nitrogen in their tires. Up to 30 gallons of gasoline can be released from a leaking gas cap, in just one year.

And saving the best for last, many thanks to Kryptonite for the donation of four KryptoLok ®s for our raffle.

We wanted to educate people about greener commuting options, encourage commuting by bike, and tell employees about all the good things the transportation committee is doing. I think we accomplished our goals. It was a good day.

(Pictures by roaming photographer Harry Owanesian.)

Randomness

Just some random things going on in the cycling world....

Already told you that Lance Armstrong is Twittering. You can follow him here. You don't need an account to do so either.

But....he's got a friend of his to sign up, too. Mr. Taylor Phinney. You can follow him here. According to the tweets, Taylor was in Austin for the Ride for the Roses this weekend and his friend Lance convinced him to Twitter. That's kind of cool.

You can see some photos of the start of the Ride for the Roses weekend on the LiveStrong Blog.

Interbike East was held last week (while I was out of town...bummer) in Providence. Both Rich at Interbike Times and Tim at Masi have write ups and photos for your viewing pleasure.

2009 Tour de France

So, I guess the 2009 Tour de France route was announced. How do I know? Lance Armstrong is now on Twitter! I'm not kidding. You can follow along with his training, social engagements and even restaurant choices through his tweets.

Here's what he says about the Tour Day France 2009:

Now looking at the TdF route for 2009. Sure would like to erase those Ventoux dreams/nightmares...

Ah, Lance...you know you love it.

UPDATE (10/23): USAToday article with Lance makes it seem like he's surprised about "threats" along the roads from crazed fans during stages. He's rethinking this ride there a little bit. How is this different than when he raced before? Stages, particularly in the mountains, have always had passionate fans in the roads yelling in riders ears. I've always found it a little un-nerving, but it's not like this is new. Wonder if Lance is finding training slightly harder than he thought and he's trying to set expectations for his comeback now. Check it out, it's a good read.

Also, if you are in Austin this weekend, it's Ride for the Roses time. Enjoy!

Kryptonite dealer an honorary pit crew member during the 8 Hours at Daytona

by Nicole Roesch, Team Kryptonite



Back in February Kryptonite, in coordination with Team Kryptonite member Nicole Roesch and Team RightsforBikers.com offered a raffle during the Indy Dealer Show for one lucky winner to become a part of the SunTrust MOTO-ST team during the annual 8 Hours at Daytona.

The 8-hour long race that took place Saturday, October 18th is a true test of endurance, both for the riders and the crew. The team competed in two separate classes: the SST class and GST class. Managing two teams and coordination of pit stops can be challenging. Thanks to Charles Schurman of Sportland 2 in Wisconsin the team had a flawless day along pit road. Charles was an integral part of the team in charge of calling in the riders with the pit sign.

Over the course of 8 hours, just about anything can happen. The #2 bike suffered some mechanical problems but the #69 Ducati PS1000LE (the bike that was on display at the Kryptonite booth at Indy) ran great. Riders John Linder, Garrett Rick and Jason Edmonds were consistent, earning a very respectable 4th place overall in the race!

Usually the blog I get to write is about the on track experience but this time I sat on the sidelines (baby due November 5th!) and got to watch the team in action. I miss the action and riding but it is still a honor to be able to celebrate in Victory Lane at the historic world center of racing.

We hope Charles had a great time and we look forward to offering this experience to more Krpyptonite dealers and customers!

Get a Free Bike...

...if you are a college freshman and don't bring your car to school. How cool is that? Great article in the New York Times about many colleges that are getting creative with students to eliminate over flowing student parking as well as making campus more green. Some are even giving free bikes.

Hat tip to Holly at our parent company's offices in North Carolina. She's heading up an alternative transportation day this week at their facility, too. Helping out? Our friends at Cool Breeze Cyclery.

I hear there is a prize for the most creative alternative transportation method. Last week someone told me he/she may row over....that would be different, eh?

Happy Day Before Vacation!

This is a quick note to tell you that I am finally getting some long-needed time away from the office and attending to that unbreakable bond I have with my husband. I'll be on vacation for the next 10 days, looking at very different scenery than I normally see here in New England. So, during my absence, I leave you in the capable hands of Donna (who hasn't really left our blog family, if you noticed) as well as Eric, Craig, Melissa, Roberta and some of the other talented contributors on our team. I hope to have some good adventures to share with you on my return.

bEautiful!

Take a look at this new E-bike reviewed in the Wired blog....nice!....http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/review-a2b-elec.html

Oh, and, nice anti-theft strategy being employed by the owner...:-)

We Have a Winner from Lowe's Motor Speedway!

We had such a great time at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Saturday with all the NASCAR fans! We felt right at home with all of the Harley Davidson and Sturgis shirts we saw, too. We had great conversations with folks about their motorcycles, ATVs and even bicycles. It was a great day. Ok, it could have been better if Jeff Gordon pulled out a win, but it was a good night for him in the points and he even lead for a bit to get those all important 5 bonus points!

If you stopped by to see us...thanks! You couldn't have missed us, right? We were directly in front of the main, Speedway Blvd entrance. We just thought that was cool!





We also were running a contest which tons of people entered. We are giving away a New York Chain, New York Disc Lock, Evolution Mini and a Superman padlock along with an Ingersoll Rand Thunder Gun. No, we are not giving away the Club Car...sorry. We'd like to have that ourselves, but it was only on loan and is already back at its home at Club Car.

So....we have picked a winner.....could be you.....

Drum roll please.....

Our winner is.....

Kevin Powell from California!!!

Congratulations Kevin. I'm still traveling, but when I get back on Friday I'll give you a ring and make sure you get your prize next week.

Thanks, again, to everyone who stopped by. We hope you enjoyed the race and having a safe place to park your motorcycle at the track.

Vegas or Bust!

We've been reading and commenting on a variety of efforts to bust the strangle hold our reliance on petroleum currently has on all our lives. A Berkeley, CA based event is raising this effort to an art form. Check out the Escape from Berkeley race that is ongoing as I write this! http://www.escapefromberkeley.com/

Race participants are only allowed to start the race with one gallon of gasoline and through any means necessary, are expected to be able to power their vehicles in such a way that they reach Las Vegas today. Make sure to go back to the blog to find out who wins.

Come Visit Kryptonite at Lowe's Motor Speedway

We're back at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina for the Bank of America 500 Saturday night! We sponsor the motorcycle parking area so you'll have a great place to park your motorcycle when you are at the race. I just looked at the weather and it's supposed to be a beautiful night tomorrow. Perfect to ride to the race.

We'll be in the yellow Kryptonite tent just to the left of the big office tower/front of the track. C'mon by and visit. You can also enter to win a security package (all kinds of locks) along with a Thunder Gun!

Eric, Don and I look forward to seeing you.

Don and Eric checking out the motorcycle parking area in front of the track today.

The motorcycle parking area in the infield was filling up today.

Thanks to Club Car, one of our sister companies, for loaning us this great vehicle!

Don enjoyed looking at the monster Toyota.

Happy Birthday to Dale Earnhardt Jr! For his birthday, Dale Junior announced a new sponsorship with Unilever at LMS. That means you'll see Dale Junior in a few Nationwide races next year!

Who's going to win tomorrow night? The birthday boy...well, that would be ok, but my bet is always with the 24 of Jeff Gordon, of course.

Its A Bike Lock, Its A Padlock......

I frequent the Salvation Army Store near my home. I was riding my bike behind the store (where donations are dropped off) when I saw Cheryl the manager holding a master padlock in her hand while lightly cursing. I stopped and asked what was wrong, well that was the fifth padlock that had been cut by thieves in the last two weeks. I whipped out my kryptonite U-lock and gave it to her along with the key. No more problems, the thieves gave up and the storage bin is now theft- proof. Cheryl eventually bought my Kryptonite lock for $50.00 and everyone is happy (except for the thieves). ~ JK, Blaine, MN

Google's Birthday Fun

Remember where you were in 2001? Were you as prolific on the web as you are now? I'd have to guess not. But, if you need a reminder of the online world back in 2001, Google is giving you that chance.

For Google's 10th birthday, they are having some fun. They are showing us what searches looked like waaaaaay back then. It's kind of fun.

Search for things you know and use now online and see what happens. Facebook is a brief mention at Harvard. Twitter isn't mentioned at all in a social networking context. Microblogging doesn't exist! The search for "blog" provides some interesting results.

Yes, I Googled myself back in 2001. My "former life" of being involved with running pops up, but there are a lot of links that don't go anywhere - most of the content has been moved or removed.

Go on, Google yourself now and then.

As for Kryptonite, we fair pretty well. We're the number one spot without one mention of anything from the fall of 2004, obviously, because none of that happened yet!

Go on, take a look. You know you want to. Google yourself. Google your favorite company. Google your favorite sites today. Your favorite social media guru - where where they in '01?

Thanks for the look back, Google! And Happy Birthday!

Bike Friendly or Not?

The League of American Bicyclists announced its first annual report on the most bicycle friendly places in the US. Want to know if you're living in the right place? Go to http://www.bikeleague.org/news/090508bfs.php to find out.

Fashion and Functionality in One Good Looking Package

Recently I've been interested to see a cool trend developing - clothing and shoes designed for riding your bike or motorcycle that actually looks nice enough to want to buy and wear anytime. The latest I saw were very cool Joe Rocket jeans (www.joerocket.com) that have Kevlar reinforcements in places that would strain under constant stretch and built-in pockets for knee armor. Handsome enough that I'd like to see my guy in them anytime....

A New Use For Your Old Chainsaw

by Eric Anastasi, Eastern Regional Manager

Once again I was surfing around the web on some of my favorite sites and found something that I thought I should share. Now- I have a chain saw and I have a motorcycle but I do not have one of these. Although depending how long this winter is, I may come spring.

Here is a bit about this machine.
The heart of the combined power plant is the central drive belt casing of aluminum construction. As well as encasing the eleven belts used to couple up the individual engines, it also houses the exhaust ducts for the cooling air. Twelve engines are mounted in two rows of six on either side of the drive belt casing. Each engine is held in place by means of two threaded studs that normally serve to secure the guide bar to the chainsaw power head. The individual motors are coupled together in sets of three by means of a double-sided drive belt, making up eight modules in all. The individual engines are not rigidly connected; instead they deliver their torque through the centrifugal clutch that is a standard feature of every chainsaw.

Maybe I can leave hints around the house for my fiancee to find...after all, Christmas is coming....

¡LOS MARCOS MADNESS!

HI KRIPTONITE! THIS IS EL MARCO BUENO FROM WORLDS GREATAST POLO TEAM LOS MARCOS POLOS. ¡VIVA LOS MARCOS! SO HEY, THANKS YOU FOR SPONSOR OUR TORNAMENT WE HAVE IN NEW YORK CITY. IS SECOND YEAR NOW FOR TOURNAMENT AND WE MAKE IT TWICE AS BIG. MORE PRIZE! MORE MADNESS! MORE CHANCE FOR YOU FOR BRIBE US WITH WHAT LOS MARCOS LIKE BEST: BOOZE, WOMEN, AND FOUL PLAY. TWO DAY ONLY! OKTOBARE THREE AND 4. THEN GO HOEM AND CRY BECAUSE LOS MARCOS TOOK ALL PRIZE. YOU TRY BETTER NEXT TIME! HAHAHAHAH! HAHA IS JUST KIDDING. LOS MARCOS NO NEED MORE THINGS. WE HAS AVARYTHING WE WANT IN LOS MARCOSTAN. BUT MAYBE WE TAKE YOU WOMEN BACK AYNWAY. YOU NO SHOULD MISS LOS MARCOS MADNESS BECAUSE YOU REGREAT IT. BIKE POLO IT IS TRADITIONING SPORT OF LOS MARCOSTAN BECAUSE IT WAS INFENTED THERE, JUST LIKE OL KERNEL MARCOS INVANT BIKE FROM HALUSSINOGENIC FLAMSE OF MOUNT MARCOSTAN. NOW IT SO POPULAR EVRYWARE IT GO IN NEW YROK TIME ONCE AN WALL ST JERNEL WE THINK. IT SPORT OF FUTURE, JUST LIKE KICKPOXING. ¡VIVA!

And, now for a translation from our friend Ken Stanek, who has been a close observer of the Los Marcos Madness phenomena.... First of all, there's Bike Polo. If you've never heard of it, it's probably exactly what you think it is. It's got roots in the back lots of Seattle courier companies and 19th century Irish fields.

Then there's Los Marcos Polos. There's no rational explanation for them. They claim to have dominated the sport for somewhere between two years and two centuries. They appear infrequently, and sometimes only in rare footage captured by unknowing, camera weilding tourists. The only thing anyone knows for certain is that they throw the most ridiculous "tournament" anyone could imagine each October in New York City. Catch them and teams from as far away as Chicago, Ottawa, Richmond, East Vancouver, and Seattle this coming weekend at
Los Marcos Madness. For more information, visit http://www.losmarcospolos.com/

Where is Everyone?

Seems like the blog's been quiet for about a week. Why? Just about everyone at Kryptonite was at Interbike - the big industry trade show. I was there this year to attend one and speak on another social media panel, as well as do a live Spokesmen show. It was a great time seeing some old friends.

There's so much to see there, but here are just a few of the things that I came across.

All the Spokesmen in one place!

Tim "Masiguy"Jackson, Tim Grahl, Richard "Fritz" Masoner, Carlton Reid, David Bernstein

Karen and Don catch up with Chipps Chippendale

Jelly Belly had a cool motorcycle in their booth. And, free Jelly Bellies.

The pros were there, too. Lance in the Oakley booth.

George Hincapie was at the show, too.

But, the never-ending lines were for Tyler Hamilton newly crowned national champ!

Karen and Gustavo welcomed David Bowman from Outdoor Gear Canada to the booth

Karen was a busy lady. She also talked with Megan Tompkins from Bicycle Retailer

Oh yea, there were bikes, too...like this Masi

And the Felt Bikes

And this way cool bike!

Interbike is also about dear friends. Here are three of mine all in one place!

Russ Denny, Tim Jackson, Christian Klempp