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

Cha-cha-cha-changes....

Thanks to my very good friends at Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, the cat's out of the bag on some big news for me personally.

After 8+ great, great years here at Kryptonite I'll be starting a new adventure on July 1st. I've been holding off writing about it here because then that makes it very real and, to be honest, although it's a fabulous opportunity and I'm excited about it, I'll very much miss both the bike and motorcycle industries. This has been my home for all these years and I'm grateful to the people in both industries for welcoming me with open arms and making me part of these fabulous groups.

The element of any job that makes it or breaks it is the people. I've been extremely fortunate to work with some of the best people in the industry here at Kryptonite. And, I've interacted with some other intelligent, wonderful people throughout both these markets. It's been a blast and I'll miss the daily interaction. But, I am happy knowing that some of those friendships can't be broken by just a job change. For that I'm extremely thankful.

However...having said all of that....I'm not going to far...well, it's a big leap in some respects and not so much in another. Next week I'll start my new role as Director of Web/New Media for our parent company, Ingersoll Rand. So, if you think you've seen the last of me online, you are sadly, sadly mistaken! The absolute passion that I have for all things new & social media will be parlayed into a full time job! How cool is that?! I'm like a little kid waiting for Christmas!!

Know what's cooler? I'll be working in Ingersoll Rand's New Jersey office a couple of days a week and then I'll be spending the rest of the time here in the Kryptonite office. Although I won't be doing any Kryptonite work, I'll still be at the same email and phone number. Yes, I'm a lucky duck.

And...to continue the good luck....because she knows it would be like quitting an addiction cold turkey, Karen has decided to let me still be a guest blogger here! You know I'll have rants about the Tour Day France and, like it or not, you'll be hearing them. I'll still be down at the Perewitz shop and will let you know what's going on there, from time to time. And, in general, I might just have some fun action sports things to say - I'll jump on and let you know what's on my mind.

Kryptonite is currently looking for a new marketing manager; you can find the Monster.com listing here. So, it won't be long before you are being introduced to another Team Kryptonite member right here. Until then, I'm still around...you can't get rid of me that easily! And, don't worry, there's plenty for me to write about before the 1st...stay tuned!

Ride safe.

Bikes Everywhere!

Because I don't watch TV in the morning - I can't, I'll get distracted and be late for work - I missed the piece The Today Show did last Friday on biking to work.

Thanks to Bicycle Retailer & Industry News for catching it and pointing me to it today because one of our distributors is mentioned for their great bike to work program. They interviewed Benjamin Joannou, Jr (one of the owners). He was talking about their incentive program for employees. Check this out - if they bike or walk to work and back the company will give them $4.00 per round trip. That can add up in a month. If you commuted 4 days a week for 4 weeks that would be $64 in your pocket. Not bad!

So, J&B employees are saving gas money, actually making money and helping the environment, just by not using their car. That's pretty darn cool! BRAVO J&B! Bravo! We're proud to have you as a partner!

On a related note, check out this story on Boston.com today about the increase in people using bikes in Boston. I'll bet it's similar in your city/town, too.

Davis and Taylor Phinney

Thanks to Bicycle Retailer & Industry News online for pointing me in the direction of this fabulous New York Times article on the Phinney family. Stop and take the 5 minutes it will take to read it..now. I think the NY Times only gives articles for free for a few days. So read it, now.

It's an incredible story.

Wishing Taylor all the best in England (kick some serious butt, kid!)...and Davis all the best next week with his brain surgery. He's a brave man.

Road Trip

I spent the majority of last week visiting Bicycle and Powersport dealers with our 2 new Regional Sales Managers(Don - West Coast and Craig - Central) and our National Sales Manager (Roby). It was great to pound the pavement with the troops, speak with the dealers and really get a sense of what is happening in the marketplace. I spent Tuesday in Portland with Don and Roby visiting all of the major dealers - Shout outs to Mark, Dave and crew at Rivercity - what an awesome set up - expecially the test track upstairs. Got a lot of cool product ideas that we are excited about - keep em coming. Also got an idea for my oldest daughters 8th birthday gift (Specialized HotRock 20). We also spent some time out at establishments notorious for bike theft activity and was proud of the fact that a Kryptonite lock was the lock of choice. They are pretty serious about their bikes in Portland - seeing a multiple lock setup(cable and Ulock) wasn't uncommon and the Evolution ulock or New York Fahgettaboudit were everywhere.

Headed to Dallas for the second leg of the trip on Wednesday and spent Thursday with Craig and Roby visiting Powersport and Bicycle dealers. Being a former sportbike rider it was like being a kid in a candy store. I spent as much time talking to managers and store personnel about security as I did about the bikes. Thanks to the folks at Central Yamaha I now have my eye on a 04-05 Yamaha Vmax preferably black on black ( any sellers out there???) Psyched about the opportuntity to work more closely with many of the dealers in Dallas and Craig will be working hard to support them with some cool promotions and displays.

Being out interacting with customers and dealers is what its all about. Looking forward to hitting the East Coast next so look out for me I might just be in a bike or powersport dealer near you.

Free Bikes from Bicycling Magazine

For the 5th year, Bicycling Magazine is giving away bikes to residents of select cities across the United States. It all started with a test market in Portland, Maine five years ago. The magazine wanted to see how people's lives would change if they were given a bicycle to incorporate into their lives. The success was amazing, and a cover story for them that year.

They expanded their 'experiment' the next year and are now giving away 300 bikes in 7 cities across the country.

To be eligible for a free bike you must write them a 50 word essay. All the details can be found on Bicycling's website.

Thanks to our friends at Bicycle Retailer for this great Bike to Work Week story this morning!