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!

Your Favorite Bobke-isms?

Ok, it's a rest day at Le Tour....all of you cycling fans are wondering what to do with your mornings and/or evenings or both! Right?

Well, I know you are catching up on some sleep and that's ok. You want to be ready for the next stage tomorrow. Seriously, how great was Hautacam yesterday?

Since I'm at work when the Tour Day France is going on during the day, I try to stay away from results and friend's emails and Facebook messages until I can watch the coverage at night. With that coverage comes our friend Bob Roll's commentary.

Bob's great and he comes out with some funny/interesting sayings. My favorite so far? Last night while describing a rider heading up the Col du Tourmalet..."He's as cool as the other side of the pillow." Classic!

What's your favorite Bobke-ism from this Tour Day France so far??

Join Kryptonite on Facebook!

I love Facebook. I never thought I'd say that. I was invited a couple of times and thought, "I don't have time for something else." Heck, I couldn't keep up with my own blog how could I keep up with something else?

Then a good friend, an Air Force pilot, who was stationed in Korea sent me an invite. I couldn't pass it up - after all, he stinks at email and I'd like to know what's going on in his world. When I joined, I thought I'd just have a static page just to keep up with him periodically. But, then I found another friend and thought, "ok, I'll add her" and before I knew it, I was hooked. Completely hooked. I love it!

I've kept it away from work, it's just for my closest friends (not that you all aren't, but you know...) and my young cousins - seriously, it's the only way they communicate, I think.

Anyway, since I'm hooked, and since there are a lot of bicycle lovers on Facebook, I thought I'd start a Kryptonite group. I wanted it to be all fancy-schmancy like some of the other companies in there, but if I wait for that, it will be next year or something. Why wait?! Today seemed like a very good day.

So...go to your Facebook account and search for "Kryptonite Locks". We should come right up in the groups. JOIN US!!! Leave a message on the wall. Post a photo of your Kryptonite lock.

There will be changes to the group - I'm planning on adding some fancy-schmancy things there - cool graphics and contests. So visit it often!

See you there!

UK Cyclists - Connect2 Needs Your Vote

As I was buzzing through some sites this morning to get my brain going after a 4-day weekend, I came across some exciting news on the BikeBiz site. There is a lottery give away in England that the people can vote for - what's the prize? 50 million pounds (as in money, but I can't find the symbol here in blogger...hmmm). Who gets it? Not an individual, but an initiative that will change the way people live for the better.

From what I can tell, the lottery sytem in England is giving away this boat load of money to one of four different initiatives. The finalists are: Black Country Urban Park, Sherwood: The Living Legend, Eden Project: The Edge and Sustrans' Connect2.

All are great projects, but the Connect2 is one that all cyclists in the UK should get online and vote for. You can read more about the project on the summary page, but here is a little exerpt:

"Connect2 is a UK-wide project that aims to improve local travel in 79 communities by creating new walking and cycling routes for the local journeys we all make every day.

By building bridges and crossings over busy roads, rivers and railway lines, Connect2 will get people to the places they want to go. Each crossing will link to a network of walking and cycling routes, taking you to your schools, shops, work and green spaces. Connect2 will also bring people closer together, making journeys quicker and more convenient and leaving more time to spend with family and friends.

Around 6 million people live within a mile of a Connect2 project. Each one will change the lives of people of all ages – from cyclists and leisure walkers to commuters and schoolchildren, as well as elderly people and wheelchair users – everyone will have a better quality of life thanks to Connect2."

Voting started today and continues through noon December 10. You can also vote via phone, if you'd like. You can spread the word about your favorite project in a number of ways, including imbedding images into your Facebook page.

Interbike Wrap-Up - Inside Our Booth in Photos

Ok, so here's the last batch of photos from Interbike. As I mentioned, I'd try to do a little different spin on Interbike at times - life from inside a booth. Here are some more things I saw from inside our booth....

Karen and Craig take a short break to smile for the camera before getting back to talking with customers. Our booth was jammed pretty much from the get-go right up until Friday afternoon when it was very sloooowww...so slow all around that I heard booths coming down by 4ish (the show is open until 6pm).

Simon and Lisa from Colin Lewis Cycles in the UK were greeted by our in-transition European/South American Sales Manager, Gustavo. They won a trip to Interbike through a Kryptonite contest held this past winter. It was great having them with us. Last I heard they were headed for some sight seeing and shopping....hope they had fun on the rest of their trip.

Bob Roll chats with and signs a poster for one of our customers. Bob joined us in the morning both Wednesday and Thursday and was, as usual, a crowd favorite!

Craig and Eric serve up some coffee to the folks that stopped by to see Bob. They did a great job! Sandy, too, but I learned during this show that Sandy is about as comfortable in front of the camera as I am.

Chris and Cyndie from Cool Breeze Cyclery stopped by to say 'hello' to Bob. It was so much fun meeting them in person!

Eric Hawkins, owner of Park Tool, also stopped by to greet Bobke. The Park Tool booth is right near ours at Interbike, which is great because we've known those guys forever and they are always fun to hang out with.


Through the power of the internet and the telephone, I've "known" Mark Alker from Singletrack Magazine for years. We are even Facebook friends and connect on MySpace. However, since I think he is never allowed out of the office for some reason, I've never met him in person....until Interbike! It was great meeting him in person. From what I can gather, Mark's first trip to Vegas was a full experience....he needed the coffee we were serving, big time!

Century Cycles in Ohio won "An Evening with Bob Roll" during our Interbike contest a few years ago. Scott, the owner, came by to say a quick hello and drop his card in to win a ride with Bob this year.

Craig checks out a funky bike that made its way to the booth.

One of our favorite visitors to the booth every year is Marilyn Price from Trips for Kids. She was telling Karen here about all the new chapters she's opening. Bravo!!

Tim Grahl stopped by for a bit at the show and showed us that he's all in tune with our new Justice League padlocks. By the way, he was telling me some amazing things about the growth of his Commute By Bike site. Check it out!

Our friend Eric from Pedro's stopped by on Friday at just the right time. We asked him to pick the winners for our 'Win a Ride with Bob' contest and he did a great job. And the winners are....

Nevrik and Hrach from Velo Pasadena are the grand prize winners! Bob's going to be visiting their shop the first week of November. We are very happy they won since they are such great customers.

Christian (MN), Kevin/Squid (NY) and Billy (CA) are way loyal Kryptonite customers. Each has been a bike messenger for more years than they'd probably want me to tell you about and have become friends over the years. Ok, I just met Billy, but he was hanging with Kevin so it's all good. I know they don't go anywhere with their bikes without a Kryptonite lock. Congrats to Kevin on opening is own messenger company recently.

Lucky gal, version 2. The best part of any job, for me, has always been the people I meet along the way. I've been truly lucky in this job to meet some wonderful folks. Some I am fortunate enough to see more than once a year, some I only see at Interbike and some only come to the show every other year or so. This was a special year...the gang's just about all here (John seemed to be missing during this photo, but he was there, too).

And that's Interbike for another year. I think that Bob may have his own wrap-up later this week, but his will be very different from any of ours and I'm sure it will include a mention of the 7-Eleven team reunion. Stay tuned for that.

Now, on to the fall...

End of Summer? Already?!

Do you ever find yourself saying at say 7pm on a Sunday night, "Where did the weekend go?" I do it constantly. I'm never sure how I got from 6pm on Friday night to...woosh...Sunday night. How did it happen? I don't ever get enough done or relax enough or hang out enough. Two days is just too short.

But, summer here in the US is really, in my mind, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That's 3 months. Not two days...three months. And, I still find myself saying today on the eve of Labor Day Weekend, "Where did the summer go?" Really. The days are already getting much shorter - like an hour more of darkness than in the middle of summer. Nights are a little cool sometimes now.

Where did it go? Does anyone have an answer for that?

Fall holds great things, too. My Facebook Countdown Calendar tells me that Interbike (the bicycle trade show in the US) is in 26 days (yikes!!) so we'll be off to Vegas soon. But, before that I'm up at the NASCAR track in NH for the race September 16 (woo-hoo!). And, the Fall Foliage Run Weekend with the Perewitz Family soon after. So, there are many things to look forward to in the fall, but I'd still like to stretch out summer a little longer, just like I would every weekend of the year.

For those of you in the US - have a great long weekend. Ride safe.

Bob Roll & Facebook

Bob checked in last night from France - he said on the Mediterranean and I think he said Marseille, which is where the stage ends today. He was going to have a blog post for us, but the drive from the end of yesterday's stage to where he is now was gruelling, I guess. Long and much concentration needed. But, he checked in to tell me that he's having a great time and hopes everyone is enjoying the coverage. He'll check in again tonight or tomorrow with a post so stay tuned!

So...while we were chatting, I told him that I'd just joined Facebook and, while trying to get the hang of it, I found a group called "Bob Roll is the Greatest Sports Announcer Ever." Fun! So, I joined, of course. And if you are part of Facebook, go join today! Bob thinks it's great. One of the topics there is, "What is your favorite Rollism." There aren't many answers there, yet, but I told him I'd keep him posted because he wants to know. So, I'll ask you guys and gals - what's your favorite Rollism? C'mon, there are so many to choose from!

And, while I'm asking...what do you all think of Facebook? It seems like very college student on the planet is part of it, not to mention some of the folks that read this blog. What is it about Facebook? I'm still new so I want to hear from all of you. Personally, I think it is another great way to keep in touch with friends - I've got a friend traveling in Russia right now and can keep up with the progress there a little, a family member is in Costa Rica and signs on sporatically, another friend in the military who travels frequently - all of these folks I can keep up with easily. Then there are the friends that you don't talk to as often as you'd like (go Vols!), but can keep up with on the fly there - faster than email.

So....two questions for you on this dreary New England morning. What do you think about Facebook - love it or not? And...what's your favorite Rollism?