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!

Motorcycling in Cold Weather

by Eric Anastasia, eastern regional manager


With this cold weather up here in the northeast it is tough to get a good motorcycle ride in without loosing the feeling in the tips of your fingers. Although the easiest way to solve this problem would be to drop the money on some heated gear, but for me I just plan my ride with places to stop and get off to warm up. Sometimes it is a hiking trail that I know of in the area to warm me up, but lately I have been making Moto Market in Acton, MA my stop.

Moto Market is a great high quality motorcycle apparel and accessory shop that doubles as a Café where you can sip on a hot tea or chocolate or one of their tasty cappuccinos. Now I know I will catch some flak from the folks in the office about the coffee thing, because I think I am the only one in the Kryptonite team that doesn’t plan my day around this caffeinated drink. But I am a fan of Italian coffees hence the last name.

So if you ever find yourself in the area you should stop by, everyone there is helpful and friendly not to mention that there is some great riding up in that area. They do have heated gear too if the coffee doesn’t do the trick. They are located at 481 Great Road (2A/119), Acton, MA 01720

Bob Roll, Velo Pasadena - A Pictorial

Remember our Interbike contest....Velo Pasadena won a ride with Team Kryptonite member Bob Roll. Well, Don Shipman, our regional manager in the west, gave us all a great post about the day he and Bob had at Velo Pasadena at the beginning of this month.


Angela, the owner's daughter, took a lot of photos during the day. Below are a few to get the feel of the day to compliment Don's words, but you can view all of the photos here. Enjoy!

Thanks to everyone who came out to meet Bob; we hope you all had a great time.

Bob didn't travel with his bike so Velo Pasadena kindly provided him with one.

Here he's doing a few last minute adjustments before he's off with the group.

Don looks like he's all set to get out and enjoy a ride on a gorgeous Sunday morning!

There were about 150 people who joined Bob and Don on the ride.

Bob's all set to go!

Here's the front of the ride as they got going just a little ways from the shop.

I just love this shot. Looks like a pro peloton coming down the road.

Check it out. Everyone following the rules of the road

and stopping at the red light! Safety first!

Everyone seems to be having a good time.

According to Don, Hrach (store owner) moved around the group

often making sure everyone was riding comfortably and having a good time.

The ladies were out in full force for the ride, too. But...where's Bob?

There he is - with a bunch of new riding buddies.

And there he is again in a different part of the group.

And...with even more people. Looks like Hrach wasn't the only

one doing some meeting and greeting during the ride.

Bob, Tori and Hrach look like they are ready for some BBQ after the 20-miler!

Bob signed autographs and chatted with folks that were on the ride and some that just stopped by. In all, about 300 people were hanging out at Velo Pasadena throughout the day.

Hrach and Bob reminisced over "the old days"

Bob with our hosts for the day

(l-r) Nevrik, Hrach, Matthew and Angela Gevrikyan

Bob Roll visits Velo Pasadena

by Don Shipman, Western Regional Manager



At the Interbike trade show in September, Bob Roll worked in the Kryptonite booth with us each morning. In the booth, Kryptonite retailers could enter to win a personal store visit by Bob himself, and on the last day of the show we drew from the fishbowl to see who the lucky winner was.

This year's winner was Hrach Gevrikyan at Velo Pasadena in Pasadena, California. Hrach and his wife Nevrik have run their high end Pro Shop since 1988 and were thrilled at winning. Hrach selected Sunday, November 4th and organized a "ride with Bob" VIP ride for his best customers, invited some vendors like Time & Specialized to demo their bikes, hired a DJ and a guy to BBQ and the party was on!

The sun rose Sunday on a perfect day. I was to pick Bob up at the hotel and arrived early - but Bob was ready to go! As we drove to the shop he asked how many people were expected and I said well.............we though there would be about 30 on the ride but that there were already about 80 when I left a half hour ago. Bob seemed worried, "80?" he asked. "80, but that was a half our ago".

We snuck in the back of the store where Hrach had full use of a large parking lot - the lot was jammed full of bikes and people - it was a sea of color. We wasted no time and made our way though the crowd to get fitted on a couple of spankin new Time bikes.

Back outside, a ride leader announced the route - were going to do about a 20 mile loop out around the Rose Bowl. Bob "clicks in" and were off through the quiet streets of Pasadena. I dropped back to count and was astonished - there were about 150 people on this ride! The peloton was about the same size as what you see in the "Tour Day France" - and the amazing part was that wile the pace was brisk the pack stayed together, mostly because as we snaked our way through the tree canopied streets of Pasadena Hrach was working the peloton to keep it together - he dropped back and pulled some back to the peloton, was calling out to others and checking on people, going to the front, dropping to the back and just working hard at 20MPH! Some wanted to go faster, some slower but Hrach just wanted everyone to ride together and have fun.

As we rounded the Rose Bowl and started the mild descent back to the shop the pace relaxed some. People were going to the front to ride with Bob and chat with him a bit. The fun and relaxed pace slowed as we rounded the final turn onto Colorado Blvd. (yep, the same one as the Tournament of Roses Parade) and arrived back at the shop. The BBQ was smokin, the DJ was spinning and the demo bikes were ready to go.

Bob changed and worked the crowd some before settling under the tent to sign Kryptonite posters, shake hands and take pictures.

As the crowd of roughly 300 finally subsided Hrach, brought out an old program from the 1982 Coors Classic and Bob and Hrach shared war stories about racing together back in the day. When Bob left I heard him invite Hrach to come hang out with him at the "Tour of Cali" in February.

A special thanks to Hrach and his wife Nevrik for their warm, welcoming hospitality. We only get Bob to the store - the rest is up to the retailer and Velo Pasadena know how to throw a party!

Devastation Can Happen Anywhere

by Craig Glab, Regional Manager (Central)



I was in Minneapolis on September 13, to visit Erik’s Bike Shop in Dinky Town. They have more than one store, but the one I visited is right there in the U of M campus area and they are a great Kryptonite dealer. I went to the store and conducted business and then drove across the bridge that is the closest bridge to the I-35 bridge collapse.

When I was driving, I decided as a former Minnesotan I wanted to capture the view to show other people what I saw. The destruction was phenomenal. I had been there just a couple of months before the bridge collapse. And, in the past, I’d driven across the I-35 bridge many times – anyone who has driven it can probably still remember all the pot holes and where they were, I know I do.

I guess it is different for all of us – we’ll all have our own thoughts on this tragedy. If you don’t live in the Twin Cities area think of it this way - if it was a tunnel in Boston or a bridge in San Fran or wherever you live, it would mean more to you, I guess, especially if you drove it every day and then all of a sudden it wasn’t there any more. You might even think it could be you. It could be any one of us. This is particularly devastating for anyone who lives in, or has lived in, Minneapolis.

It really brings to my mind the question, “how short is life”? In a split second this could happen to you…or me. It could be any one of us. This huge bridge was there once and now it is gone…amazing. I guess I still have a hard time with it.

Here are some interesting photos of what I saw last month.

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.

Thanks Rapid Transit!

We’ve got some of the best dealers in the world. We really do. They are knowledgeable, passionate and down right fun. Rapid Transit Cycleshop in Chicago is one of those dealers. They’ve carried Kryptonite for years and our reps love visiting their store when they are in town.

They’ve recently written a kick butt post on their blog about avoiding bike theft. This is a great service for all their customers and internet readers. Not only do they talk about great locks, but they give terrific proper lock up advice. Read it. You will be glad you did!

And...if you check out their blog further, you'll see that they are offering a coupon for 10% off a u-lock, u-lock w/cable or u-lock and skewer set. No brand is specified so go get your favorite - just get a lock! If you live in the area, print the coupon and bring it in. It's valid until Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Thanks for the plug, Rapid Transit, but more importantly, thanks for giving your customers such great proper lock up advice!