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.

Take Lance Armstrong's Dare

Just saw that Lance Armstrong is daring YOU! And you don't even have to get on a bike. This is for everyone. Share your story in video with Livestrong.com

He wants to know how you dared to change your life or someone else's life. The top 12 will be shown on YouTube and Livestrong.com

Go on, Lance dares you to make a change! At Kryptonite we know that our customers and friends make a difference every day. We know many of you have made huge positive changes in your life and others have helped to change someone else's life for the better. Show the world. Show Lance. Deadline is September 8, 2008.

Go on...WE dare you, too!

Tattooed Crew Contest

by Roberta Fahey, Customer Service
and
Bashful, Customer Service




Craig's tattoo inspired us to run this fun contest. Match the correct Team Kryptonite member to the correct tattoo. The first 3 people with all the correct answers win a Justice League padlock -your choice of character.

Of course, you also get braggin' rights, which is priceless.


A.....and....B


C.


D.


E............and.................F.



G.





Team Kryptonite members:
Bashful, Dave Perewitz, Donna Tocci, Jody Perewitz, Melissa McPherson, Roberta Fahey, Roby Holland

Help Trips for Kids! Vote Now!

If you haven’t heard, the Volvo for Life Awards are happening for the 6th year pretty soon. What are they? I can’t say it any better than they do on the website:
"Protecting our kids. Helping our neighbors. Saving our earth. This is what heroes do, the real-life heroes we honor each year through the Volvo for life Awards. Since 2002, Volvo has given these heroes nearly $5 million in funding and awards to help them continue their extraordinary work on behalf of their communities."

There are 4 categories (Safety, Quality, Environment and Butterfly) and multiple nominees in each category. Each winner from the Safety, Quality and Environment category wins $100,000! The Butterfly winner gets $25,000 and the grand prize winner gets the money and a Volvo for life. The breakdown is here.

Online voting has been open since November, but it closes at noon on Monday, January 7th. Why am I telling you this? Because we know one of the very cool nominees, Ms. Marilyn Price, the founder of Trips for Kids. She has been nominated in the Quality category.

I’m hoping that they don’t mind, but I’m going to past Marilyn’s nomination bio here so you’ll see why we all think she’s so worthy of this award:

As a young bicycle enthusiast in the mid-1980s, Marilyn Price often pedaled up the redwood-forested slopes of Mount Tamalpais across the Golden Gate Bridge. On one afternoon excursion, she stopped to look out over Tamalpais' sweeping view. Taking in San Francisco, its deep, blue bay, and the Pacific Ocean beyond, the mountain's panorama inspired in her a sense of so many paths not yet taken. She remembered the disadvantaged children whom she served when volunteering at St. Anthony's Dining Room in the heart of the city. It was from the mountain's view of a larger world that Marilyn's vision of Trips For Kids (TFK) began to take shape.

A single mother with two children, Marilyn began TFK on a simple hope and ten donated mountain bikes. But she persevered in her belief that getting inner-city youth bicycling outdoors would connect them with nature, provide exercise, and steer them away from trouble. The program has ensured that more than thirteen thousand disadvantaged children from the San Francisco Bay Area have experienced the natural world from the seat of a mountain bike. The program also teaches bicycle and computer repair work at the TFK warehouse. Through their apprenticeships, participants earn credits toward purchasing their own mountain bikes and computers.

The original program still brings inner city youth from San Francisco to bucolic Marin County to mountain bike the county's expansive countryside. "Many of these kids have never been out of a concrete setting," Marilyn notes, "and never hiked on a mountain, and never seen a deer." The typical outing begins at TFK's San Raphael warehouse, where the staff outfits the young riders for the trip. Next, the staff teams each youngster with a mentor - an experienced mountain biker who will accompany them for the duration of the trek. Together, the group sets out for Marin's lush terrain. Here, inner city kids ride from hidden ocean beaches up through steep coastal slopes forested in towering redwoods. "I liked being in a natural setting," one teenager says, "and I never thought I could make it up the slopes. But I did."

Twenty-one years ago, Marilyn Price rode up the high slopes of Mount Tamalpais and saw a view that inspired her. Marilyn's inspiration has, in turn, inspired hundreds of volunteers to join her cause - fifty-seven TFK chapters have since formed across the United States. Through her program, over thirty-eight thousand inner city children nationwide have explored a world once closed off to them: a place in nature far away from the confines of the street.

To learn more about Marilyn Price and her cause, and how you can make a difference, please visit: www.tripsforkids.org.

There are many great nominees, but we think Marilyn is fantastic and has brought cycling to many more kids than you can count. Go on…no signing up, just a little check mark. It’s so easy!! Vote for Marilyn and Trips for Kids! I did.

Go Marilyn!

Cyclists Win Lottery in UK!

As we mentioned last month, the lottery system was giving away £50 million to an initiative that would change the way people live. The winner will be announced on live television in the UK, but both BikeBiz and BikeRadar are reporting that the winner is Sustrans Connect 2 project.

Bravo! Here's a little blurb about the project. Can't wait to watch the progress!


"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."

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.

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!

Masi/Sockguy/Kryptonite Contest

It's no secret that Tim "Masiguy" Jackson is a friend of mine. It's also not a secret for anyone who reads his blog to know that he loves Sockguy socks. What might be a little more interesting to note is that it appears he's not only a fan of Sockguy socks, he's probably in the running to have THE most Sockguy socks on the planet (next to the Sockguy warehouse, of course). Check out the pile of socks he has from that company! Um...Tim...this could be seen as an obsession....

Regardless, check out the socks and then guess how many he has - kind of like the contests of how many jellybeans are in the jar contests - and you get a prize. A cool prize - a pair of Sockguy socks (hopefully not pre-worn by Masiguy) and a great Kryptonite lock! Which lock? Well, I don't know...I sent him out a couple that he's misplaced so who knows which one he'll find first. But, he has an Evolution series 4, and Evolution Mini and a New York Lock. Whichever he finds first will be the prize, I'm sure.

So, go on over, look at the sock pile, take a guess and leave your lucky number in the comment section before December 1st. I wonder if that's how long it will take him to find the box of missing locks...hmmm....

I think I'm ineligible, but if I was guessing, I'd say 70 pairs.....

Meet Bob Roll Sunday

Each of the last few years at Interbike we've held a drawing for dealers that attend the show. There are a few prizes, but the grand prize is a visit to their shop by Bob Roll. Each of the last three years it's been "An Evening with Bob Roll" where he'll come in and share stories about his riding days, his fellow competitors and team mates, the Tour Day France and the state of cycling today. He always arrives to packed shops wherever he goes.

This year we changed it up a little bit as part of our whole Feel Free to Stop campaign. This year the grand prize is that Bob will go to the winning shop and ride with the owner and a few of his/her close friends and then go back to the shop and hang out for a little bit. As we mentioned, a very good customer of ours won the event at the show in September. Well it's this weekend!

Yes, Bob will be visiting Velo Pasadena this Sunday morning! It seems as though owners Nevrik and Hrach have taken their prize to the next level and created quite an event for their customers, too. They really care about their customers because not only will Bob be there but there will be food, music, demos, test rides, raffle prizes (hint..think locks, Bob Roll shirts...) and, did I mention...Bob Roll!

The festivities will start around 11am so if you are close to Pasadena, c'mon over and meet Bob - he'll be with our regional manager, Don Shipman, so it's a Kryptonite twofer. Bob and Don will be there until around 1-ish so get on over there and say "hi". And, while you are at it, thank Nevrik and Hrach for making us feel so welcome. Have a great time!

Wonder Woman Contest Winner

Congratulations to Chris from Granada Hills, California. He's the winner of a brand new Wonder Woman padlock. It's on its way to you, Chris. With it are our wishes that you and your family are safe from the awful fires.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest. There will be another one coming soon. Stay tuned....

Wonder Woman Lock Contest

The next installment of our 'win the lock' contest. Answer the question correctly and be entered in a drawing to win the Wonder Woman padlock.

by Ryan Sawyer, graphic designer

Wonder Woman can fly, so why does she need a jet...and for the matter, why does it need to be invisible? She doesn't turn invisible when she's in it, so it just looks like a lady sitting down, zooming through the air. Do you remember when Spider-Man briefly used a dune buggy that could drive up walls? Same concept. It's like giving Aquaman some scuba gear.

Also, I wonder if her "Lasso of Truth" would hold up in court as a legal evidence. I certainly don't think she reads the criminals their rights before she hog ties them with her lasso, and anything they say while being detained by her is almost certainly coerced, since her lasso "forces" them to tell the truth. That'd be a sad day, wouldn't it? Wonder Woman finally catches Lex Luthor red handed doing something incredibly illegal, but the case gets thrown out of court because his "confession" is inadmissable and the invisible security cameras on her invisible jet use invisible tape, so no one can see the footage.

Trivia question: Wonder Woman's creator, William Moulton Marston, had a hand in creating what popular law enforcement tool?

As usual, please email your answers to Donna, donna(underscore)tocci(at)irco(dot)com. Good luck!

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...

Show Time!

by Bob Roll



I love Interbike! Interbike is the annual bicycle convention in Las Vegas that has become a ritual gathering of the tribe. Nearly every manufacturer from all over the world, who make every component you could imagine and quite a few you can’t even believe, all congregate each fall in Las Vegas to show the world their products.

I love all the new shiny gizmos displayed under the shiny lights. Even after so many years seeing all the new bikes, wheels, components, clothing and, of course Kryptonite locks, it never ceases to get me excited about riding all over again.

Whenever I see something that I fancy I can’t wait to try it out on the road or trail. What amazes me is that this has been going on for over 20 years. If you added up all the extra tradeshows that I’ve been to, I’ve probably been to more than all, if that’s possible.

Try to imagine, if you will, the best products from Asia, North and South America, Europe and even Africa that relate to cycling even in the remotest sense and put all of those products and people in the same building for three days and nights. Then throw in a variety of personalities and you have an absolutely spectacular display of innovation and wackiness. Now, factor in the inevitable one-upsmanship and you start to get an idea of the pandemonium and joy on display at Interbike.

I am trying to love Vegas also. I have been less than successful in the past and so I’ve decided that there are certain aspects of Vegas that I love more than others. One thing I don’t love is the transportation system. It might be worst in the world. Waiting for an hour in a taxi stand every single time you need to go somewhere gets old after about the first hour. That is exacerbated by the fact that it is illegal to walk anywhere, apparently, and the distances are staggering even if you had the inclination to walk.

I also am not crazy about gambling. I find it hard to believe it’s legal for people to lose all their money, sometimes in a matter of minutes. The chances of anybody winning more money than they started with when you factor in the heartache of bankruptcy must be less than zero.

I’m sure there are many things to love about Vegas and I’m still trying desperately to find any. Mostly, though, I love Interbike because of the people who attend. It is the only chance I get during the year to see many of the people with whom I’ve spent my entire adult life. I also love to see the famous bike racers, riders like George Hincapie, Greg LeMond, Ron Kiefel, Davis Phinney and Levi Leipheimer, among many other luminaries, are perennial attractions that make the show a tremendous amount of fun.

It’s also, for me personally, a chance to reconnect with some of my ex-team mates from my racing days. There have been, over the years, some celebrities that provide really delicious surprises. I’m speaking, of course, of Phil Liggett - although we have yet to experience a confirmed sighting of Paul Sherwen.

The schedule this year tentatively includes, but is not limited to, the World Criterium Championships, a 7-Eleven team reunion, a cyclocross race, the mountain bike hall of fame induction ceremony, the Wounded Warrior Ride coming into Vegas, the Shimano/YouTube video competition judging and an outdoor demo where anybody can ride the latest equipment. As well as lunch at the Italian pavilion, which is not to be missed.

All in all, with so much fun, excitement, innovation, late nights and early mornings, the town of Las Vegas itself and all the personalities, it’s probably good that Interbike only happens once a year.

CALL FOR VIDEO ENTRIES

A few months ago now, Carlton Reid from BikeBiz and Quickrelease.tv announced a video contest, I Want to Ride My Bicycle that anyone can enter over on YouTube.

It's a fun contest and there are some pretty cool prizes for the winner. According to Carlton, "The competition winners get Shimano schwag, including top-end components. The competition is also sponsored by New Belgium Brewing Co. of the US, maker of Fat Tire Amber Ale." Sweet!

Get in your entries!!! You have until next week. August 30, to be exact. That gives you one more weekend to film your video.

Now, I won't be doing a video....but for an extremely cool reason. I'm a judge. Little ole me. Seriously. And I'm not the only one (did you think Carlton would leave this all to me and my wacky ways?). My fellow judges humble me....Carlton will be there....and David Bernstein from The Fredcast and Spokesmen Podcast....and Tim Grahl from Crooked Cog Network....and my friend Tim "Masiguy" Jackson...AND...get this...Phil Liggett (yikes!)....AND (yes, there's more)....Bob Roll! HOW did I end up in this great company? I have no idea! I'm just happy to be included.

Now, it actually does get a little bit cooler. We aren't all going to be around the world watching videos and emailing in our favorites...oh, no....we'll all be together at the bicycle trade show, Interbike, next month (Sept. 26-28). Voting together. Me. Phil. Bob. Masiguy. David. Carlton. Tim. All together. I'm speechless....ok, seriously, y'all know me...when it comes time to voice my opinion I will not be speechless....but for now, I'm just happy to be included with this group.

So get in your videos! There are 126 so far....so start thinking of your own Tour Day Neighborhood, film it and get it in.

Winner #2 - Thomas K!

Thanks to everyone who guessed about Superman's mother's name. We put the names of the folks who answered correctly into a hat and Thomas K's name was chosen. Congratulations Thomas!

Here is Thomas' answer:

Lara Lor-Van or Lora Lor-Van.
Lara was first referred to in the Superman newspaper comic strip in 1939, where her name was spelled as "Lora"; her name first appeared as being spelled "Lara" in a 1942 Superman novel. After the establishment of DC's multiverse system in the 1960s, it was retroactively shown that "Lora" was the name of Superman's mother in the Earth-Two universe, while "Lara" was Superman's mother in the Earth-One universe.


Yes, it seems that Thomas knows his Superman - he even provided all the links himself. We've sent him an email to get his address and the Superman padlock will be on its way shortly to him.

Please stay tuned...another super hero contest question coming up soon....

Man of Steel Padlock Contest

Hi everyone! I’m Ryan, Kryptonite’s recently-acquired graphic and packaging designer. Being a huge comic book geek, I am thrilled to be assigned the task of blogging about Superman. What can I say about the Man of Steel that hasn’t been said a thousand times in books, news articles, psychiatric journals (the interplay of the Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El personalities is quite interesting), physics books, Biblical parallels…the cultural impact that Superman has brought to the world is mind-boggling.

Before radio, television and comic books, stories about our heroes were communicated through oral tradition. People like Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill were told to have incredible powers and perform awesome feats of strength. Naturally, the key to good storytelling is embellishment, and while many of these stories were either exaggerated or just flat-out untrue, you couldn’t help but look up to the courage and strength of these heroes. Superman is the closest thing we have to folklore in America today. He’s the ultimate hero…the strength of Paul Bunyan, the moral steadfastness of Atticus Finch…and despite being 100% alien, he has a unique "Americanity" (yup, I’m making up words now) that’s rivaled only by Captain America (rest in peace, Cap).

I could go on and on, but I’m going to restrain my inner-geek and wrap this up. If comic books could be boiled down to only ONE hero, I have no doubt that it would be Superman. He wasn’t the first superhero…we’ve been telling stories of super-powered people for thousands of years…but for the past 70 years, he’s been far and above the most loved and recognized. One day, many years from now, when WWIII has wiped out all electronics on Earth and we’re living by candlelight once again, I hope to tell my grandchildren the stories of a young child, sent from the doomed planet of Krypton to a small blue marble in the Milky Way galaxy.

And now, on to the trivia question. I was going to ask what Clark Kent’s middle name is, but there’s some dispute over whether it’s Joseph or Jerome (see, this is what happens when you ret-con stories, it screws everything up). Therefore, I decided to go with something a little less debatable. And don’t cheat by going to Wikipedia!

What is the full name of Superman birth mother?

Please email your answers to Donna -- donna(underscore)tocci(at)irco(dot)com

The correct answers will be placed into a hat and the randomly-chosen winner gets a cool Superman combination padlock, which is perfect for lockers...or telephone booths. ;)

Batman Question Winner Is....

....Mr. Al Whitehurst! Not only did he answer our Batman trivia question correctly, he was picked from our hat by our category manager, Alison.

Al knew that Batman's father's profession was indeed a doctor. He was also a philanthropist, but his profession was doctor.

Dwight is so excited about this new line of locks that he's decided to kick off the contest series with the whole kit and kaboodle....Al is going to get a full set of 5 Justice League padlocks! They are sitting here on my messy desk....Al please email me your shipping address and I'll get them right out to you. donna_tocci(at)irco(dot)com

Thanks to everyone who played....next up Superman...before the end of the week. We'll ask the trivia question and have you email them in to me (thanks for the tip Caroline!). The winner will get the Superman padlock.

And, at the end of the series, we'll be giving away another whole set of locks for answering the big question correctly. Stay tuned....



Stay tuned...

The Dark Knight

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for the beginning of our contest - the wait is over. Batman, the Caped Crusader is the first superhero that we will test your knowledge of. Again as a reminder the first 25 respondants will be entered into a drawing where the grand prize will be a full set of the padlocks, plus the winners picture,if so interested, on our website. The question is:

What is the profession of Batman's father?