More iceBike

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, here are a few thousand "words" (and some real ones, too).

The Kryptonite booth at iceBike. Paul, Don and I are joined by Andrew Wagerer, our great product manager at Madison.

Patrick (left) is chatting with his mates about his impending fatherhood. Congrats Patrick! I can't wait to get the fantastic news of Baby J's arrival.

Sim and Chipps hard at work...I think...or maybe it was snack time.

Thanks to Kryptonite's marketing team in the UK, we had some cool swag to give away, including these thermal mugs....

...and bottle openers disguised as key rings, pens and reflective straps. Like the 5 year old that I am, I played with these all week....but I wasn't the only one!

Got to meet Jay Townley for the first time, in person. We'd chatted on the phone years ago, but we'd never caught up in person. He gave quite an informative talk to the dealers each of the three days. Carlton caught him on video. Check it out. How psyched was I to find out that Jay swings by our little blog sometimes? Um...very! Hi Jay!

Here Jay is chatting with Mr. Blue himself, Eric from Park Tool. Eric was at iceBike with his normal posse, Roger and Calvin. It wouldn't be the same without them.

Ok, so after I shot this picture I think Neil may have wanted to toss me off the balcony, but he was giving a detailed, passionate presentation on one of the fastest growing lines at Madison - Ogio. Ok, I'm just guessing at the "fastest growing" bit, but if UK consumers are anything like US consumers, they will be fighting for these bags. Gotta tell you, the laptop case is pretty sweet!

It's always great to catch up with Hank from Finish Line at shows. He had a new recruit with him this year. Dan started in the last year with Hank and seems to be fitting in quite nicely. Welcome to the industry, Dan! (Note: Check out the reflective Kryptonite stickers doing their job on Don's computer there!)

Dominic is Madison's Chief Executive and a great host. He really makes people feel comfortable in his "home". We had a nice dinner on Thursday night which included all the Madison folks (my table mate Susan has been with Madison for 28 years!), the 'movers and shaker' dealers (which included Simon and Lisa/Colin Lewis Cycles!) and the suppliers.

Dinner was good both if you love meat and if you don't. It was a hog roast with all the fixings. And, for us veggies, there were really yummy veggie Kabobs, salad, bread etc.

Continental had a great idea when they sponsored this game, eh? I never saw the table empty once after dinner.

I don't have pictures of the master planner, Will, or our wonderful friend Richard or all of the rest of the reps, which is too bad. They are fantastic partners and I wish you could see them all here. Ok, truth be told, I have a couple of photos, but I actually like these guys so I won't display my bad photography!

Thank you all for a great week and all of the hard work you do for us throughout the year! You all ROCK!

iceBike - Day 1

I'm over in the UK this week attending a trade show at Madison, our UK distributor. Don's here with me and we are joining our European Sales Manager, Paul Graveson at the stand/booth. Paul's been with us about 7 months now and you will be learning more about him in the coming weeks.

Madison puts on a fantastic show under the tents at their warehouse. Yesterday was the start of the show with dealers from all over like Barry from Firth Cycles and dealers from Oxford, Bristol and loads of other places. It was also press day where I got to see some of my friends in the UK media like Chipps and some of the guys from Future Publishing. It was great fun for me because this show is less hectic than Eurobike or Interbike so I got to spend some quality time catching up with them. I really enjoy that.

Off to get ready for Day 2 where I'll get to see fellow Spokesman Carlton Reid today! I'm very excited about that. Maybe it will even be sunny again today. Yes, it was sunny yesterday! Really. I'm not kidding.

Powersports Trade Show - Set Up

Hello from Indianapolis everyone!

We are here for the Dealer Expo powersports trade show. We've been making the trek out here for years and years and I've attended every year but one of the eight years I've been here.

I arrived yesterday to do a lot of little things that need to get done before the rest of the team and our guests arrive. Pick up badges for the team, deliver our guests' badges to the front desks of their hotels, check and confirm all reservations in person, get the packages that I sent to myself at the hotel and go over to the booth to see how it is all going.

I am always fascinated at the amount of work it takes to put up a booth. Now, in Vegas we have a "double decker" booth so I understand that work to make it structurally sound. But, all booths take time and expertise to put them up. Here's a little pictorial of my visit to the show floor yesterday.

I'm staying at the Marriott which connects to the convention center through a walkway over the road. This is fabulous since it is always cold at this show (it is February after all!). My room looks out over the walkway, actually. But, this is the view fromthe walkway yesterday. The flags on the light poles let you know that there is a show going on, if the line of trucks and trailers didn't give that away!

Getting through the show floor on set up days is a challenge. You can see where you want to go for the most part, but you can't get there. Crates and boxes and tools and everything else you can think of is all over the entire footprint of the show floor. Sometimes you have to climb over things to get where you want to go.

Here are some of the crates that our booth ships in and skids of product wrapped in the black there.

More crates...getting emptied to make the walls of the booth....

The walls are up! They were just putting the slat wall up when I left yesterday afternoon. I felt like I was just about to become an obstacle for them as they were about to tear into more crates to put together our reception desk. So, I vacated and came back to deliver badges and check my emails. Remember, the show still goes on back in the office and the rest of the world so you need to keep up with that, too, while you are gone.

When I go back today the slat wall will be up, the reception desk will be done, the shelves in the storage room will be built and the graphics will be up. I'll get more photos as the process goes along.

So...do you think the chain is the only new product we have? Nah....we've got more...here's another sneak peek of some products we'll be showing starting tomorrow (yikes!).

New disc lock -- small, compact, easy breezy to use. It will be out later this year.

No, we haven't started to create foot pegs....well, not exactly...this is a foot peg AND a disc lock. Really. Know how you hate to have a disc lock because you might forget it and try to ride off without taking it off (or maybe you've actually done that???). This little guy will make sure you never do that again. Kind of clever, huh?

Ok, off to do a few things and then head to the show floor to see how the construction is going. Ross and Don will be here soon to set the product walls....then Nicole arrives and her motorcycle, too...then Jody comes with the Perewitz custom motorcycle....then the rest of our team arrives for a booth meeting and before you know it, it will be tomorrow and the doors will open! Yikes, lots to do before then!

Have a great Friday everyone. Hope to see some of you this weekend.

A Legend is Born.....

Powersports dealers, come get a sneak peek....Dealer Expo this weekend....Indianapolis....booth 2019.....

Consumers...stay tuned for more news on this later in the year....

What's Your Favorite Part?

Wow..it's been a few days, eh? You'd think that in December, when it's snowy and icy that we'd be slow. After all, most people only ride their bicycles and motorcycles in the good weather, right? But, that's just not the case.

We've got our big powersports trade show in February so planning is underway for that. Getting new products ready for their big debut, finalizing catalogs, getting travel arrangements set and, of course, the big drama of each show - what are we going to wear?! We'll obsess about that for weeks and then, no matter what, someone won't be happy. I think this year, it might be me....oh well...then again, I'm the one doing the ordering....we'll see.

So, the place is humming around here. There really is no 'down' season for us when I think of it. Maybe for a day in November? Yeah...that's it, one day in November. At least that's what it seems to be. January will be all the last minute details and then I'll hit 3 shows in February. I'm not kidding about that one...the Northeast Motorcycle Expo in Boston, then the Dealer Expo in Indy and then a distributor show in the UK.

I'm just thankful for the 4-day weekend we all get this weekend for the Christmas holiday. Of course, I'm not done wrapping, but I am done shopping so there is that. I know what I'm doing on Saturday....

So, enough of the bah-humbug work stuff. What's your favorite part of the holidays? Food? Family? Presents? I want to know...what's your favorite part?

Me? That's easy. It's always been about the holiday cards. I rush home every night, like a small child on Christmas morning, to see what present the mailperson has left me that day. And, yes, I consider every single card that I receive a present. A day in the middle of the season without any cards, is a very depressing day. I love hearing from my friends and family - seeing the cards they picked out, reading the little notes and seeing photos of their kids and animals. I love everything about it. Sometimes there are cards in there from people that you only hear from once a year and it is truly a present in an envelope. It's nice to know they are still out there and doing well.

Then there is that one magical card (or nowadays could be an email) from one person that you never expected. Someone you haven't heard from in years or a relative that usually doesn't send out cards. THAT is truly a special present in the mailbox/email box.

I know that cards are expensive and I know that, environmentally, they might not be the best thing (emails would be better, right?)....but they are traditional and something that add a little brightness into a cold winter season. For me, they are the absolute best part of the season - they have friends, family and good memories all wrapped into one small little envelope.

Boston.com today is showing some holiday cards from famous people and places. Check it out.

So...what is your favorite part of the season??

SEMA

by Jody Perewitz



Last week was the SEMA show in Las Vegas. We sent out 2 bikes to be displayed in PPG’s booth. A 1950 Panhead that we just finished and an early 80’s custom that my father built back in the day.

My parents headed out there on Monday and I went on Wednesday. I have been there before but every year I forget just how big the show is. I walked around all day Thursday and maybe only saw ¼ of it! There was so much to see, Rolls Royce Phantom with 26” wheels, Toyota truck bombing through a course outside, 64 Impalas, and of course celebrities.

I got to meet some cool people. Some of them were Goldberg the wrestler, Indy car driver Danica Patrick, and a few others. The show was so crowded that just getting a glance at a celebrity was difficult but I managed to get a few pictures and autographs!

On Friday about two hours before the show was going to end I decided to go for a walk and revisit a cool booth, Lexani Wheels. I found my way over to the wheel building and then decided to take a different route back to the PPG booth. I got so lost and couldn’t find my way back! I was in a building I didn’t even know existed and it seemed to go on forever with vendors! I finally made it back just as they were announcing the SEMA show has now ended.

When I got home I was glad to be there. Even though I was only gone a couple of days there is no place like home. Vegas is nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. And that’s just me because I heard an interesting fact while riding the monorail. Vegas is the home to 6,000 new people each month!!!

Bob Roll's Interbike Experience, 2007

by Bob Roll


As expected, the 2007 Interbike extravaganza lived up to its pre-event hype and was a great event, thoroughly enjoyable to all. For me, step #1 is extracting myself from the airport and arriving at the hotel without incident. Coming from a small town in the mountains to the megalopolous that is Las Vegas is always a shock to the system. The melee at the airport never ceases to amaze me. Las Vegas, for some reason, remains a powerful attraction to zombies from all over the world.

Consequently, getting from the airport to the room is one of the most substantial challenges of Interbike. Thanks to Donna Tocci my journeys have been smooth and without incident. The place of habitation is the Venetian Hotel and Casino. The casino part is what makes it more difficult than it needs to be. Although at the Venetian, at least, you can check in without wading through an ocean of slot machines. Not the case, however, when you navigate to your room. Everybody has to pass through the casino in an effort, I presume, to pry peoples’ hard earned cash out of their wallet. For religious reasons I do not gamble and consequently my trips to Vegas have been much more enjoyable. The room, as always, was fantastic.

The first order of business at the trade show was to serve coffee to the thirsty masses at the Kryptonite booth. Then, it was time to be the judge at a video contest sponsored by Shimano and presided over by such luminaries as Phil Liggett, Kozo Shimano and, of course, Donna Tocci.

From there I had a signing at the Hi-Torque booth and after that was a reunion with my teammates from my racing days on 7-Eleven at the Tourneau Watch store sponsored by Bicycling Magazine. All of which was a fundraiser for the Davis Phinney Foundation. What a fantastic honor and great pleasure to be reunited with some real legends of American cycling. On the panel was Tom Schuler, Chris Carmichael, Alex Stieda, Ron Kiefel and, of course, Davis Phinney. The assembled throng were regaled with the tales of our efforts in Europe. A lovely time was had by all. Thereafter was, just like the old days, a team dinner where much wine was drank at Spago.

Day 1 was supposed to include the annual Sinclair extravaganza, where I have imbibed dramatically in years past. But this year I was too exhausted to attend - so much for Day 1!

Day 2 began early again at the Kryptonite booth with coffee for an even larger assemblage of attendees. Repositioning myself at the front of the booth rather than the storage unit in the middle inexplicably seemed to draw more people. The rest of the day included, but was not limited to, a speaking engagement at the Wounded Warrior Project press conference and a book signing at Velonews.

Directly after the book signing was six hours of live TV courtesy of the World Criterium Championships held at the Mandalay Bay parking lot. The professional men’s race was an exciting and very competitive high stakes, great race. It was a real pleasure to commentate on.

The women’s race was won by Laura Van Gilder but it was the Industry Cup race that provided the most crashes and thrills. Such luminaries participated as Steve Bauer and Mario Cipollini. The rest of the field was made up of supposed employees of the cycling industry, which is a pretty broad requirement. There were so many crashes it was difficult to know the beginning and the end of field. Also, the variety in fitness levels made the pack impossible to differentiate from the stragglers. Add oil on the streets and two days, at least, of heavy drinking and you have a recipe for hilarity.

I am sure the next day at the show there were many employees nursing their wounds. Six hours of live television is not easy but having a crash to commentate on about every half a minute makes the time fly. Generally, my job is as a commentator on cycling events and it was nice to be able to apply my trade at the bike show. However, being able to meet the people at the Kryptonite booth is the main attraction for me going and remains an event that I look forward to throughout the racing season.

I’m looking forward to next year’s races and have enjoyed a fantastic relationship with Kryptonite and look forward to all of our promotions in the future. So, everybody go out and buy some locks!

The trip home was uneventful, which is my favorite kind of trip. My liver has shrunk back down to normal size and I’m looking forward to ’08.

Crazy Busy with Trade Shows

Wow - it's been awhile since we posted here. It's just been crazy busy. Although our dealers will know, most people don't know that the trade show season is upon us. There's Eurobike at the end of this month in Germany. Then the Canadian bike show. Then Interbike in Las Vegas. And then Intermot back in Germany. All before the middle of October.

We need new catalogs for the shows, give-aways, design trade show booths, order show shirts, arrange travel and shipping and...oh, yes, get the products there and display them so they all look pretty. Does a lock look pretty? Hmmm....

Our photographer tries to make them all look great. What starts out as just a lock laying on a table....

..ends up as a great 'beauty shot'.

This is the one we are using in our catalog - it shows off the oval pretty well rather than just a straight vertical shot. Oh, did I mention that we finished the catalog today!? It's off to the printer. Yiiipppppeeee!

Tour de France, Catalogs & Such

Oh my goodness, how about the Tour Day France this weekend? Tim Jackson/Masiguy has great recaps - better than I could do since he has raced and knows more about that aspect. I just watch for the pure enjoyment of watching these guys put it all out on the line athletically. That, and the antics from the sidelines.

Seriously, a guy in a full chicken costume running up the mountain next to Michael Rassmussen yesterday? Priceless.

But, the most enjoyment, for this fan, was watching Alexander Vinokourov just kick some serious butt on the time trial - in the wet! Wow. It was impressive.

Equally impressive was yesterday's win by youngster Alberto Contador. After riding for hours and hours and then needing to attack that last mountain? And, leave most of your competitors behind. Nicely, done. He really made it look effortless, which floors me.

I can't wait for tonight's coverage with Bob and Al (shhh...don't tell...I spend all day not looking to see who won the stages so I can be surprised at night). Besides, I just love the "Bob and Al Show". They are too funny.

Oh, stay tuned for another Bob post at the end of the week. He's going to check in from Paris on Friday night or Saturday to give us his thoughts as the Tour wraps up.

Now it's off to work on the bike security catalog. It's that time where we are getting ready for the big industry trade shows. Eurobike is at the end of August in Germany and then there is the Canadian show in mid-September and then Interbike in Vegas at the end of September. Kryptonite will be at all three. If you are a dealer attending one, or more, of those shows, stop by! Much more news about those shows as we get closer.

I wonder which Tour stars will be at Eurobike....one year Jan Ullrich was there and you would have thought royalty was in the building or something. I don't know what to compare it to. It was a frenzied crowd. Somehow, I don't think he'll be there this year....but you never know who might show up. Someone from Astana? The Chicken himself?

There I go thinking "Tour" again. It's so hard not to in July! But...catalogs need to get done....