Bike Biz Babe

Just a few of my recent "peeves".

2008-04-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

We all have our little pet peeves. Sometimes pet peeves are with us for life. Some just come and go. Right now, the top three things that really frost me (in no particular order) are:

1. Bike dealers who continue to drink the Trek (and Specialized...but not to as big of a degree) Kool-Aid despite the fact that they get bikes rammed down their throats they don't need or want, open competing dealers a stone's throw away, and threatening dealers to pull their dealership if they don't kick brands X, Y, and/or Z out of their store.

2. My neighbor, who despite being a really smart gal, is allowing her normally indoor cat roam the neighborhood in effort to get it pregnant so her 10-year-old daughter can witness "the miracle of birth". Huh?!? Why do smart people do dumb things? With our local shelters filled to their respective brims with homeless cats, this is one of the most irresponsible things I've heard of lately.

3. Trail poachers! Yes, it seems like every trail system has them. One of my local trails, Lake Hodges, was ravenged by the fires this past October. It was closed for a few months, but is now re-opened for the most part. There are a few trails that have remained closed due to the sensitivity of the areas the trail passes through. At every trail entrance around the lake, there are signs that make it very clear that the trails will remain open while the landscape heals if...and only if...people stay on the designated trails. If people don't respect this, the trails will be shut down.

The trails that are closed are clearly marked that they are closed. So what do people do? They just make a new trail that circumvents the "closed" signs 10 feet down the trail. Or, they just hop over the caution tape to access the closed areas. This is evidenced the many tire tracks you see going right on past the closed signs...right over the caution tape in some cases. I tried to take a couple of pictures of this, but they didn't come out all that great.

What's up with this poaching BS? Do the rules apply to everyone but you? Do you have such little respect for the fragile environment and your fellow riders who might lose Hodges as a trail system because of your selfishness? Last weekend, I saw a couple guys go around the closed signs and ride away on a closed trail. Lame.

The signs at the trail entrances that mandate people stay on the designated trails also ask all trail users to help educate others about the importance of staying on the trails in effort to ensure we are able to keep riding there. So consider this doing my part: To everyone who rides Lake Hodges, stop poaching the trails. I enjoy riding out there as do many other people...please don't allow your selfishness to ruin access to this area for others. It's just not worth it. Stay off the closed trails. When the park rangers see all the tire tracks on trails that are closed, it makes all mountain bikers as a group look bad. Have some respect. Thanks for listening.

On a more positive note, I met a few cool guys out there at Hodges on Saturday. One was on a Xeon S (and loves it), one has a Xeon S on order, and the other was considering upgrading from his Iron Horse soon. Very cool! Thanks guys!

Ciao for now!

Hello to an old friend

2008-04-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today I spent a little time with an old friend...my Haro Xeon. I'm not really sure why I haven't ridden this bike in what seems like ages, but it certainly had a thick layer of garage dust on it along with a couple of not-quite-flat-but-close tires.

When go to take a ride, it goes something like this: I walk out to the garage and stare at the bikes on the wall for a few minutes. Then I decide which bike I feel like riding based on whatever trail I plan on going to.

This morning, I actually picked the super-sonic pink Sonix off of the wall, but discovered the front brake needed to be bled. OK, I'll bleed the brake. After pouring a bunch of mineral oil into the caliper and watching it flow through my little makeshift bleed kit hose after a series of lever pumps, I closed the bleed valve and capped off the resevior only to find that brake fluid was seeping out under the cap. After opening the resevoir back up, I found that the seal was roached.

Since I sort of value having a front brake, I had no other choice but to choose another bike. I've been spending a ton of time on either "big wheels" (650B or 29er) and my road bike, so I really wanted to ride 26" full-suspension. My trusty Xeon is the only other squishy bike I own at the moment, so off the wall it came and went straight on to my roof racks.

I headed out to Daley Ranch; a nice little trail system about 30 minutes south of me in the foothills of Escondido. Sure, a 6.3" travel bike is a bit much for those who are familiar with Daley Ranch, but there aren't too many 6.3" travel bikes that climb as nicely as a Xeon.

I can honestly say that I had forgotten just how much fun that bike is to ride. The Xeon is classified in the "all-mountain" category. A few of us at Haro agree that it's a downhiller's cross-country bike. This bike has admittedly been a bit of a challenge for us...people either "get it" or they don't. It seems that the "lycra set" just doesn't quite understand the slacker seat angle and the longer travel. Those of us who have more of a "gravity " background think this bike rules.

Daley Ranch is sort of mixed bag of climbs (some are particularly nasty), rolling single/double track, and some rutted-out technical downhill sections. What I love most about my Xeon is the fact that it's just so damn comfortable in wide variety of terrain and riding conditions. Even though it's been a couple of months since I've ridden a squishy bike, I felt right at home on my Xeon. I was having so much fun on the bike, I ended up riding far longer than I had anticipated. That's OK...what else was I going to do? I really didn't have anywhere I had to be, so I might as well just ride.

During my drive home, I kept thinking about how nice it was to visit my "old friend" and enjoy a nice ride. I think my Xeon will be seeing a lot more of the trail in the very near future.

Happy trails.

Don't just exist. Live.

2008-04-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Don't say I didn't warn you...this post has nothing to do with bikes. But that's OK...it's my blog so I can say what I want, right?

Sometimes life deals you a bad hand. Sometimes, life deals you many bad hands within a relatively short span of time. When you get dealt a series of bad hands at the poker table in Las Vegas, you just stop playing...but life just doesn't work that way. You can't just walk away from your bad hands and stop playing. You must stay in the game.

Sometimes I feel as if I have been dealt a few bad hands over the past few years. Just like that figurative poker table in Las Vegas, I chose to just "walk away" from the game in an emotional sense. My lack of blog entries over the past several months has been one of many by-products of this withdrawal.

Several events have contributed to me sort of "waking up" to the fact that I need to be playing the game of life just a little differently. I've realized that nobody is going to hand over the good stuff in life on a silver platter...you have to make the good stuff happen for yourself. Visualize it. Commit to it. Make it happen. Don't wait for someday...ever notice that "someday" never happens? I have. Carpe diem...seize the day.

I'm finally realizing that life's big rewards aren't easily attained without taking a bit of a risk. As a society, we spend entirely too much time worrying about trying to look good or avoid looking bad. Sometimes, you just have to be willing to look like a complete jackass from time to time. It's the only way we grow.

So the horse bucked me off. That's OK; it happens to all of us from time to time. I'm ready to get back on and ride it again. There's a real difference between existing and living. When you merely exist on this planet, your life runs you. When you live, you run your life. Don't just exist. Live.

It's time to ride.

Just a few pics from today's ride.

2008-04-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today I did something I haven't done in a while: went for an afternoon bike ride. I usually ride during my lunch break at work or in the mornings on weekends. I used to ride as often as I could after work once Daylight Savings Time hit...I just love the low sunlight plus it sure beat just going straight home. For whatever reason, I've sort of fallen out of that post-work ride routine...but today I feel like I have fallen in love with it all over again.

This wasn't an epic ride my any stretch of the imagination; just a short 1.5 hour cruise on my Beasley SS at Lake Hodges. It felt great to get out there and enjoy some time on the dirt. Something tells me I'm going to planning far more post-work rides in the coming weeks.

I did manage to remember to take my camera along with me, so I snapped a few pictures. Enjoy!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! Enjoy the holiday with your family and friends. Hopefully, your celebration involves getting on your bike. If you don't celebrate Easter, just go out and celebrate life!

I'll try to post some bike-related stuff next week.

Cheers!

(I took this photo at Borrego Springs a couple of weeks ago...the wildflowers were unreal!)

Just sexy Beasley images and nothing more.

2008-03-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

A "gift" from the fires...

2008-03-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

The October wildfires were indeed a tragedy for nearly everyone in San Diego. I feel fortunate that the flames only came within about 2 miles from my house. So many others were not as fortunate.

If there's any good that has come out of the fires, it's the fact that the charred hillsides are starting to green up...and the wildflowers are in full bloom on them! It's sort of like a little gift left behind in the wake of destruction.

This photo was taken at Lake Hodges in Escondido, CA. The day the fires started, I was sitting in the middle of the lake in my kayak enjoying an afternoon paddle. At that time, the fires were miles away. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined that about 12 hours after I pulled by boat out of the water, the fires would have completely surrounded the lake and would continue racing westward.

It's hard to believe this hillside was a blackened, charred mess just weeks ago.

Beasley 650B First Ride Impressions

2008-03-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's been almost 6 months since my last post. Who knows, it may be 6 months until I post again...I suppose only time will tell. :)

About 6 months ago, I wrote about a test I did with 2 of our Xeon bikes...one equipped with 650B wheels and the other equipped with stock 26" wheels. At that time, our line of 650B bikes were little more than lines on paper. Over the past several months, it's been really rewarding to see our 650B bikes evolve from an idea into flesh and blood...err, I guess rubber and steel would be more accurate. Albeit a small line consisting of just two bikes, I'm proud to say that our Beasley 650B bikes are now a reality and should be available this summer. We had hoped they would come to market a bit sooner, but longer-than-expected factory leadtimes just won't make that possible.

Now that our sample bikes have been photographed for our Spring catalog and have been presented to our sales force at our Spring Launch sales meeting, I finally had the chance to take one out and get it dirty. Product Manager Pat called an early "dibs" on the 1 x 9 which was just fine by me...I really wanted to ride the SS. After pedaling it around in the parking lot, I could tell the 32/17 gearing was going to be a little tall for my outta shape ass. I have admittedly chosen riding my motorcycle or going for a hike over a bike ride on more than a few occasions lately...plus the weather hasn't been all that great over the past several weeks. Excuses...excuses....

Anyhow, I headed out to a local trail system I knew would be singlespeed friendly, the Santa Rosa Plateau up in the Murrieta/Wildomar area. No gut busting climbs...no super gnarly descents...just nice rolling singletrack that flows through a beautiful series of meadows. Perfect for a maiden voyage aboard the fully-rigid steel Beasley SS.

I really didn't know what to expect...whether this bike would feel more like a 29er or a 26" wheel mountain bike. I was hoping that it would live up to what most people say about 650B MTB's...that you get many of the same benefits of big wheels without the big 29" wheel geometry. I'm pleased to say that the little Beasley SS lived up to those expectations. Don't get me wrong...I love my 29ers. But for a "little" person like me (at 5'7"), a 29er is a lot of bike. The Beasley didn't feel like such a big bike...it felt very nimble and quick, yet very stable. Just like a 29er, it climbed with what felt like infinite traction, cornered with stability, and rolled over trail obstacles with ease.

The fork is my favorite part of this bike...it's beautifully made and it's as stiff as hell. But much like the rigid forks on my 29ers, I really wasn't ever left wishing for a suspension fork. Riding rigid really forces you to become a smoother rider. It forces you to pick better lines, relax your arms more, keep your momentum up, and just flow with the trail like water. Only on the gnarliest of descents do I miss having suspension.

The fact that the Beasley is steel also lends to the fun factor...steel truly is real. It yields a ride unlike any other material. It's lively, yet stiff enough so you "feel" the trail. I definitely feel more "one" with my steel bikes, that's for sure. Steel frames also just look great...since you can make frames out of smaller diameter tubes, steel frames look sleek and svelte.

I won't bore you with too many more words, but in a nutshell, this bike rocks. I had a blast on it. Other than the gearing being a little much for me, I don't know that I'd change a thing on it. It steers great...not too fast, not too slow. The On-One Mary bars are perfect for rigid singlespeeds...very easy on the wrists. And unlike some 29ers, I've got plenty of standover thanks to the graceful bend in the top-tube (it's there for a reason).

I sure hope everyone else likes our new Beasley bikes as much as I do. That's sort of our goal...to create bikes that are just darn fun to ride.

I'll leave you with a few pictures I took on the ride today. Enjoy!

Here's to 10K!

2007-09-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, looks like I just broke 10,000 hits to my blog! I honestly never thought I'd ever get that many people want to read my bike biz blah blah blah. So,my dear readers...thanks!

I'm off to Interbike tomorrow morning. First stop will be the On Dirt Demo for 2 days and then off to work the show for the rest of the week. I'll do my best to post some reports when I can. If you're attending the show, safe travels. And please stop by to say hi!

Happy trails, ya'll!

The 650B Experiment

2007-09-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of months, I have been exchanging e-mails with Kirk Pacenti about 650B wheels. Kirk, who makes some of the nicest lugs on the planet that are used by some of the world's best frame makers, has been a driving force behind the 650B movement and has been a great source of information.

Based on Haro's success in the 29" wheel market with our line of "Mary" steel hardtails and the fact that 29ers just ride so damn nice, I was naturally intrigued by the whole concept behind 650B wheels. With 650B wheels measuring 27.5" in diameter, they are halfway between a 26" wheel and a 29" wheel.

From a manufacturer's standpoint, the real advantage behind this "tweener" size is you can run a 650B wheel on a 26" wheel bike with very few modifications to the frame itself. 29" wheel frames require a whole new drawing with revised geometry to accomodate the larger wheel size. And then there's the tooling costs associated with a new frame design.

From a rider's standpoint, I was really curious to see how a set of 650B wheels would ride. I'll admit that I was hugely skepical of 29" wheels (like many people were/still are) until I rode one. After you throw a leg over a 29er, it doesn't take long to realize the obvious benefits that 29" wheels have to offer. However, 29ers do have their pitfalls (not many, but they do exist). They are a little a little harder to get started from a standstill and they don't really excell in really tight technical sections and switchbacks. Would 650B be the solution?

I ordered a couple sets of Neo-Moto tires from Kirk and 2 sets of the new "Blunt" wheels from Velocity. Based on the rim and tire dimensions we got from Kirk, it looked like this tire and wheel combo would work on our 6" travel Werx Xeon all-mountain bikes without any modifications, so we could start testing right away once we received the wheels and tires. It would be close, but at least we would have to wait for sample frames to be made.

Pacenti Neo-Motos on Velocity "Blunt" wheels.

Last week, it all came together. We got 650B wheels and tires. Product Manager Pat Crosby mounted them up to a Werx Xeon and they fit. Tightly, but we have clearance, Clarence. The Fox Talas fork had about 1/4" to spare between the tire and arch. The swingarm yoke is also tight...about a 1/4" there too. The front derailleur clearance is real tight. Better hope I don't pick up a stone in the tire or the FD will be toast.

Tight!

Even tighter.

Today I decided to do a little test. I took two Werx Xeons out to a local trail that has a little bit of everything on it: climbing, semi-technical descents, switchbacks, flats, etc. One bike had the 650B wheels on it and the other had stock 26" wheels on it. I have to note that although these were both the same model bike, they weren't spec'd identical. One had a Fox Talas while the other had a Fox 32 Float. One was SRAM X.O, the other was new Shimano XT. Both had RockShox Pearl 3.3 rear shocks, which I set up as close to identical as I could.

I took the 650B bike out first. The first part of the trail is an off-camber rolling singletrack section with a few little rocky sections here and there to negotiate. So far, so good. The bike really felt smooth and hopped over the rocky stuff easily. Not much elevation change of any great consequences, but wheels rolled confidently on the small descents and climbs.

As I pedalled along a wide-open flat section, I was amazed at how fast I was going with what seemed like very little effort. Much like a 29er, even though bigger wheels might be a little bit harder to get rolling, once you do get them going, it doesn't require much effort to keep them going at a good clip.

I negotiated a few flat but soft sweeping corners in both directions. The bike felt ultra-stable and the Neo-Moto's hooked up really well. I didn't feel nearly as squirrely as I sometimes do on a 26" wheel bike in these corners.

The true test was going to be the switchback section up ahead. They aren't terribly steep, but they are a bit tight and they tend to be loose from everyone skidding through them on the way back down. On a 26" wheel bike, I rarely have a problem through them, but on my 29er, it's 50/50. Sometimes I clear them without dabbing and other times I'm not so lucky. Today on the 650B bike, I sailed right through them. I'm impressed.

Just up the trail a bit is another uphill switchback I've never been able to clear on a 29er and sometimes I even dab it on a 26" wheel bike. It's a real tight one...almost tighter than 90 degrees with a little wood water bar step right in the apex. Again, sailed right through it on the 650B bike.

After this weird little switchback, there's a fairly steep climb with some loose sections and rocks in it. The tires are hooking up like there's no tomorrow, even in the loose stuff. Am I on a 29er? Hopping up an over the rocks was a breeze. At this point, I hit a few rock gardens on the way back down the hill...again, I'm asking myself whether or not I'm on a 29" wheel. The 650B's are rolling through stuff like it doesn't even exist.

I rolled back down the same switchbacks I just got done riding up, and the bike did equally well on the descent. The most impressive thing was the feeling of control through these switchbacks. Since I went into them with much better stability, I didn't find myself getting squirrely through them and skidding around as much in the loose stuff. It sort of felt good to know I was minimizing the impact on the trail!

Time to give the 26" wheel bike some love. After swapping bikes out at my car, I rolled down the hill to take the same exact loop I just finished on the 650B bike. As I suspected, the 26" felt twitchy and small. On one of the little rock sections in the off-camber singletrack, I actually dabbed...just didn't have the momentum to get through it. The beauty of 650B and 29er wheels is you need FAR less momentum to get through the choppy stuff!

As I cruised along, I made notes of some of the differences I felt. Cornering wasn't nearly as stable. Climbing didn't feel as efficient. The switchbacks were just as simple to negotiate on the 26" wheel bike as they were on the 650B. The technical downhills definitely weren't as smooth.

Overall, my first impressions of 650B wheels are pretty good. Very similar to a 29er, it just gave the bike a nice, stable feeling. The best thing about it was I was on a bike made for a 26" wheel, so I didn't feel like I was riding a stretch limo. I'm eager to get more rides in with the wheels; the first day was awesome. Do I think the 650B wheels will replace 26" wheels? No, but they did make me love riding one of my favorite bikes even more.

It's also good to know that from a manufacturer's standpoint, there's very little we'll need to do with our 26" wheel frames to make 650B's work. All we have to do is lengthen the stays a bit. I don't have a high comfort level with the amount of fork arch clearance we have, so the choices will be to either spec a 29er fork or hope that fork manufacturers will see 650B's as an area of opportunity and provide for more clearance in their castings. As mould charges are quite high for those castings, I don't know that we'll see that happening in the very near future or not.

One last impression I'll leave you with is the overall look of bikes with 650B wheels. They just look so balanced! 29er's often look they are all wheels. I know that's sort of a "chick" observation, but I'd like to think overall aesthetics do play a roll in the function to a certain degree.

Nice and balanced!

So are you curious yet? If you'll be attending Interbike's On Dirt Demo, we'll have 2 Werx Xeon bikes out there set up with 650B wheels. Come on by and take one for a spin. I'd love to hear as many opinions as possible on this to help us decide if it's something Haro should put into our line.

Happy trails!

Interbike...

2007-09-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

...is just right around the corner! Hard to believe it's that time of year again, but it sure does feel like "that time of year". Man, have we been busy.

I attended Eurobike in Germany a couple of weeks ago with lofty intentions of doing a nice little report each night. Ha! Between a crappy Internet connection and just getting in too damn late each night, it never happened. Heck, I haven't even downloaded my pictures yet.

Going back to Interbike, the preparation for this one has been especially busy for us since we decided to build a new trade show booth. No, not as in"have it built by a trade show booth manufacturer". We are building all 30 x 80 feet of it with our own hands. This has meant days of hammering, sanding, painting, and cutting wood. I think I sanded stuff for about 8 hours straight today! But the good news is it's going to look fantastic. If you are going to attend the show, please come by and admire our hard work. Keep your eyes on Masiguy's blog...he's been taking some photos which I'm sure he'll post.

Anyhow, I think I'll sign off for now. I'm pooped. Think I'll have another glass of red and head to bed.

Ciao for now!

Sneak Peek...Haro Metro Series

2007-08-25T22:03:00.000-07:00

WOW!!! Three posts in two days. I can hear all 11 fans going nuts!!!

I thought you guys might enjoy a little sneak peek of our all-new Metro series bikes. Think flat bar road bike with a mountain bike twist. Huge props to Product Manager Wayne for the killer spec on these bikes and Product Manager Pat for creating the frame drawings. I'm really excited about these bikes...not only are they nicely appointed with nice parts on them but they look awesome. I've got Graphic Designer Rick James to thank for that. Anyhow, three models...Roscoe (MSRP $550), Sanford (MSRP $750), and the Maxwell (MSRP $950). Realistic availability won't be till closer to the end of this year; hopefully sooner. Check 'em out!!!

Roscoe:

Sanford:

Maxwell:

Fun with prototypes!

2007-08-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

Admittedly, one of the things I love the most about by job is seeing ideas come full circle into product...and being able to have first crack at putting prototypes through their paces. It's pretty cool.

We've had a ton of success with our line of Mary XC and Mary SS 29er mountain bikes. The price, look, colors, and spec on these bikes are dialed and people love 'em. They aren't expensive (relatively speaking, of course), but they aren't cheap either so we had a few requests for a down-spec'd cheaper version of the Mary bikes down in the 5 to 6 bill range.

So away we went to accomplish such a feat. The current Mary frames are made of crmo steel and are built in a really high-end factory in Taiwan, so they are pretty expensive. In order to bring the pricing down on these new bikes, crmo was out of the question so these bikes would have to be alloy.

MTB Product Manager Pat Crosby whipped up some drawings based on the same geometry as the Mary frames and voila! Just a few months later, we've got prototypes. Pat wasted no time in getting these babies built up so we could see how they rode. In fact, mine was built and ridden at the local trails all within about 3 hours of the box hitting the warehouse floor. Hey, that's how we roll here at Haro. We don't mess around when it comes to brining YOU cool product.

How'd it ride? Awesome. It's alloy, so it doesn't have that lively crmo ride, but it's lighter and stiffer, that's for sure.

Does this bike have a name? We're leaning towards Ally; she'll be like Mary's little sister. We're hoping to have these bikes dialed and ready for sale in the spring.

Pictures? Of course I have pictures. Just remember...this is just a prototype and won't come spec'd as shown.

Enjoy!

Getting back to basics

2007-08-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

After a little bit of ribbing from 2 or 3 of my 11 fans and regular readers about the frequency with which I update my blog, it really has had me thinking about why I started it in the first place. My goal was to talk about my job, showcase some new Haro product from time to time, and chatter about anything else related to the bike industry or cycling in general.

Well, it's time to get back to basics and start blogging about what I had originally intended. And a little more frequently, I hope.

The fun starts now....

I'm really not dead (at least not yet).

2007-08-10T21:38:00.000-07:00

OK, OK...I know I don't have all THAT many loyal readers but the few of you that do drop by my little blog-o-rama from time to time have spoken up. Yes, it's time for me to post something. Yes, I need to be better about updating this damn thing a little more often.

Work has just been crazy busy. This is the time of year where we have catalog production, a shareholder's meeting, a couple of sales meetings, Eurobike, and Interbike prep all wrapped up into the time span of a few weeks. Needless to say, when I come home from work, I really don't feel like looking at my computer nor type words into it.

So I'll start off with posting a picture of the latest addition to my bike family: my new Masi 3V. This frame is special since it's made from steel tubing and lugs from "back in the day". Ted Kirkbride, who was sort of Faliero Masi's right hand man during the Masi California project, had some tubing and lugs left over. He and Russ Denny made up some frames for us and I managed to get my hands on one. I'm sure Masiguy Tim will have more to add about the frame story. Damn, this is a pretty bike. Built up with Campy Record Carbon 10-speed. I am SO unworthy of a bike this nice. Big props to Masiguy Tim and my Product Managers Pat and Wayne for helping me build this up. I can build MTB's all day long but I'm a retard when it comes to road bikes, so thanks guys!

The next item of business is it appears I have been "tagged" by Donna at Kryptonite (Thanks Donna!). No spraypaint and/or thugs involved. Evidently, it's a blog thing (which I would know nothing about since I have been so inactive lately). Part of being tagged is telling the world 8 random things about yourself. So here goes:

1. I have recently taken up kayaking. I have never kayaked before, but have always thought it looked like fun. Think maybe I'd go rent one to see how I liked it? Hell no, that's not how I roll. I just went out and bought one. It's a Malibu Mini-X. I love it! Here I am at Lake Hodges:

2. I love to fish. I usually go fishing every weekend. That's actually one reason I bought the kayak is to fish from it. Haven't caught anything on it yet, but I've only fished off of it a couple of times.

3. I am a National Parks junkie. There's a reason these places are National Parks...because they are freakin' gorgeous. I just went to Bryce and Zion in May (went last summer, too) and plan to hit Zion again next month. In October, I'm going doing a road trip to the Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and wherever else the road takes me along the way.

4. I own the coolest cat ever. Tommy rules. God broke the mold when He made her; she's an absolute doll. Even people who hate cats like her.

5. I used to be a kick-ass downhill racer. I was the #1 ranked expert female in the US in 2001. I went pro in 2002, but didn't stick with it for a variety of reasons. I was on the US National team for UCI Master's World's twice. I still race every now and then as an expert. I'm actually thinking about starting to race a little more next season.

6. I'm a former "test model" for Mountain Bike Action magazine. I was on the cover twice (December 2000 and April 2001) and in reviews a total of 4 times (December 2000, February 2001, March 2001, and April 2001).

7. Back before I took up cycling, I used to ride, train, and show horses. And you think bikes are expensive.

8. I embarrassed the ever-living hell out of myself by singing karaoke at a big party (which included most of my co-workers and several other esteemed members of the industry) during the Taipei Bike Show this year. The song? Madonna's "Material Girl". There is video floating around somewhere.

Wow, so there's eight random things. I think I'm supposed to tag some folks and get them to blog about their 8 random things, but I don't know enough bloggers (I can't tag Tim since he's already been tagged. Oh wait, here's one). So my dear and few readers...feel free to play along and consider yourselves tagged!

Ciao for now. And I promise I'll be better about updating more often. Really.

How to put the "S" in "Action"....

2007-07-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

OK, yes, there is no "S" in action, but there's an "S" in lots of other words. But this is a family show, so I'll keep it clean.

Just wanted to share a link with you for two reasons:

1) To prove that I'm really not dead and I do still care about my blog
2) Because this story is just amazing to me from a business standpoint.

Mike and Debbe Simmons own an awesome chain of bike shops here in San Diego called Bicycle Warehouse. Hands down, they are the biggest and best chain in San Diego County, not to mention just plain nice folks. Before I worked in the industry, I used to shop in their stores all the time.

Anyhow, they have been a HUGE account of Specialized's for many, many years, so it really surprised me to hear that Specialized recently dropped them recently. I didn't really know the whole story, but I got it here. Damn. What on earth are they thinking?

I'll probably rot in hell for saying this, but I'm just wondering when some of the big guys like Trek and Specialized will start to play nice in the sandbox with the rest of the kids. When will they stop telling retailers how to run their businesses? Yeah, the world of business can be an ugly place sometimes in effort to stay profitable, but I truly think stuff like this will start to backfire on them eventually.

Can't wait to see the comments I get on this one.

Sea Otter, you are killing me.

2007-07-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

After getting some really great news a month or so back about Sea Otter changing their dates to the first weekend in May, I just got word from a reliable source that those dates have just been moved back to April. Ugh! Looks like I threw out my rubber boots too soon.

The reasons given for the change was the media supposedly told the Sea Otter promoters that they couldn't guarantee as much coverage if the event was in May...and then supposedly Sea Otter got "outbid" by some other event who wanted the facility for the May dates.

Damn.

Send Paris to France.

2007-06-08T20:07:00.000-07:00

Or Africa. Or the North Pole. Or better yet, a deserted island far, far away. Anywhere but here. I know this is completely off the topic of cycling, but is anyone else besides me absolutely disgusted that the Paris Hilton jail sentence/release/sentence is actually considered newsworthy? For crying out loud, it's been getting coverage on both local and national world news. Give me a freakin' break...what is this world coming to? This stupid bimbo isn't an actress, a singer, a dancer, or any sort of an entertainer who has contributed anything at all to society other than her exploits of being young, rich, and blonde.

It would nothing short of a miracle to have the networks cover a cycling event yet they allocate air space to this stupid story. Unreal.

Boo-freakin'-hoo.

Ok, rant over. Have a great weekend, ya'll.

"Hey....bitches!"

2007-06-07T20:14:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, that was the opening line of a request for sponsorship I got a couple of years ago. The rest of it went something like this:

"Sponsor me cause I rule and Haro sucks. All my friends ride Kona's, so Haro needs my help. Write back." (and this was followed by his name, phone number, and e-mail address)

I'm hoping that this request was some sort of a joke written by a kid who got a big kick out of himself for sending in such a smartass request. However, there's also the chance that whoever wrote it was dead serious. You would seriously be surprised at some of the requests that come across my desk at work.

I have to admit that many are very nice and professional. But I also have to admit that the vast majority of these folks expect the moon. The sense of entitlement many racers have these days is nauseating. Damn, you're the reigning sport class US National Champion and you need a free bike because you tell me the exposure I'll get through your results will help sell bikes? OK, I'll get right on that. Need your expenses paid too? OK, here's a blank check...

My friend Eric up in WA sent me a link to a fantastic article on Bicycling's website written by Soulcraft Bicycles owner, Sean Walling. I highly recommend that you click here to read it; you will either get a kick out of it or an education. Personally, I got a HUGE kick out of it because it really could have been penned (or typed...nobody writes anymore!) by my own hand. Somebody FINALLY had the cajones to just come right out and and say it!

One of the main reasons we stopped supporting a big factory pro team is the fact that (in our opinion) very few bikes are sold as a result of a team's or rider's presence at races. For the most part, the only people who pay attention to who wins what race and what bike they are riding are other racers. And I can't think of too many serious racers who are willing to walk into their local bike shop and buy their bikes and parts at full-pop retail based on wanting to ride what their favorite racer rides on. Most want it free or at a deep discount. Some aren't even happy with that. "Oh, you mean you can't pay my entry fees and give me team kits, too?". I have actually had people turn down an offer for a free or discounted bike because I couldn't offer them cash for entries and expenses...and the sad thing is these ingrates weren't pros or even semi-pros. The pros and semi's have class...it's the amateurs who have the worst sense of entitlement.

What many of these folks don't realize is that the state of mountain bike racing is hurting. There's only about 5 pro mountain bike racers on the circuit who are earning a 6-figure salary from racing their bikes. The rest struggle. Many (and this is especially true of some in the women's pro field), are happy to get bikes and expenses...if they are lucky, they might have a bonus program in place with their sponsors. A couple of years ago, I had one of the circuit's top female DH racers approach me (who will remain nameless) for sponsorship after her team cut her; at that point, she was just about willing to ride for bikes and expenses. It's that bleak out there. I would have loved to have accomodated her, but lucky for her, she did manage to secure a spot on a team who was willing to pay her a salary.

I'm sure I'm going to ruffle a few feathers out there, but I think there are some feathers that need it. My goal (beyond just plain bitching) is to just put it all into perspective for a few racer-types out there who feel entitled to free product just because they race. Sure, if we give you free product you'll go tell all your other racer friends how great it is...and then chances are, they too will go straight to the source for the "hook up" instead of buying it at their local shop.

As cheesy as this will sound, if all you amatuer racers want to be more successful at securing sponsorship for yourself, borrow (and modify) a line from JFK...and that's to "ask not what your sponsor can do for you, ask what you can do for your sponsor". Show us what value you bring to the table. Show us how you reach out to your community. Show us your advocacy efforts. Show us you are passionate about cycling and approachable. Show us you want to be an equal partner in our marketing efforts and aren't just looking for a handout. Sometimes you receive more by asking for less.

And for God's sake...don't begin your request for sponsorship "Hey....bitches!".

Happy trails!

So ya wanna work in the bike industry?

2007-06-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance. Haro Bikes is looking for an Inside Sales Rep here in our San Diego, CA headquarters. Like any industry job, you're not going to get rich, but you'll have a lot of fun. Here's the little "want ad" as provided by our Director of Sales:

"Haro Bikes is looking for a motivated Inside Salesperson specializing in BMX/Freestyle but with a solid understanding of other cycling categories such as Mountain and Road. Excellent communication skills to provide customer service to both outside sales force and dealers a must. Position requires strong computer skills and 2-3 years of customer service experience either at retail or wholesale.
Please e-mail résumé’s to: dcerri@harobikes.com or fax to: (760) 599-1237 attn: Sales Position."

That's all I have for now. I promise I'm going to post something slightly more entertaining soon. I've just been so slammed at work that when I get home, I just want to veg out and do a whole lot of nothing (except maybe consume an alcoholic beverage and watch re-runs of Grey's Anatomy).

I really haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

2007-05-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

...But there were a few times during the past week where I could have if I really wanted to.

I recently returned from a week-long vacation to Bryce and Zion National Parks with my mom. We did lots of hiking (probably about 35 miles worth over the course of 5 days) and I really didn't do much bike riding to speak of. I did manage to go over the bars while road riding in Bryce due to a really, really lame rider error, but we won't talk about that.

I did see lots of spectacular scenery, experienced a bit of an unexpected snowstorm in Bryce, and took lots of fabulous hikes. Zion is by far one of my favorite National Parks; I managed to scale the famed (and strenous) Angel's Landing trail for the second time over the past year.

Anyhow, today was my first day back at work and it was, needless to say, crazy. I do have a couple of new posts I'm working on, so I'll try to wrap them up soon.

Ciao!

Zen and the Art of Bicycling

2007-05-18T15:01:00.001-07:00

Somebody sent this to me the other day and I thought it was pretty cool:

ZEN AND THE ART OF BICYCLE RIDING

A Zen master teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they dismounted, the teacher asked the students, “Why are you riding your bicycles?”
The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes, I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back! The teacher praised the student, saying,”You are a smart boy. When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over as I do.”
The second student replied, “I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path.” The teacher commended the student, “Your eyes are open and you see the world.”
The third student replied, “When I ride my bike I am content to chant, nam myoho renge kyo.” The teacher praised the student, saying, your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel.”
The fourth student answered, ‘Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all beings.” The teacher was pleased and said “You are riding on the golden path of non-harming.”
The fifth student replied, “I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle”
The teacher went and sat at the feet of the fifth student and said,
“I am your disciple”

All-new Flightline bikes

2007-05-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog way back about 3 months ago, I posted something about "inexpensive" versus "cheap" and talked about some new bikes we were working on called the Flightline series that were going to replace our popularly-priced V-Series bikes. We opted to give these bikes a face lift and a new name...they just needed some "oooompf". One of the goals I set out to achieve was to aesthetically create bikes that even though they were inexpensive, wouldn't look cheap.

Well, we finally got some of the all-new Flightlines into our warehouses and they are shipping to dealers as we speak. It's been really exciting to see this project come full circle into completion...and I'm even more excited to see how our dealers and consumers react to them. Of course I am somewhat biased, but I think they turned out pretty damn cool.

Here are a couple views of the Flightline Two (formerly V2):

And the Flightline Sport (formerly V3):

And the soon-to-be "it" bike amongst 6-year old girls across the country...one color option of the Flightline 20 (formerly V20):

I don't know, but I think these are some pretty damn good-looking bikes that all retail for less than $400. No more el cheapo-looking tw0-tone paint jobs with motocross-inspired graphics. These have a more sophisticated look to them. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about them.

We'll be posting the entire Flightline series on our website just as soon as they all become available.

Cheers!

Sea Otter Classic...come what May!

2007-05-14T20:55:00.000-07:00

This morning, I got some of the best news I've had in a long time...the Sea Otter Classic is moving to the month of May! May 1st through May 4th, to be exact. Afters years of slogging around Laguna Seca in a veritable quagmire, somebody finally got the hint and said, "Hmmm...maybe we should move this event to a time when the weather might be a little better". To whoever came up with that brilliant idea, all I can say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I remember when Sea Otter used to be in March; rain was pretty much guaranteed not to mention fog, wind, and general coldness. Once it got moved into April, I'd say rain was likely at least one of the four days; wind and cold is a given. Hopefully, by moving the event 3 weeks later, the likelihood of better weather will be far greater.

It would be one thing if Sea Otter was still being billed as a primarily a race event; then you just deal with the weather. That's racing...it goes on rain or shine. But over the years, Sea Otter has been promoted as a festival; boasting a big consumer event, non-competitive rides, and of course, some racing too. For the 2007, the Eurobike folks got involved and it was touted as the one of the largest cycling consumer events in North America.

Since Sea Otter is no longer just a "race event" where the promoters simply say "like it or lump it" when it comes to bad weather, when the focus is on consumers, the event takes on a whole new meaning and must adhere to a different set of guidelines. Much like shopping at Nordstrom or any other nice department store, people are far more likely to shop there when they feel like they are getting good service and having a positive experience. Who wants to go shopping in the mud, wind, cold, and rain? I'd be willing to bet that the weather at this year's Sea Otter kept more than just a few folks at home curled up watching Saturday Morning Cartoons. And taking this a step further to expo vendors, speaking from experience, when the weather sucks and gets all your product wet and muddy, it's hard to see much value in attending.

So to the folks at Sea Otter (just in case any happen to stumble across this post)...thank you for moving the dates for 2008 into a (hopefully) warmer month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather WILL be better and if that's the case, you'll likely see an increase in attendance. Want some more tips on how to increase your attendance? OK, there wasn't anyone here to say yes or no, so I'll give you a few that I came up with:

Ditch the entry fee. OK, parking was free this year, but who cares? Do you know how many groms were trolling around the parking lot begging for unused wrist bands because they couldn't afford the entry fee? Think they aren't valid customers because they can't afford it? Think again. Generation Y (people born between 1980 and 2000) boasts a combined spending power of about $150 billion. Aside from some of these kids, how many people do you think opted not to attend knowing that there would be a fee to get inside the gates?

Get real with race entry fees. I went to Sea Otter this year thinking I'd like to race singlespeed just as I had for the past several years. When you go to Sea Otter to staff a booth, early registration really isn't an option since there are staffing issues that need to be worked out. My race entry fee, combined with the late fee AND the one-day license fee pushed the total damn near $70. I ended up not racing. Truth be told, it wasn't the outrageous fee by itself...I was getting over being sick and the weather was supposed to be bad on race day, but the fee just compounded it all. If the fee were more reasonable, I probably would have bucked up and raced but $70 is a lot of money to shell out. I'd be willing to bet more than a few people opted not to race due to the high fees as well.

And speaking of fees, get real with the expo fees. As you know, you damn near doubled expo fees on us this year. The cool thing about Sea Otter is the fact that you had the little start-up companies exhibiting side-by-side with the big guys. I know of companies who are still in business today who got their humble beginnings selling at Sea Otter years ago. Let's keep it that way! Consumers come to see and buy new things...why disappoint them? If you keep jacking up the expo fees, you WILL price some of these people right out of your event. Speaking for myself, I came damn close to not attending this year because of the increase. When I mentioned to Skip Latham that it was simply not in my budget, he very graciously granted me a bit of a discount to keep Haro's attendance. I hate to say it, but a huge increase in Sea Otter expo space isn't going to be in my budget next year either. I simply cannot justify to my boss why the cost to attend just doubled. Am I getting anything more than I have in years past? No, I can't say that I will. Do yourselves a bit of a favor...take a look at bicycle sales statistics from a reputable industry source like BPSA. You'll see that the cycling industry isn't exactly growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, bike sales are down. Profits are down. Most companies within the industry are looking to REDUCE expenses, not increase them.

OK, well I'm done with my little rant. I hope nobody walks away from this post thinking I hate Sea Otter. I don't. I love the event. For the most part, the promoters have done a fine job at keeping Sea Otter a first-rate event. However, even the best job can still be done better. I'd really like to see Sea Otter remain the wonderful, inclusionary event that it's been for years attended by cyclists of all types, racer or otherwise. Don't give people a reason NOT to attend your event. Moving Sea Otter to May is definitely a step in the right direction. Let's keep on walking, shall we?

Ciao!

Just because it feels good.

2007-05-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

Geez,it's been almost a week since I last posted something. My apologies to my 11 fans out there who take the time to drop by my blog and read my ramblings. I've been down with a little bit of a cold which kept me home from work for a couple of days last week, so I've turned in some early nights lately which has kept me from doing much blogging.

Just before I came down with my little case of Bird Flu or whatever the hell I caught, I had the opportunity to initiate one of those little random acts of kindness that Oprah Winfrey and all those other humanitarian types seem to get so much press on. No, didn't build a school for underprivileged girls in Africa or anything like that, but I did give bikes to a couple of deserving neighbor kids.

Best friends Anthony, 9, and Amber, 7, are two awesome little kids in my neighborhood whom I've noticed had been riding these itty, bitty little bikes that were just WAY too small for them. Both of their parents were aware that they had outgrown their bikes and asked me what new ones would cost. With money being really tight for both of these families, the Moms sort of cringed a bit when I gave them a price and said one something about going to Wal-Mart for the $49.95 bike she saw last week. No way. No Wal-Mart bikes allowed in my 'hood.

I told the kids' parents to just hold off for a couple of days. When I returned to work on Monday, I checked our sample bike supply to see what we had on hand. Sample bikes are generally ordered to take photos of for our catalogs and then stripped down because they are pre-production. I was in luck this time...we had 2 little V24 24" wheel mountain bikes in the sample pile that hadn't been stripped of their parts yet...one in blue and silver for Anthony and the other in pink and silver for Amber. Perfect.

I loaded the little bikes up and took them home with me that night. I called Anthony and Amber's mothers and told them to meet me by my car. As the kids walked up to my car, Amber said, "Oh my gosh, look at that pink bike! Whose bike is that?" I took the bike off of my roof racks and joked that it was for Anthony. He blushed while Amber looked amused yet slightly dejected. When I put the front wheel on the bike and rolled it over to her, her eyes got as big as saucers. Then I handed Anthony his bike. After a few minor adjustments to seat height, they were off and riding.

If I had been a smart blogger, I would have snapped a few pictures, but hey, I'm still learning. It was such an awesome sight. They were so cute as they struggled with learning gears and hand brakes (both came off of coaster brake bikes). And Amber, her old bike was this little tiny 20" wheel sidewalk bike, was having some issues learning to turn a bike with wheels much larger than what she was used to. She practiced diligently with this cute little look of sheer determination on her face. It was priceless.

This past Saturday, there was a knock on my door. It was Anthony and Amber; they brought over some "thank you" goodies for me which included a beautiful bromeliad plant, a bottle of red wine, and nicely written thank-you cards. Amber made her card. I have to tell you what she wrote inside because it was so cute:

"Thenk you for the bick. I rilly lik it, it is so ckonterbl. I rily lik it. And it has my favorit coler it is pinck. And I allso love you as a friend. And God loves you to! Love, Amber" (signed with a little heart after her name.

How cute is that?

It felt great just to do something good for someone simply because I could. No, it didn't save a life or cure a disease, but it sure made a couple of little kids really happy. You can bet they will be riding bikes much more now that they have bikes that actually fit them and they aren't hitting their knees on the handlebars. I didn't do it because I expected anything in return; I just did it because it felt good.

We all need more "good" in our lives.

Cheers!