Sep
28
110 Interbike news stories online
Filed Under Industry News, Interbike, Interbike's 25th Anniversary | Leave a Comment
Interbike 25 is catching the attention of press worldwide with more than 100 news articles currently posted online. If you’re not in Las Vegas for the greatest bicycle show in the Universe :-), you can read the thoughts of many others instead.
Interbike Trendspotting - Just Plain Cool - Bicycling.com
Interbike heads back to the great indoors - VeloNews
Interbike Tradeshow Day 1 - Dirt Rag
Interbike 2006 to be The Largest in its 25-year History - dirtworld.com
Interbike 2006: A hands-on start to the U.S.’s biggest bike show - VeloNews
All 110 Interbike News articles
Sep
22
Stay Classy, Interbike
Filed Under Industry News, Interbike, Interbike's 25th Anniversary | Leave a Comment
Starting at 8:30am on September 27th and on each successive morning of the expo, “Good Morning Interbike” will be broadcast live from the Media Center throughout the network screens in the upper and lower lobbies and on the show floor for 30 minutes. Hosted by industry veterens Mike Greehan and Richard Fries, GMI will be an informative and entertaining program for retailers, media and exhibitors waiting for the doors to open at 9am. Think “Today Show” or “Good Morning America” but more fun and about bikes.
Catch highlights of the upcoming day’s events, recaps of the OutDoor Demo and the previous day, footage from various after-hours industry happenings, interviews with celebrities, cycling advocates, other interesting show attendees and witty banter between these two entertaining hosts.
I’m really excited to see this take life on Wednesday morning. Mike and Richard are both great people and have the experience to make great hosts. Between the two them, they probably know all of the players in the industry and are creative, funny and down to earth at the same time.
You probably know Richard Fries from his stints as a commentator for OLN during recent Tours de France or - if you’re from the Northeast as I am, originally - as the former long-time editor and founder of Bike Culture (formerly The Ride) magazine. He’s also well known for his race announcing skills at cyclo-cross races, having MC’d them for years. He was recently named Marketing and Communications Manager for Pedro’s USA and has been a vital part of their recent campaigns to improve their company’s and our industry’s impact on the environment. Richard has kindly agreed to wake an hour earlier each day to do the show before spending a full day at his employer’s booth.
Mike Greehan, Interbike’s Advocacy Director, has posted here from time to time. While he’s based in Florida and we’re in California, I’ve had the pleasure of being able to spend some good time getting to know Mike this year at the Bicycle Leadership Conference in Phoenix and the National Bike Summit in DC. In prior lives he’s been the publisher of Bicycling Magazine, president of the League of American Bicyclists and the first president of Bikes Belong. He’s currently on the board of the LAB.
So wake a up little early, grab a cup of coffee try to make it to the Sands by 8:30 to catch the show. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. We have a good list of topics prepared, but if you have any great ideas for them to include in the show, let me know. Pedro’s is right at the front of the main hall, so stop by and say hi to Richard, Chris and the guys at Pedro’s on your way in.
Giant Bicycles is the presenting sponsor of Good Morning Interbike and our technology partner, Cycling.TV will be manning the studio for us.
As the immortal Ron Burgundy would say, Stay Classy, Interbike. See you in Vegas next week.
Sep
20
Retro Wool Jersey for Bikes Belong
Filed Under Advocacy, Interbike, Interbike's 25th Anniversary | 1 Comment
I wasn’t into cycling yet when all there was to wear was wool jerseys and shorts. I think that the wool bike clothing that was around back then is the kind of thing that can get the “rose-colored glasses” treatment and seem better than it was after many years have passed. Regardless, I know I’ve wanted one for a while, so when Alex from Woolistic called me earlier this year about exhibiting at Interbike, I saw an opportunity.
That’s an illustration of the jersey - “Trainer”, actually, since it is long sleeved - above. I think it looks awesome. We went for a real vintage logo with the retro-script “Interbike”. Inspiration came from some old Merckx-era Molteni and Faema jerseys that are just classic and evoke romantic images of an earlier time. Sort of the same effect as an old Joe DiMaggio flannel Yankees shirt. They’re just cool. And now they’re comfortable, too, right Alex?. We chose long sleeve since that way they can be worn off the bike in the shop or around town. Feel free to ride in it, too.
At Interbike we’ve always had a strong relationship with the Bike Belong Coalition, so Alex and I started talking about doing a commemorative 25th Anniversary Interbike jersey that would benefit the BBC. The jerseys that he sent us as samples are gorgeous and super soft to the touch since they’re made of the latest Merino wool fabrics. You can even machine wash them. Nothing like what I remember my old wool sweaters were like growing up in New England.
The Trainers will be a part of our silent auction at the show to benefit the BBC and League of American Bicyclists. Since the retail price of these would be over $200 if they were made for sale, we only have 25 available in the auction. We’ve already had inquiries about reserving them, so make sure you get your bids in soon!
Make sure you check out the advocacy auction display case in the lobby that features some great stuff like the trainer, 2 custom Fender Stratocaster guitars, celebrity-signed Interbike jersey (another great, but contemporary, design made by Hincapie Sports) and many other unique items. The trainers will also be on display in the BBC booth and in the registration lobby.
Thanks to Ray Kang, Interbike’s art director for a great job desigining the shirt and Alex at Woolistic for helping make this happen. Make sure you check out the other great wool bike wear in the Woolistic booth at the show.
Sep
20
Culture, Ping Pong and Bear Hugs @ Interbike
Filed Under Interbike, Interbike's 25th Anniversary | 2 Comments
While there are an almost unlimited number of great events happening throught Interbike, here are a few that caught my eye while going through the big list today. I’ll try to post more of these “booth events” that we’ve been hearing about over the next few days.
Day 1
Taliah Lempert, bicycle portrait artist, paints and sketches the bikes of Gary Fisher and Davis Phinney for raffle to benefit Davis Phinney Foundation. Accelerade Booth 2425
Nothing like a little culture to class up the bike industry’s big gathering.
9 a.m.: Hangover Helper Giveaway (100 packets, while supplies last); product raffle. Honey Stinger Booth 4410.
You guys aren’t planning on drinking while you’re in Vegas, are you? Just remember: Liquor before beer, never fear. Beer before liquor, never sicker…
Sweet 16 Invitational Ping Pong Tournament; playoffs Wednesday and Thursday, final event noon Friday. Planet Bike Booth 1225.
Now, now. I think the proper name is Table Tennis.
All Day: Enter drawing for Thor Hushovd’s Look Dura Ace 585 race bike, autographed by Hushovd. Winner notified after show. Look Booth 4425.
Are Interbike staff members eligible to win?
Day 2
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.: Bring a photo of yourself bear-hugging a Bicycle Retailer & Industry News staff member, receive free sunglasses. Smith Optics Booth 3345.
Do Megan and the guys at BRAIN know about this?
Sep
19
The Media Center @ Interbike
Filed Under Industry News, Interbike | 1 Comment
So this is what has been causing the Interbike Marketing Manager to lose sleep at night. Well, that and 2007 budgets and marketing plans (it still amazes me that I need to plan next year’s show before this year’s show has been staged). Unfortunately, the blog has taken a back seat - well, actually a third row seat - to everything else involved in putting on Interbike and the OutDoor Demo. One of the things that keeps me going is the fact that there are over 750 other companies around the country and the world that are working overtime and cramming to get everything done in time and will show up in Vegas next week to build an awesome community revolving around the bicycle business.
I’m really excited to see the new Media Center up on the show floor. We didn’t have much time to promote it as it was a “midseason” addition to the show, but I think everyone will recognize the possibilities it offers once they see it in action and catch some of the programming in person or on one of the many remote screens placed throughout the convention center.
The Media Center will have a traditional media room where writers and editors (and bloggers) can write and hook up laptops to upload stories, and podcasters can, well, podcast. The really new part of the MC is the TV studio. This where live programs will be filmed throughout the day by various industry media companies. We envision interviews with product managers, celebrities, advocates and retailers.
At the moment, we have some great content and programming planned from the guys at Cycling.TV (our Technology partners in the MC and a critical player in making this work), Bicycling and Mountain Bike Magazines, Dirt Rag, VeloNews TV, Bike Magazine and World Cycling Productions. The idea was to create the concept and facility and then let the creative people at the bike industry media companies run with it and develop the content. Some of the companies already do video or at least dabble in it and some are new to the medium. What they all have in common is quality people and a passion for bikes. Whether it be racing, off road, single speeds, advocacy or any of the many other niches of our industry, there will be really compelling “must see” programming coming out of the Media Center studio.
The programming will be broadcast live on a closed-circuit network of plasma screens throughout the show floor, lobby and registration areas for all attendees and exhibitors to see. You can also go right to the MC and watch the filming Today Show-style as the whole Center will walled in plexiglass panels. Depending on the media company, some will be streaming their shows live over the net or editing them into programs that they will upload to their sites later that day. We should even have some streams available here on this site.
Stay tuned as a programming schedule should be one of my next posts shortly. Looking forward to seeing you all in Vegas.
Sep
6
Bike Industry Adresses Major News Headlines
Filed Under Advocacy, Industry News, Interbike | 4 Comments
“This year’s Interbike coincides with a crucial time in our history. High fuel prices make for top news stories everyday, global warming and the environmental damages caused by fossil fuels have produced a feature film and our country’s abysmal health and obesity problems have not gone away for a minute. Industry manufactures are presently creating dynamic products that address all of these major news headlines. Having greater exhibitor presence this year, in addition to an 8 percent increase in pre-registration of retail stores, bodes well for the show and also indicates the industry is feeling positive about its health.”
About a week ago we put out a press release highlighting how the show is shaping up since we’re about 5 weeks out (yikes!). Something in the release really caught my eye and it was the above quote from Interbike’s Show Director, Lance Camisasca. I think he really captured the opportunity that the industry has right now with many of the major issues that are confronting our world.