Apr
24
Sea Otter Video - GoPro Helmet Cameras
Filed Under Exhibitor News, Gear, Video | Leave a Comment
In my Sea Otter coverage, I really tried to stay away from the well-traveled territory of most of the cycling media, magazines and blogs: cool new gear. I know, “isn’t that what Interbike is all about?” Well, I could debate that, but, regardless, I can’t compete with Lennard Zinn and James Huang on their own turf. I can talk gear and tech all day and love a good Zinn tech article as much as the next bike geek, but I think I’d do better carving my own niche. I intended for this to be topics and subjects of interest to the industry including interesting new programs, how companies are using Web 2.0, advocacy, etc. I hope these have been of some interest.
So forgive me if this next video interview seems a bit tech heavy. While I think the tough and tiny GoPro is a cool gadget, I really only started to take interest in it after considering all the social media possibilities that it opens up. Think sharing point-of-view videos of your commute, trail, race course or group ride. GoPro have apparently sold a lot of cameras, but I don’t think the potential for sharing has been really exploited.
We’ll be getting a few cameras here for our office soon to film our rides, waves, powder, sails, rock climbs, etc. to share. I’d love to hear of some interesting uses for one of these.
After finishing this interview, I ran into the folks at Vholdr who make their own helmet/bike/gear-mounted POV camera. Look for that interview shortly.
For more info on GoPro, visit www.goprocamera.com
Apr
23
Sea Otter Video - Guitar Ted on the Latest from 29′er-land
Filed Under Exhibitor News, Industry News, Video | Leave a Comment
Ran into Guitar Ted of twentynineinches.com fame at a press event at Sea Otter and thought I’d tap his passion for 29′ers for IBTimes. Here he is with a brief roundup of the latest and greatest in big wheels.
Ge t more of Ted at:
www.twentynineinches.com
www.g-tedproductions.blogspot.com
Apr
22
Sea Otter Video - Trek’s Women Who Ride Club
Filed Under Advocacy, Blogging, Exhibitor News, Interbike, Video | Leave a Comment
More video from Sea Otter. This time I had the pleasure of sitting with Krista Rettig of Trek Bicycles. Krista is the brand manager for their women’s division and Sea Otter was her first duty back on the job following maternity leave. The tent we were sitting under was for their new “Women Who Ride” club program that they were launching in a few days time. From the jackets we’re wearing, you can see that the weather was turning a bit more Sea Otter-like on day two. Day three would bring a high of 52F.
The new club is designed to encourage women to overcome real or perceived challenges to riding by being a part of an online community of fellow women cyclists. Members can share stories and successes and follow the blogs of 5 women selected from a writing contest to describe their journeys in cycling.
Programs to encourage greater women’s participation in cycling are important to me not only as the father of a girl, but as the husband of a Cat 2 racer (semi-retired) who credits a women-only, season-long race series as getting her started in racing. If it weren’t for her racing, we never would have met on that Tuesday night training ride.
Along with their “One World, Two Wheels” advocacy program (which I called “Two Wheels, One Planet” in the interview), this new effort shows Trek’s continuing commitment to getting more people riding.
You can read more about the club here: www.trekbikes.com/women
Apr
21
Sea Otter Video - Tim Blumenthal of Bikes Belong
Filed Under Advocacy, Deep Thoughts, Interbike, Video | 1 Comment
In light of my recent introduction into local bicycle advocacy, I thought I’d go to the source for some expert advice. As I mention in my intro in the video, I have some experience with some pretty big advocacy efforts like the National Bike Summit, but when it came to actually effecting some advocacy close to home, I really had no idea where to start. I guess the nitty gritty of the work had been left to the professionals at the League of American Bicyclists, Bikes Belong or IMBA, to name a few, in the advocacy that I had been a part of.
Tim Blumenthal, executive director of Bikes Belong, kindly accepted my request for an interview during his busy schedule at the Sea Otter Classic when I called him a few days prior to the event. Tim is always a pleasure to speak with and I’ve been lucky to be able to spend time with him at the last two Sea Otter events now. He’s a great advocate and representative for the industry. And he tells a great story.
The theme of this interview is advice for cyclists wanting to effect bicycle advocacy on a local level. Good stuff.
Technical note: I need to figure out how to turn my left channel only sound (from my mono microphone plugged into the stereo input on the camera) into left and right mono. Not so bad through speakers, but very noticeable with headphones. Maybe I just need to invest in some better video editing software.
Apr
18
Sea Otter Video - Pedro’s Chris Zigmont
Filed Under Deep Thoughts, Exhibitor News, Green Efforts, Industry News, Video | 4 Comments
Man, doing the video thing is alot more work than just posting. Finally after some quality time in the Sea Otter Media Center, I’ve got something to show. I interviewed Pedro’s current GM and soon to be CEO, Chris Zigmont, about their efforts to be green and a socially responsible company. Good stuff from a passionate member of our industry. Also includes news about the management buyout of Pedro’s back from Swix. (Please excuse my noobi-ness as an on-camera interviewer…) More videos to come.