• Wilier – Cento Uno
• Bellwether – Brilliant new line for 2009
• Cervelo – P4
• Gu – Roctane!
• Giro – New 2009 Helmets
• LAS – New 2009 Helmets
• Colagno – CX-1 Frame
• Garmin – 705 (officially launches in January)
• Wilier – Cento Crono Tri Bike (officially launched June ’08)
• Cytomax – Functional Beverages such as MuscleMilk
• Zipp – 404′s/808′s/1080′s redesigned for 2009 (even FASTER!

Interbike was a great success this year. For those of you who aren’t aware of the event, Interbike is the largest bicycle trade event in North America. It is one of the most important events of the year for retailers, manufacturers, and and other industry folks. Over 1,000 brands are represented and 85% of all business within the cycling industry happens over these three days.

We were there for a couple of reasons. Our first objective was to personally thank all of those who took a risk and supported us last year. We’ve built great relationships with each of our sponsors, and it was great to see them for the first time since returning from Europe.

Special thanks to:

• Wilier – Gianmarco
• Bellwether/Profile Design - Barry
• Gu – Holly
• Cadence – Matt/Mike
• Suunto – Martin

Our second objective was to foster new relationships for the future. We met some great people this year, and we’re really excited about the future. Stay tuned for new sponsor news.

The concept that we call “10 Degrees of Latitude” is one year old today. Hard to believe that one year ago Adam and I brainstormed this idea. The untold story about 10DL is that it was actually Adam’s wife (Amy Hazlett) who came up with the actual name. Adam came up with the idea to do the channel, I wrapped the bike ride around it, and Amy coined the 10 Degrees Latitude idea. My hat is off to Amy, and it’s also off for everyone that has helped us along the way. There are almost too many names to mention…

A rambunctious and awesome shout-out to a few special people:

• Maria from Best Western
• Matt from Cadence Cycling & Multisport
• Darren from Front of the Pack
• Kin-Joe at Vetta
• Barry at Bellwether and Profile Design 
• Greg at ZIPP
• Gianmarco at Wilier
• Martin at Suunto
• Holly at Gu Nutrition
• Rick at Barracuda
• LAS Helmets
• SRAM Components
• Karen at Bodyglide 

Another monstrous shout-out to the crew of 10DL Europe. Without whom we would have done nothing:

• Flora/Laura
• Amy/Joshua/Andrew
• Bob/Michelle
• Tricia/Eva

Looking forward to another great year of 10DL! (our brand is so popular now that it now has an acronym!)

• Nottingham to Cambridge
• 70 miles
• 100 sheep. 25 cows. 1 pony on a leash (see video)

Today started out a bit rocky but ended on a high note.  We’ve been in the UK for nearly two weeks now, and the longest rain we’ve biked through has been 30 minutes…until today.  I guess we’ve been pretty lucky so far.  Today was a different story.  The skies opened up, and we were wet.  We’ve been wearing an Aqua-No Jacket, and today we even threw on the Aqua-No booties.  They did a good job, but were no match for the deluge that hit us.

Then at lunchtime, and without warning, the rain broke, and the skies were blue and beautiful.  The rest of the ride was quite enjoyable despite a stiff head wind.  Cambridge is a fantastic city.  It’s probably my favorite so far.  Neal’s mother Laura arrived into town and was there to greet us with a smile when we rode up to the hotel.

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza in Cambridge.  The hotel is absolutely beautiful and service has been first class all the way.  We were met by the duty manager Carlo, who had heard about our venture.  He wanted some pics of us with our bikes out in front of the hotel for some PR opportunities and local press releases — we’ll upload those when we get them.

Below are videos from the ride and photos of Cambridge.

A shout-out to Gu Energy Gel, especially our good friend and fellow athlete Holly Bennett, Marketing Manager. To keep us going during our 4-8 hours rides we consume 1 gel per 30 minutes and Gu H2o hydration in our bottles. The stuff works great and they are constantly innovating new flavors like Blueberry Pomegranate. It’s delic, who knew?!

• Perth to Edinburg
• 60 miles
• 3000 feet climbed
• 1 huge bridge
• 1500 sheep

Our blog today will come in the form of 3 videos.  We’re too tired to blog.  Short version…Ride today was scheduled to be 40 miles.  Arrived at Edinburgh bridge (5 miles to hotel) at 2 PM.  Arrived at hotel just after 4 PM.  We saw a lot of Edinburgh.  It’s a beautiful city.  I would have rather seen it on foot.

Tomorrow is a rest day in the capital city of Edinburgh.  We’re looking forward to it.

A shout-out to Bellwether Clothing Line, especially the awesome and honest Barry Smith, Marketing Director. The weather here is extremely temperamental. Just today we went from cold (50′s) to rain to warm (70′s). The gear has been fantastic. The chamois technology is layered and padded perfectly (FYI: chamois = butt pad) and the jerseys have awesome finishing touches like rubber gussets on the sleeves and waist to keep it from slipping. It’s gorgeous stuff, and it’s all we wear.

• Bonar Bridge to Inverness
• 60 miles
• 3500 feet climbed
• 3000 sheep

Today began beautifully.  The sun shining and there was little wind.  We decided to put the Bellwether rain coats away and head south.

The first part of the journey was phenomenal.  We were almost alone on the road, and even though the climbs were tough, we were looking out over plush green fields, tons of farm animals, lochs, rivers, and waterfalls.

The second half of the ride was another story.  The wind speeds picked up, directly at our face, and we made a turn onto a road that, while characterized as small on the map, turned out to be a major thoroughfare.  Included in this part of the journey were two spanning bridges (Bonar Bridge and Kessock Bridge).  Both bridges had crosswinds that nearly put is in the water.  There was also a major climb that took nearly 45 minutes.  We were stoked to see the finish line in Inverness!

Swimming Loch Ness

We decided that we couldn’t make a trip to Inverness without a swim in Loch Ness!  Our support crew picked us up and we headed 10 miles south to try and find a good place to enter the Loch. The water temp was 49 degrees, so our swim was limited, but it was fun to be able to get in.  There was a cruise boat of tourists leaving a nearby dock dressed in sweaters and winter coats.  Two guys walking into the water in Speedos got plenty of attention. It was a good time, and brightened up our spirits and loosened up our muscles after the windy ride. We didn’t seeNessy, but the water was eerily black

The town of Nairn

After our swim we walked around the town of Nairn, which has a section called Fishertown (an old fishing outpost) where the houses are simple, quant and crazy close together. We walked around the town and had a blast, until we got so hungry that Neal almost passed out.  So we decided to stop with all the athletic activity and hop over to our hotel. Tonight we stayed in the Best Western Windsor Hotel in Nairn (our wonderful sponsor). The folks there are great. The old-style dining hall has all these awesome old war pictures and the English-style varnished wood bar has a huge scotch selection and great desserts – we recommend “sticky toffee pudding”.

Tomorrow we head to Ballater.  The rides start to get longer from here on out.

A shout-out to the Best Western Windsor Hotel in Nairn, especially the manager Jagdeep Sandhu. We really enjoyed the town of Nairn and this hotel is located right in the middle of it, and very near the sea. The sea breeze and the neighboring park was wonderful, and this place has a seriously awesome dining room with artwork of Brits kicking the crap out of french military guys on horseback. The rich wood in the classically British styled pub was a nice touch too. It was an awesome stay. Just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, the front desk clerk let us know she was nursing a bird with an injured wing — aww.

These guys make everything you need to outfit a cyclist from head to toe in good weather and bad. As with any equipment we use we will give a full review to you as soon as we can. All reviews will be completely unbiased regardless of any partnerships or sponsorship agreements. What good is a review if we can’t give it to you straight?

We’re excited to announce a great commitment of support from a cycling industry heavyweight. Profile Design has jumped on board and we couldn’t be happier. Even if you only have a cursory knowledge of the cycling industry, you no doubt have seen Profile Design products in action. They truly hold a dominant market position in almost every product area they touch. They put extensive efforts behind product development, and craft some of the most light-weight aerodynamic components you can put on your bike.

I had a few conversations with the fine people at Profile Design throughout the summer, and finally had the opportunity to meet with them face-to-face during the Interbike show. I was very impressed with their professionalism and the attention to detail they put into the most minuscule aspects of their components. They have a first rate organization, and so for me it was clear that this was the type of company that I wanted 10 Degrees of Latitude to be associated with. They felt the same way, and the relationship was formed. I look forward to reviewing a lot of their product offerings and giving you the straight scoop on the good the bad and the ugly.

Wowza, Adam and I met a lot of people on Friday at the Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas. We flew there just for the show. I know it is Vegas, but for us there was no gambling, no booze, and no women (besides the occasional “booth model”). There was lots and lots of talking about our expedition called 10 Degrees of Latitude.

We talked to so many people and got so much great feedback and support… that we thought we’d give shoutouts to our best friends from the show.

Bellwether – one big shoutout to our friend Barry who makes the technical clothes that will keep us warm in wet wet Scotland
Cadence Cycle – shoutout to Matt, def the best shop for training and gear on the eastern sea board
Tyr – swim gear for the Channel (and complimentary jelly beans) from Ryan
Fizik – shout out to Brett for talking to us about his amazing saddles
Gu – shout out to Holly who recently joined Gu from Muddy Buddy
Cervelo – entreprenerial company. Nice booth with a wind tunnel and everything, thanks Betsy, Chris and Tom!
Velovie – thank Homayoon! You told us about how you founded this company and what it takes to win in this industry
Specialized – thanks for setting us up with badges Vince!
Rolf – best quote of the show. I say, “Hi I’m Neal”. He says, “Hi I’m Rolf”. I say, “Like Rolf of Rolf”. He says, “Uhm, yes!”.
Slime – shout out to our main-girl Jamie who talked to us about Wharton
Campagnolo – special thanks to Brian for meeting with us after closing hours to talk about his amazing componentry
Wilier – shout out to Gianmarco who lives a few blocks from both Adam and I, let’s get a beer sometime soon
Speedplay – hello to Andy, one of the first companies to give us advice and help us along
Orbea – thanks Steve
BMC – definitely the most physically imposing (and nicest) national sales rep we met.
Powerbar – shout out to Mike McQueeney and the Powerbar team for being so cool and storing our luggage in their booth
Ochsner – hello to Russel and Rudy. Definitely the best training software we saw all show
An extra special  note to Tom Shinkle and Reghan Denny, my uncle and cousin, for the best advice ever!