Here is a video from Bicycling Magazine by Executive Editor Bill Strickland.

Gianmarco Cilli, who operates Wilier US, was calmly pleased to tell us that the “Cento Uno” (101) will be the bike of Alessandro Ballan in 2009. This is a new frame from Wilier that represents the leading thinking in bicycle innovation today. We were impressed with what we saw.

According to Harry Ault of Wilier, “the frame has become quite a spectacle at this year’s Interbike.” We can see why, the curved top tube carries through to a continuous curve around the seatstays and the beefy chainstays. This is elegant and carries the stresses better. The 101 uses “46Ton” carbon, the world’s strongest, most resilient fiber.

The frame integrates several elements to create stiff parsimony and reduce weight.

• The rear triangle is now more fully integrated. Chainstays and seatstays are unified as a single (monocoque) unit. They are asymmetrical, with the drive side chainstay lowered to prevent chain slap. Instead of conventional joining of the chain and seatstays at a sharp angle, the angle has been “softened” to dampen and dissipate road surface impacts and vibrations. The drive side chainstay also has a textured alloy sleeve for protection.
• Taking the integration one step further, the 101 includes a new integrated bottom bracket shell. Bearings are now installed directly into the frame. This design does away with the need for externally-mounted bearing cups and integrates seamlessly with the most popular cranksets.

The Cento Uno is sold as a frame, fork and headset package for $4300. Six sizes from XS to XXL are available and the bike will come in 5 color schemes. 2 years of crash replacement are included with the frame.

Like I said, we were impressed.

The Wilier Cento Uno "101"

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.

On September 26 Adam and Neal will be at the Interbike Trade Show in Las Vegas. With over 1,000 of the top brands and nearly 23,000 attendees from over 60 countries, Interbike is the largest bicycle trade show in the world. We’ll be there to deepen relationships with existing sponsors and establish new relationships with innovative companies that are interested in getting involved in our adventure race.

Ride stats today

• 129 miles
• Fins to South Paris; completing 10 Degrees Latitude
• Our most gorgeous bike day yet, a suitable end to an amazing journey
• 0 sheep, 5 buguettes, 2 barets
• 2 huge smiles and cigars at the end

Our journey took us 14 days of biking and 1 day of swimming across the English Channel. This works out to be 1000 miles on bike and 25 miles in the water. It was gorgeous, stunning territory, and the good thing about traveling as we did was that we really got to enjoy the countryside, see the people and smell the smells (most were good).

We have so many people to thank. Our support crew made our adventure possible. Our bike crew (Flora and Bob), our swim crew (Tricia, Amy, Flora, Laura, Dave, Teresa, and the entire Ocean Breeze crew) and our home crew (Michelle, Andrew, Ava and Joshua) were awesome. Our Cadence Cycling coach Mike Kuehn was super supportive. Our sponsors are all amazing people. Everyone treated us so well through the entire journey.

Here are some parting pictures from our final days in Paris. We took our final pictures at the Arc de Triomphe. A fitting end to a stunning journey.

• 80 miles
• Ingelmunster, Belgium to Fin, France
• Gorgeous countryside, 15 mph headwind
• 4 baguettes in rear pockets, 3 weddings, 7 barets

Holy smokes was it blowing out there today, but we pushed through. The French countryside was gorgeous, which made it easier. We started in Belgium and crossed the border into France during our ride. Belgium was industrial. France was filled with agrarian villages … and WEDDINGS.

Just by chance, we got to be a part of three French wedding motorcades. The cars were decorated and driving the same speed as we were biking. Everyone was happy and honking. We said “Bonjour” with our best frenchy accents. It was awesome.

Here are some pictures from the day. Time for us to rest up now, tomorrow is a 130 mile day.

This blog post is dedicated to our friends at Zipp Speed Weaponry, especially our friend Greg Kopecky, Sponsorship Coordinator. Our bicycles have a 808 rear wheel, and 404 front wheel. This configuration is becoming the sine qua non for triathletes worldwide. The aerodynamic dimples in the carbon rim are the same as golf balls and race cars.

A shout-out to Best Western Hotel Les Beaux Arts in downtown Compiegne, France. Special thanks to managers Talvay and Ouidade for making us feel so at home. The rooms were the biggest we’ve had yet and the location was right along our route and on the river. Best Western Hotel Les Beaux Arts. +33 3 44922626. 33 Cours Guynemer, Compiègne, France.

14 hours 23 minutes

We made it! Everyone helped! It was awesome!

It was a gorgeous day for a swim from England to France. The middle map pretty well tells the story of our relay swim across the English Channel. We started the morning off strong on Shakespeare Beach and finished the day cold and weary just as the sun was dipping below the ocean horizon. Aches, pains, cold, and sea sickness took their toll, but they all disappeared as I walked up on the shores of France. Stay tuned for a longer trip log with more color. For now we are working through all these wonderfully supportive emails from loved ones and sponsors. Thanks for your warm vibes, we felt them in the cold channel!

A shout-out to Suunto, especially our friend Martin Schamboeck, Sports Marketing Manager. Adam swam with a T6 and Neal swam with a Core. Whether we’re defending presidents (as Adam has) or climbing Everest (as Neal has), Suunto is on our wrists. They also have this really cool software that we used during our bike rides to chart heart rate, speed and distance.

In this blog post we wanted to give a SHOUT-OUT to all the folks out there who are reading us:

• Katie/Holly/Greg/Matt/Marie & all our sponsors who make our adventures possible
• AlexF/Mark/AmyF/Amber/DavidH/Karah & all our athlete friends
• Jim/Betty/Karen/Jessie/Isaac/Tom/Chris and the rest of my wonderful family
• Mark/Tina, Chad/Kylie, Tim/Megan & so many of Adam’s/Amy’s close friends and family
• Lindy/Ben/Jac/Dan/Anthony/Carla/Jonathan & all our bullish Wharton Friends
• Paul/Chad/Steve/Bruce/Barney/Richard and the highly valued Powerset gang (now MSFT)
• Joe/Mike/Maggie/Wendy/Tracy & everyone else in Edina, Minnesota
• Camile, Isaac/Nicole and so many other of my friends from Chaska, Minnesota
• Brandon/LateralLine
• And of course Zoe (with the two dots) who is busily greening our world so 10 Degrees Latitude can continue for centuries more.

Thanks for your support and warm vibes. Stay tuned.

• Newcastle to Leeds
• 90 miles
• 5100 feet climbed
• 4000 sheep; 200 cows; 7 horses

The winds were strong early on, but eased after a few hours.  We fought a similar terrain profile as yesterday for the first 30 miles, but the middle 30 miles of our route was on a highway with more consistent grading and low winds.  We spent a lot of the time riding in the emergency lane, which, despite the heavy traffic, turned out to be ok.  We didn’t get to enjoy our surroundings, but we spent nearly the whole time above 20 miles an hour.  So that was a mental victory we needed after the last day and a half.

These have been heavy endurance days for us.  Our support team has been great.  They insisted on meeting up with us more often today.  I think it was as much to gauge our mental state as physical.  There’s no way we could succeed without them.

Thanks for all of the emails of support from sponsors, friends, and family.

A shout-out to LAS Helmets, especially Alex Perez, Sales Manager. Three factors went into our selection of LAS for our helmets. They are light, aero and aerated. Ohh, and cool looking, gotta have that! The aluminum upper ventilator shovels air into the helmet and adds an extra layer of protection for our noggins.


Another shout-out to the Best Western Merrion Hotel, especially the manager Mark Wakeley who made us feel so at home. This hotel is smack-dab in the center of the city and the breakfast bar is delicious.

• 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.

The last 3 days has been nuts. The smartest thing we did was to plan in a prep day here in the north of Scotland. The trip from the states was not without its challenges. Several times I thought that all of the planning was going to go out the window at the hand of US Air. Never the less, 36 hours later, we arrived! This is an endurance event isn’t it? Why shouldn’t the trip over have a little endurance aspect to it as well??

Wish us luck. We’ll talk to you all tomorrow.

A shout-out to Betty Hill Hotel, especially Gordon Carr and his family who operate this family run hotel. Our first 2 nights in Scotland have been spent at this wonderful B&B, known as much for their restaurant as their lodging. They’ve been great and very supportive. We took up most of their front entry way putting our bikes together, and spent the rest of the day making final route preps, communicating with sponsors and loved ones. The lodge was filled with people here to fish and enjoy countryside. The locally sourced food is delicious and the common areas have breathtaking views of this northern sea-side paradise.

10% discount All gear except new bikes
15% discount Fitness diagnostics, conditioning programs, and bike fits

Cadence Cycling was founded in 2004 by a Penn graduate, so I think what they’re doing for Penn is pretty cool. I got my road bike at Cadence and it’s sweet. They are the Lexus of bike dealers. They are all about the science of athletics. Go check them out, on Saturday’s (I think) they have free in-house coffee and sweets.

Some marketing copy about these guys: Cadence Cycling & Multisport is not a bike shop. Sure, the world’s most exclusive bike frames line the floor. But world-renowned coaches also train all levels of cyclists and triathletes on state-of-the-art CompuTrainers and Endless Pools®. And athletes with visions of Kona or the Tour undergo VO2 Max and lactate threshold tests. When you walk in, we’re not trying to sell you a bike. We’d rather talk to you about your goals and how we can help you achieve them. Whether that means a new Italian frame, a specialized fitting of your current bike, an individualized coaching program, an on-site strength and conditioning program or one of our other unique services, Cadence will help you evolve as an athlete.

Here’s the discount coupon…

Yapta monitors your flights and emails you if the prices drop.

Most airlines have clauses that entitle you to a credit if the prices fall. Bet you didn’t know that, did ya? I didn’t either. And I didn’t believe it until (in Jan 2008) I was alerted by Yapta of a price drop, which promoted me to call Usair and request my refund. Usair sent the voucher to me a few weeks later. Yapta is just one of those free internet companies that is adding transparency to the travel industry.

Try it out for yourself. I’m a fan.

• Step1: signup for account on Yapta.com
• Step2: forward your preexisting flight confirmation emails to flights@yapta.com
• Step3: wait for email from Yapta telling you to claim your refund
• Step4: call airline and request price drop refund
• Step5: spend flight credit on future travel

Here’s a screenshot of my Yapta screen for this trip.

Historically, Vetta has been a big player in commuter-level cycling computers. The V100 HR is a great leap into the world of serious athletes. It is feature rich enough to satisfy your every want and need, yet ease-of-use makes it a fantastic piece of equipment for the weekend warrior.

So lets take a look at the features and how well it works

First Look: Right out of the box I was impressed. Construction quality was solid. It felt substantial and well made as did the accessories. A flip through the manual suggested a very feature-rich device.

Installation was a breeze: Both the speed and cadence transmitters are small and sleek. I also like the fact that cadence is wireless

Put it to the test: One of the most common complaints about the V100 is battery life. The issue is a technical one that’s caused by the unit not turning off when you are done riding. I spoke with Vetta and they assured me that the culprit software issues were fixed early on, but the reputation has stayed out there. So obviously I’ve paid careful attention to this after each ride. To date I haven’t had a bit of trouble with this. At least in my unit, it seems the problem has been fixed.

I’ve had the V100 for several months now and it works great. The heart rate monitor and the cadence have worked perfectly. I love the screen. It’s compact yet it contains a ton of information. The three button-interface is very easy to navigate through at speed. Speed and distance accuracy is nearly perfect. Battery life has not been an issue.

A positive review, with 3 gripes:

• The first is a gripe I have with 95% of the computers on the market so I can’t fault Vetta alone for this. The wireless speed transmitter is not powerful enough to work from the rear wheel. This forces you to install it on the front wheel and therefore becomes useless on an indoor trainer. (Note: the V110 solves this!)
• The manual makes a valiant attempt to be thorough, and in fact, it is thorough. The problem is that it isn’t completely clear. Maybe it’s just me, but it reads as if it was written in a different language and simply copied into some freeware translator software. Another issue is that it doesn’t read smoothly. I was trying to learn how to use the different features and screen modes. I had to read through pages several times to understand certain details. One example – they spend some time discussing the IDS and STP screen mode, but they don’t reveal what IDS and STP stand for until 4 pages letter. (it’s Intermediate Distance and Stopwatch btw).
• Occasionally (maybe 3-4 times) the unit fails to turn on for some reason. I turn the wheel and nothing happens. I press the button on the transmitter. Still nothing. The first time this happened I spent about an hour trying to figure out the problem. I was 30 seconds from throwing the thing away. I took the battery out of the head unit, reinstalled it and it worked perfectly. The next time this happened, I went straight to the battery and fixed the problem right away. This only happens when starting the unit. Once I’m riding, I’ve never had any issues with losing signal. Odd.

Conclusion: The V100HR is a great computer for both serious athletes as well as the weekend warrior. It’s easy to install and easy to use. It has tons of features that work together seamlessly. In my experience it has debunked it’s critics and has been a dependable cyclocomputer.

Here’s my poolside review.

And a video of the player in action.

So as you can see from the review we think Finis is pretty awesome. They’ve wonderfully offered to lend us extra players if we wear them during our 15 hour swim across the English Channel. I suppose it’ll be the first time that anyone has had the opportunity to rock-out during a channel crossing.

[UPDATE] The Channel Swimming and Piloting Association (the org that certifies channel swims) voted in 2007 to ban MP3 players on official swims of the English Channel. I think the Association’s decision is overly nostalgic, but c’est la vie. At least I can use the Finis during my training swims. The vote from the association’s minutes looks like this:

MOTION 3 “The use of MP3 players shall not be allowed by the swimmer while swimming during any English Channel swim attempt” Prop. – D Carter, sec. – C. Golding. 15 for, 2 against, 3 abstain – carried)

Thule makes roof racks and external modular storage for vehicles (they are the world’s biggest). And they’re Swedish, so you know, they make pretty stuff. Today Adam and I are driving up to Connecticut to visit Thule’s US HQ. We’re going up to ask advice on how to best equip our logistics van. We’ll let you know how those discussions go!

Ohh yah, totally wanted to share this with you. Check out this viral video created by Thule Marketing. This guy totally geeks out on Thule.

In mid/late December we finally got everything sorted out with a great sponsor – Gu Sports. We met one of their superstars, Holly Bennett at Interbike, and she’s been nothing but fantastic ever since. I have been a fan of Gu energy gels since I first started in triathlons almost 10 years ago, so Neal and I made a concerted effort at the trade show to seek them out and try and get them onboard. Gu has been extremely generous to us, and we couldn’t be happier to have them as a sponsor. Most people know them for their gels, but you have to try the GU2O. It’s got a much lighter and less syrupy flavor than Gatorade or Powerade, which is why I like it. It goes down much easier during a long workout. I’m normally a lemon-lime guy, but to be honest, not so much with GU2O. Although it’s growing on me. Right now Raspberry is what gets me through.

What’s your brand/flavor of choice? Post a comment and let us know!

We’ve sang the praises of Cadence Cycling many times before, but in my mind the one thing that sets them apart more than any other retailer I’ve ever come in contact with, is their coaching staff. They have the most impressive collection of brain power and coaching prowess you could imagine. Yet their packages can be dumbed down for a couple of amateurs like us. They do it all, from newbies to pros, and they do it all very well. They get attention/press based on the pro cyclists and triathletes they coach, but it’s much more important to me for them to be able to turn a weekend warrior into a stronger competitor. I found it very convenient that we were located in Philly and have access to this place, but as it turns out, you can establish a coaching relationship and participate in training sessions from anywhere in the world. In early 2008 Cadence will be launching Cadence.tv. It is a completely interactive online training system that allows you to be a part of professionally-coached training sessions either live or On-Demand. If it rolls out as described it could be an awesome training tool. We’re signing up right away, and we will pass on our reviews as soon as possible with the good the bad and the ugly.

We’re really excited that Mike was willing to clear room in his schedule for us. He has an impressive professional resume and has competed and won at the top levels of road racing, mountain bike racing and cyclo-cross. Most important to us is his ability to transfer his knowledge and experience to make us better. He’s done it before, and we’re hoping he can do it again. He’s turned rookies into seasoned vets. He’s turned amateurs into pros, and he’s turned pros into champions. Seriously. We’re stoked.

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.

Grass Roots Appeal: Our idea from the outset was to build a business plan around this event that would leverage our backgrounds and the unique and exciting nature of the endeavor to garner interest from multi-sport enthusiasts. Our ability to effectively reach a specific demographic in a new and interesting way was the key to opening the door with many  companies. The most common feedback has been that big sponsorship does not sell bikes/equipment. They sell equipment when the “regular athlete” sees other “regular athletes” riding their bikes or using their equipment. When they met us face-to-face, we were able to demonstrate our ability/appeal to sell their product to their target market. Companies see thousands of similar proposals each year. What set us apart to the point where they were willing to commit? We were not just another team of pro athletes, looking for a handout. We talked with them about their companies and engaged them in business conversations. We talked about how to add value to their company.

We’ve got a lot in the cooker right now, and we’re hoping to have some great news in the coming days and weeks.  We’ll keep you posted.  Now I have to get off my butt and get to the pool again to try and clear all the sludge from my muscles.

—

Speed = a measure of the velocity of the bike, measured in mph or kph. Speed is not a good measure of exertion or intensity while cycling because it is greatly affected by opposing forces such as wind, grade, road surface, drafting, gravity (body & bike weight), aerodynamic profile and friction (drivetrain efficiency) as well as power. It is important to remember though, that races are won by the fastest rider, not the rider with the most power. Speed = Power – Opposing Forces (aerodynamic, gravity, rolling resistance) so in the end a rider must optimize this equation by increasing power and decreasing opposing forces as much as possible to produce maximum speed.

Intensity Factor (IF) = the normalized power for a ride with respect to the functional threshold of the rider = NP/FT. Therefore an effort at 100% of threshold should equal an IF of 1.0. If the rider has an IF of over 1.05 for over an hour, their functional threshold may have increased since the last test (or their power meter needs to be calibrated)

Functional Threshold (FT) = the maximum power a rider can produce for a period of 60 minutes. This can be estimated by completing a 60 minute time trial, a 60 minute “race-type effort” with a high normalized power (commonly a difficult criterium or fast group ride), by taking 95% of the power produced in a 20 minute time trial, 90% of the power produced in an 8 minute time trial or by completing a lactate threshold test in the lab.

Normalized Power (NP) = calculated power over a given duration that better takes into account non-steady state efforts. Average power will decrease if there are significant recovery periods during warmup, cooldown or in between efforts but the stress of the ride does not necessarily decrease (think of driving a car… you can average under the speed limit but it doesn’t mean you won’t get a ticket). Therefore, average power is not a good measure of exertion for non steady state efforts such as races, hilly rides and many group rides. Normalized power should reflect the actual intensity of the effort. It is calculated by taking a 30 second rolling average of the power values, taking these values to the 4th power, averaging these values and taking the 4th route of this number. Therefore, when the power spikes very high, these spikes will be given exponential weighting. For example, a criterium may produce an average power of only 160 watts (due to the regular periods of coasting) but the same race might yield a normalized power of 280 watts (due to the many accelerations). Though normalized power is a very good measure of true exertion, because NP works on a 30 second rolling average, rides with power spikes of less than 30 seconds may not be weighted as highly as expected and likewise other rides that contain maximal efforts of 30-60 seconds may be weighted more highly than expected.

Everything about this trek is moving in fast forward. We are in the final stages of securing our pilot boats. These are the boats that will drive next to us during the swim. Although we are not allowed to touch the boats at any time, they are there to protect and feed us. They are extremely excited to be a part of 10 degrees. For those of you who are new to the swimming world, the English Channel swim requires the services of a pilot boat. Weather and tides can be a killer, and a good pilot is crucial to navigating both. Many say that a successful swim is 25% your ability, 75% pilot’s ability.

This is the most innovative idea we saw. A belt driven chain. Lower weight, less grime, and feasibly less expensive components. Check it out:

Your can read more about it here.

Want to raise money for an expedition? You have to visit your sport’s trade show!

If you want to raise money for an expedition I suggest attending trade shows like this for four reasons:

1. Face to face meetings with your prospective sponsors inspires huge trust. Makes getting sponsorship more likely.
2. Seeing the gear first hand lets you know which gear you want most
3. Giving your pitch in-person is great practice for giving it on the phone later 
4. Trade shows are fun

We came to raise money and get gear sponsors for 10 Degrees Latitude Europe (July 2008). We made business cards (see contact page) and printed a one-page double-sided flyer. The business cards do a good job of establishing credibility and showing that we aren’t just a couple of schmucks. The flyer summarized our goals, needs and value proposition.

Adam and I spent 14 hours in Vegas. 4 hours at the airport, 2 hours in transit, 2 hours eating, and 6 hours at the conference. It was a PACKED 6 hours. We visited with over 40 companies, most of them together. And it was totally worth it. People responded very well to our goals, had positive things to say, and we already have many verbal commits from the best brands in biking.

As is always the case, we couldn’t have done it without our friends… My cousin Reghan gave us entrance passes (care of our friends at Specialized). Our friend Matt from Cadence Cycles advocated for us with amazing introductions to his favorite manufacturers. Even the people at the concessions counter were on our side (2 for 1 hotdogs).

More to come about our favorite gear from Interbike 2007!

We are headed to Las Vegas to attend the world’s largest bicycle trade show. The conference is called Interbike.These trade shows are amazing, 22,000 attendees, 9000 brands, all under one roof. They are a critical event for those seeking sponsorship (like us) and a lot of fun too.

Both of us are going. We will be in Las Vegas for about 18 hours, so it’s all about the time management.

Goals
1. Find a bike frame sponsor.
2. Lay groundwork to raise $30,000.
3. Meet some nice people.

Wish us luck!