Minus Ten Review 2009-37

This was the fob for the room key I had in Deer Valley during the Fisher MTB Press Camp

Ten years ago this week I flew to the SLC and went to the Gary Fisher MTB Press camp.

Me......a bike mechanic from Iowa. 

I'd been blogging about 29"ers and other nonsense for just barely over 4 years. before that, no one knew who I was. By this time, yes, I was running Trans Iowa, and I was running the 29"er website called, "Twenty Nine Inches", but really...... I was hanging with other mtb journos, real journalists, and top flight athletes, and luminaries of the MTB world like Gary Fisher. Yeah......does the phrase "a duck out of water" mean anything to you? That's exactly how I felt.

Oh! I had fun alright. How could you not, being wined and dined, treated to your own personal test bikes with your name stickered on the top tube as if you were someone important. I had a mechanic at my disposal, and food and drink? Yeah..... I was well taken care of. My room was more like a flat you'd find in a big European city. Three freakin' rooms! The bathroom was bigger than my current bedroom where I live to this day. It was.....outlandish. 

The whole deal kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I just had such a hard time balancing this opulence and frivolous spending with what I saw going down in the local shop scene. No offense to those who were so gracious to me, but I just could not justify the experience. Am I worth that? Yeah, perhaps, but that isn't the point either. The whole thing seemed over the top and out of sync with the realities of the cycling world as I knew it. Anyway.....

It was the last press camp I ever attended. After that, I deferred to those who were helping me. Grannygear, or CG, or now MG, and I don't know that I'd ever go to another one of those deals. Maybe I would, if the situation was right.

The cycling industry seems a bit bent on sending journos all over the World to far flung places to test new stuff in situations that are beyond the means of most folks, or at least of most bicycle mechanics......or most anybody, really. Is that wrong? Is that okay?

I still have a hard time justifying this all today.

Minus Ten Review 2009-37

This was the fob for the room key I had in Deer Valley during the Fisher MTB Press Camp

Ten years ago this week I flew to the SLC and went to the Gary Fisher MTB Press camp.

Me......a bike mechanic from Iowa. 

I'd been blogging about 29"ers and other nonsense for just barely over 4 years. before that, no one knew who I was. By this time, yes, I was running Trans Iowa, and I was running the 29"er website called, "Twenty Nine Inches", but really...... I was hanging with other mtb journos, real journalists, and top flight athletes, and luminaries of the MTB world like Gary Fisher. Yeah......does the phrase "a duck out of water" mean anything to you? That's exactly how I felt.

Oh! I had fun alright. How could you not, being wined and dined, treated to your own personal test bikes with your name stickered on the top tube as if you were someone important. I had a mechanic at my disposal, and food and drink? Yeah..... I was well taken care of. My room was more like a flat you'd find in a big European city. Three freakin' rooms! The bathroom was bigger than my current bedroom where I live to this day. It was.....outlandish. 

The whole deal kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I just had such a hard time balancing this opulence and frivolous spending with what I saw going down in the local shop scene. No offense to those who were so gracious to me, but I just could not justify the experience. Am I worth that? Yeah, perhaps, but that isn't the point either. The whole thing seemed over the top and out of sync with the realities of the cycling world as I knew it. Anyway.....

It was the last press camp I ever attended. After that, I deferred to those who were helping me. Grannygear, or CG, or now MG, and I don't know that I'd ever go to another one of those deals. Maybe I would, if the situation was right.

The cycling industry seems a bit bent on sending journos all over the World to far flung places to test new stuff in situations that are beyond the means of most folks, or at least of most bicycle mechanics......or most anybody, really. Is that wrong? Is that okay?

I still have a hard time justifying this all today.

Friday News And Views: News Season Part 2

A while back, I posted about "News Season", meaning that most all summer long, there would be bits and pieces of news coming from the manufacturer's and brand's "press camps", "dealer camps", and from "events" where new products would be shown.

Something gets lost herein the chaos...

Well, "News Season" is going strong all this month. You'll soon hear about and see some rather surprising news from a "press camp", and I know of a "dealer camp" coming up in a week or two that will have another bit of a surprise for a lot of folks. Of course, QBP will be hosting it's dealers at its Western warehouse in Utah for "Saddledrive", where I am sure a few more tasty treats will be unveiled.

So, what are these things? All in due time! The point here is how these individual events have turned the traditional trade show idea on its head. It used to be that dealers would go to a show to "find out stuff" in the only good way that there was to find out stuff: You had to physically go somewhere to see the stuff, (Captain Obvious!), but everybody went to see everybody's stuff. It was crowded. It was stressful. Time was short, and well, you probably missed something. Definitely you forgot stuff too. This was seen as no good from the brand's perspective. They wanted to get the retailers alone. Get their attention glued to their message. Dealers wanted a less stressful, more fun venue. Dealer Camps do that. Press Camps, on the other hand, focus on certain core media to get the same message out. No other distractions for the media means they get a focused, one on one message to deliver to their readers. Again, something that appeals to brands.

My take is that while trade shows have their place, the really exciting, fun, revolutionary stuff is happening at Press Camps and Dealer Camps, not at trade shows. 

It started out like this, then......

 Gravel Mutt Project Update:

 Back in May I dug into the "Gravel Mutt Project" in earnest. Many readers have expressed that they have been intrigued by the story, and that they have been excited to see the next step in the process. Well, that process is coming to a close. The Gravel Mutt is finished!

Wednesday evening was the first ride. I then rode it to work and back again yesterday. There are a couple of bugs to work out. There will be a few fitting tweaks, but basically, this bike is on the road. So, what is next?

A full reveal will appear here tomorrow, but there will be a small series that will be published on Gravel Grinder News that will be about how one can build their own "gravel mutt" and this bike will be the example used. Consider all the basic info I have posted here as your "preview" of that series. Ironically, yesterday I was contacted by someone in the media that wanted my help in writing the exact same story line. So, I guess it is an interesting subject, eh? 

Stay tuned for the reveal tomorrow and look for the series on "Gravel Grinder News" to appear soon.

Committing convenience store abuse!

3GR: Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational:

The "normal" Saturday running of 3GR will be deferred due to the GTDRI happening Sunday all day. Anyone is welcome, but we will be riding in Jackson County and starting at 5:00am sharp. Just be aware of the details by clicking the link, if you think you might be interested.

Otherwise the "normal" 3GR will pick up again next Saturday, and I'll be piloting the Gravel Mutt, and it should be a regular old good time.

Speaking of the GTDRI, it looks like a record year for attendance. That is- if all the folks show up that say they want to. The record is 12, and it looks that this number will get blown away, which blows me away, quite frankly.

Well, you can expect a fully detailed accounting of any shenanigans that occur along the roads of rural Eastern Iowa starting this Monday. Well......if I survive this. It will be a very tough day of riding, but at least it looks to be about 15°F cooler than last year's sweat-fest, which was only mitigated by a brief respite from a nearby thunderstorm. Otherwise we'd have been cooked out of finishing last year's loop, me-thinks.

At any rate, I hope everyone has a great weekend and keeps the rubber side down wherever you are riding.

Friday News And Views: News Season Part 2

A while back, I posted about "News Season", meaning that most all summer long, there would be bits and pieces of news coming from the manufacturer's and brand's "press camps", "dealer camps", and from "events" where new products would be shown.

Something gets lost herein the chaos...

Well, "News Season" is going strong all this month. You'll soon hear about and see some rather surprising news from a "press camp", and I know of a "dealer camp" coming up in a week or two that will have another bit of a surprise for a lot of folks. Of course, QBP will be hosting it's dealers at its Western warehouse in Utah for "Saddledrive", where I am sure a few more tasty treats will be unveiled.

So, what are these things? All in due time! The point here is how these individual events have turned the traditional trade show idea on its head. It used to be that dealers would go to a show to "find out stuff" in the only good way that there was to find out stuff: You had to physically go somewhere to see the stuff, (Captain Obvious!), but everybody went to see everybody's stuff. It was crowded. It was stressful. Time was short, and well, you probably missed something. Definitely you forgot stuff too. This was seen as no good from the brand's perspective. They wanted to get the retailers alone. Get their attention glued to their message. Dealers wanted a less stressful, more fun venue. Dealer Camps do that. Press Camps, on the other hand, focus on certain core media to get the same message out. No other distractions for the media means they get a focused, one on one message to deliver to their readers. Again, something that appeals to brands.

My take is that while trade shows have their place, the really exciting, fun, revolutionary stuff is happening at Press Camps and Dealer Camps, not at trade shows. 

It started out like this, then......

 Gravel Mutt Project Update:

 Back in May I dug into the "Gravel Mutt Project" in earnest. Many readers have expressed that they have been intrigued by the story, and that they have been excited to see the next step in the process. Well, that process is coming to a close. The Gravel Mutt is finished!

Wednesday evening was the first ride. I then rode it to work and back again yesterday. There are a couple of bugs to work out. There will be a few fitting tweaks, but basically, this bike is on the road. So, what is next?

A full reveal will appear here tomorrow, but there will be a small series that will be published on Gravel Grinder News that will be about how one can build their own "gravel mutt" and this bike will be the example used. Consider all the basic info I have posted here as your "preview" of that series. Ironically, yesterday I was contacted by someone in the media that wanted my help in writing the exact same story line. So, I guess it is an interesting subject, eh? 

Stay tuned for the reveal tomorrow and look for the series on "Gravel Grinder News" to appear soon.

Committing convenience store abuse!

3GR: Guitar Ted Death Ride Invitational:

The "normal" Saturday running of 3GR will be deferred due to the GTDRI happening Sunday all day. Anyone is welcome, but we will be riding in Jackson County and starting at 5:00am sharp. Just be aware of the details by clicking the link, if you think you might be interested.

Otherwise the "normal" 3GR will pick up again next Saturday, and I'll be piloting the Gravel Mutt, and it should be a regular old good time.

Speaking of the GTDRI, it looks like a record year for attendance. That is- if all the folks show up that say they want to. The record is 12, and it looks that this number will get blown away, which blows me away, quite frankly.

Well, you can expect a fully detailed accounting of any shenanigans that occur along the roads of rural Eastern Iowa starting this Monday. Well......if I survive this. It will be a very tough day of riding, but at least it looks to be about 15°F cooler than last year's sweat-fest, which was only mitigated by a brief respite from a nearby thunderstorm. Otherwise we'd have been cooked out of finishing last year's loop, me-thinks.

At any rate, I hope everyone has a great weekend and keeps the rubber side down wherever you are riding.