Interbike Recap - Indoors
There has been plenty of coverage of Interbike this year. If you want coverage from folks that know what they are doing check out MTBR.com’s extensive I-bike coverage.
I’ll fill you in on my doings out in Vegas. Imagine a double-sized Super-Wally-World….now imagine it chock full of nothing but the latest cycling gear….it’s overwhelming. I though after going to the Outdoor Retailers show in Aug that I would be ready for this, but there is no way a cyclist can walk into their first Interbike prepared. I had a plan five minutes before, now I was drooling idiot bouncing around aimlessly. Luckily I found my bearings, dropped my bag at the Paceline Products booth, where I would be working later, and set out for the furthest reaches of the Sands Convention Center.
I had three objectives while I browsed:
1. Stuff to sell through or to enhance 55nine Performance
2. Possible partners or clients for Wingnut Gear/New Sun Productions
3. Sponsors for me.
Found plenty of boothes to stop at, but spent most of Wed morning at the Computrainer:
The Computrainer is virtual indoor trainer that should help cyclist stay motivated throughout the winter and even enhance their training the rest of the year. Virtual course can be created using their software & downloads or based on GPS input. The hardware includes a resistance unit to mimic changes in gradient and wind-speeds.
At 12:00 PM, which came way too quickly, I made my way back to the Paceline Products booth. My job was to give demonstrations of the Pressure Pak which is a sleeve that your hydration bladder fits into, an air bladder to apply pressure the hydration bladder and a small pump to fill the bladder.
I had my Wingnut Hyper 3.0 set up with the Pressure Pak and a plastic sheet on the booth wall with a container to catch the water below. Then I would spray, give my pitch, spray some more, eat the FRS chewables, and spray some more. I passed a couple hours this way.
At 2 PM I head around the corner to the Light & Motion booth to check the 2007 product guide featuring yours truly. It just so happened that current US National 24 Hour Champion Rebecca Rusch and Gary Fisher sponsored Nat Ross would be speaking at the booth. I stood back to listen in, but Nat called me out and next thing I know I’m up on the mic telling stories from past races with these two champs.
MTBR was on had to take some photos of us and the product line up from Light & Motion. I have to say the crew at L&M were incredibly generous in both featuring me in the product guide (they distribute about 50,000 of these things a year) and allowing me to join in on the discussion with Rebecca & Nat. Not only that, they began sponsoring me very early in my endurance racing career (it’s still early is it not?), which enabled me to pursue 12 & 24 hour racing. Many thanks to Jackie, Barret and the rest of the L&M crew.
The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing. One of the more interesting products was the Ultimate Cyclist CDs from Liquid Fitness.
Straight from their site: “Through psychological techniques such as visualization and positive affirmations, this CD heightens your Powers of Perception and sharpens your physical performance. ” Relaxation & confidence is something I’ve been working on with my coach since the get go and I’m still trying to master it. I listened to sample and immediately felt the tension release from my next and shoulders….that was a good start. I was given a copy to try myself and I’ve used a few times. I quickly slip into an unconscious state….and later wake up feel refreshed and generally positive. The only draw back is that tend to sleep on my back when listening and end up snoring with a few minutes. Nam does not appreciate this much. I’ll use it for the recommended 6 weeks and give an other review then.
Next up a brief Day 2 recap, the big sponsor news & a recap of my experience as a support person at the 24 HOA WSCs.