Samson Riders Bicycle Club

Considering the plethora of well-established mountain biking cultures that exist worldwide, it is telling that Trips for Kids (TFK) would establish its first international chapter in Israel. In addition to the typical complexities that challenge childhood, Israel’s youth faces the challenge of developing tolerance for the variety of ethnic, educational, socio-economic and immigrant groups in their communities.

I imagine this is true even in Beit Shemesh, Israel, where Trips for Kids Israel- Samson Riders Bicycle Club (TFK Israel-SRBC) has been established. This community in the heart of the Judean Plains merits a group like TFK Israel-SRBC that encourages young people to understand and unite with their peers of all backgrounds. Before Samson Riders Bicycle Club became the foundational group for TFK Israel, it had already been successful in bringing Jewish and Arab youth together to ride, learn about each other, break down barriers, discover new interests and respect the land. The club’s new relationship with TFK will make it possible to expand this program, Riding for Co-Existence, to give more underprivileged youth in Israel a chance to experience mountain biking and involve youth from other local ethnic communities in the bike ride planning and implementation.

Come late November, riders with TFK Israel-SRBC will take their first tour of the monasteries, water springs and olive groves as an official chapter of the Marin County, Calif.-based non-profit organization. For many of them, it will be their first time exploring their historic surroundings. For some, it may be their first time riding side by side with a peer who claims a different culture than their own.

You can learn more about Trips for Kids at www.tripsforkids.org.

When I was in high school, my brother Steve was an Italian fanatic who had an Alfa Romeo Spider and a Pogliaghi road bike. I wanted to ride road bikes like him, so I bought a Japanese made Centurion (I couldn’t afford a nice Italian bike). I didn’t ride the Centurion too much. Riding bikes wasn’t the cool thing to do in high school.

In college I got the bug to ride. Dick Burke started Trek in 1976 and a good quality American made bike was a novel idea at the time. I can’t remember what model it was, but in the spring of 1979 I bought an anthracite grey Trek road bike from Fisher’s Cyclery in Salt Lake City while I was a college student at the University of Utah. It was a great bike. I think it had a mix of Suntour parts on it. I rode it a lot. The picture is of me with my Trek and a little more hair.

After school let out for the summer, I drove from Salt Lake to Mammoth Mountain, California with my Trek tucked into the back of my Volkswagen Rabbit to ride with my brother Steve. He was a ski instructor there at the time. During that trip, one day we road from Mammoth to June Lake. It wasn’t very far, only about 20 miles, but I remember the ride back. The last stretch of road from Highway 395 up into Mammoth was a killer. It was a hot day and my tires squished into the soft asphalt and it felt like I was riding with the brakes on.

I didn’t ride that Trek as much as I should have. I had a friend who was car less and he needed to borrow my Trek to get back and forth from class (We were at different schools at the time). I felt sorry for him and I wasn’t riding much, so I loaned him the bike and asked him to take real good care of it and lock it up when he wasn’t riding it. He did, but what I didn’t know was that when he road the Trek he wrapped the bare chain and lock around the seat post and let it bang against the frame, chipping the Trek’s beautiful Dupont paint job. Ouch!

After a heated exchange, he agreed to pay for getting it painted. It turned out the Dupont paint was super tough and too hard to get off (I tried having it dipped in a solvent tank at a local radiator shop, but it wouldn’t come off), so I took the money and bought a new Trek 560 frame from Pasadena Cyclery in Southern California. I had a little more cash then, so I splurged for a mix of DiaComp and Campy Nuovo Record parts and some hot new Specialized foldable clinchers.

I rode that Trek 560 for a long time. I raced it one season as a Cat 4 racer in various California criteriums and the Mammoth Mountain Stage Race (That year there was some new fangled mountain bike race going on at the same time and some guy named John Tomac decided to sit in on a couple of the road races. When mountain bikes first came out I couldn’t understand how someone could take a perfectly good clean bike and get it all muddy riding it off-road).

My first Trek and the Trek 560 is probably what really got me into cycling and eventually my marketing career in the bike industry with Shimano and Specialized. I’ve had many brands and types of road and mountain bikes since then and I rode them a lot. I’m sad Dick Burke has passed away, but I’m very glad he started Trek and helped lead me into the life I have had and will continue to have through riding and appreciating bikes.

Thanks Dick!

I have a lot of things I’d like to blog about since my last post, for example, working with the media at Interbike, meeting my cycling hero Greg LeMond in the Media Center at the show, and taking a road trip vacation to Colorado – mountain biking and hiking along the way, etc. I’ll write about those later.

This week was a busy week, but a good one. Monday, November 12, we were in New York City for the PepCom Digital Focus media reception. We took our new client, Delta 7 Sports. They make a $12,000 carbon fiber/Kevlar reinforced Arantix mountain bike using a unique tube design called IsoTruss. Before the evening event, we met with “Popular Science” and “The Wall Street Journal.” The staff at both publications were very interested in the Arantix and its IsoTruss technology for possible stories.

Following those meetings we went to PepCom. Even though PepCom was predominately a “digital” high-tech event, we knew the media outlets slated to attend would also be interested in the IsoTruss, because of its highly engineered, science-based, well thought out design.

It turned out to be a great event. Journalists attending the media reception were surprised to see a bicycle among the computers, digital cameras, home security systems and other electronics products at the event. There were close to 300 journalists there, and we spoke with many of them. The contacts we made resulted in a video shoot the following morning with TheStreet.com and several requests for more information and product for reviews. I’ll be keeping an eye on my Google Alerts for the resulting stories.

Anyway, I got back in the office for Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday, but then it was off to the Bay Area for a visit with our new client, Ritchey Design, Inc. Ritchey Design was founded by Tom Ritchey, one of the original founders of mountain biking. They offer a full range of road and mountain bike components that are well known for their thoughtful design and reasonable price. We’re excited to be working with them.

One of the tools we recommend our clients use to help build brand awareness, open a dialogue with their customers and improve search engine optimization (SEO) is blogging. Interbike has a successful blog (www.interbiketimes.com) and we talked with Ritchey about setting one up soon.

I often feel awkward when recommending blogging when I’m such a bad blogger myself. My excuses, “The contractor’s house is never done,” and “The cobbler’s kids don’t have shoes” can’t be used anymore. I need to serve our clients by example. So, I’m looking forward to blogging more.

I’ll write more – sooner than later.

I’m bummed. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency found Landis guilty of doping (see AP story here). I haven’t ridden regularly in a while, but I’m still an avid fan of cycling and racing. My wife and I cheered loudly at the TV during Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour, only to stare silently again later while learning that Landis was accused of doping.

I’m not even going to pretend to understand the facts surrounding the case and spout my opinion here in this post. I’m just bummed for Landis, racers in general and for recreational cyclists and potential recreational cyclists who might think twice about participating in a tainted activity.

The news about Landis will make for an interesting next few weeks, especially with the industry’s largest trade show, Interbike, and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Championships taking place at the same time. I’m sure everyone will be talking about the verdict and will have an opinion.

If you’re interested in seeing what members of the bicycle industry will be saying about doping and other subjects at Interbike, go to InterbikeTimes.com to see live streaming video from the Media Center on the show’s main floor. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. media outlets such as BicycleRadio.com, BicycleWorld.tv, Bicycling Magazine, BMXer, Crooked Cog Network, Cycling.tv, Dirt Rag, Mountain Bike, QuickRelease.tv, Road Bike Action, Swagger, The Spokesman, VeloNews and VitalBMX will be interviewing industry heavy weights, former pro racers, product managers and the like. Besides talking about 2008 product, I’m sure doping will be discussed.

My friends have occasionally goaded me to get back on my bike, and I will. Last summer I literally dusted off the trusty, old 9-speed Dura-Ace equipped Landshark, pumped up the tires, adjusted the shifting with the intent to ride, but got lazy. This year we bought a 1950’s house here in Salt Lake City, but you know what that means – lots of remodeling projects.

I love cycling. Not just for racing, but for the fun and freedom it brings. Those nice cool solitary morning road rides up the canyons or a fun day chairlift mountain biking at Deer Valley with friends and family helps slow down life a little.

Bikes are fun. They will always be about fun. I hope everyone can get past the sadness of doping in the professional ranks, and even in the amateur ranks, and just get on the bike and ride.

I’ll post more soon.

Chip