SOAR Blog

It’s been a few weeks now, but there is no expiration date on embarrassment…

During the hiring process prior to joining SOAR, I did what any good job-hunter does. I Google-stalked the people who were interviewing me.

Along with twitter feeds, press releases and official website bios, I found a gem: Our intrepid leader, Chip, caught in full YouTube glory going over the bars in Fruita, Colo.

Let me say this…Aside from the single endo incident, Chip is insanely fast through Fruita’s technical terrain. He is also, as I found out over the President’s Day holiday, a very good skier.

SOAR staff headed up the hill to Deer Valley Resort as a belated reward following January’s Outdoor Retailer Winter Market. The snow was excellent, the crowds thinned as the day went on and the sun even managed to poke through a few times.

However, Chip and I had chosen the day to test out some GoPro Hero cameras. My pitiful level of midwinter fitness was sure to trip me up, and as the day went on and my legs turned to noodles, the inevitable embarrassing wipeout occurred.

So in an effort to cancel out the bad karma I earned chuckling at Chip’s misfortune, here for the internet’s viewing pleasure is a crash of my own.

SOAR’s own Elizabeth O. Hurst writes about beach cruiser bikes in North America for Momentum Magazine.

PD

Photo credit: Steve Griffin, Salt Lake Tribune

The SOAR Blog didn’t give Real Salt Lake due attention and praise when the team won the Major League Soccer championship in the spring, but that doesn’t mean SOAR isn’t incredibly proud of its home team for bringing the State of Utah a professional sports championship title for the first time in 40 years.

It seems fitting that the influence of professional soccer in Utah, and in the United States, was recognized today by President Barak Obama in a brief ceremony honoring Real Salt Lake team at the White House. Joe Biden wasn’t there- he is heading up the contingency representing the U.S. at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa which is now less than a week away. One of Real Salt Lake’s players, Robbie Findley, will play with the U.S. team, which is a contender against Algeria, England and Slovenia.

Professional soccer is too often overlooked by North American spectators. World Cup engenders even more global enthusiasm than the Olympics in some regard- except in the United States. There are books, classes, experts, lectures galore on the global significance of “footy,” so I won’t belabor the topic here. We’re glad that with all of the other matters our presidency has to attend to that it would recognize the athletic power coming out of Salt Lake City and the importance of the World Cup.

Any chance Obama will vie for World Cup 2018 to be in the U.S. like he did for the Olympics? (2014 is already scheduled to be in Brazil).

See the Salt Lake Tribune article here

Nearly two months ago Bikes for Kids Utah hosted its first-ever omnium event with the University of Utah cycling team to raise money to get new bikes to kids and to support the U’s team. Both organizations did a ton to pull off the weekend-long event that included a criterium, hill climb time trial and road race. Bradlee Duncan, the U of U team race director, spearheaded and coordinated a good portion of the event, and helped make it a really successful fundraiser. Below are 10 of his tips for for race organizers, or, for racers 10 reasons to be nice to the race organizers and officials. It’s not as easy as it looks.

1. Sometimes people lose track of time and forget to do things, so build extra time into your plan.

2. Charge late registration fees, and make them expensive! Most of us are procrastinators and we need a little extra incentive to commit to a race in advance.

3. You can never have too many volunteers, so treat them nicely.

4. The officials are your best friends, the officials are your best friends, the officials are your best friends.

5. Government entities are slow and bureaucratic. You can’t start talking to them too early.

6. Have a specific registration game-plan, otherwise it’s chaos. Did you hear me? it. is. chaos.

7. People can be impatient, that’s why it’s so important to be patient.

8. Be patient.

9. Sometimes even Mother Nature loses track of time and gets things mixed up; be ready in case she sends warm, sunny weather in March and a few feet of light fluffy Utah powder in April.

10. Have fun!!!!!!!!! You’re doing something that fosters and grows the sport you love!

To read the press release about this event, click here.

Check out Bradlee’s blog too, TwoWheelPhotos.blogspot.com.

If you attended Outdoor Retailer Winter Market this year, you know that it was a great show that epitomized the industry’s resilience and hope. Many long-time exhibitors were there along side many new exhibitors launching their products OR.

Despite the huge amounts of preparation that goes into each OR show, SOAR, like the rest of the OR operations staff, doesn’t have time to rest on its laurels when the show is happening in the Salt Palace.

We start before day one managing the periphery of the show to make sure only qualified media get badges and that their press needs are me once they’re inside. We help journalists work around the show director’s very busy schedule and step in as spokespersons when needed. We get up at 4:30 a.m to coordinate early morning shows on the floor, with hair brushed and smiles on our faces. On occasion, we double as models for exhibitors’ product, feeling a little embarrassed and mostly excited when attendees point and ask “Weren’t you on T.V. this morning?” We get a little jealous when attendees ask us about the discounted lift tickets they can purchases with their OR badges, not sure of the next time we’ll be able to hit the slopes.

Though we don’t do as many laps around the show floor as most retailers, the 12-hour day catches up with us once it’s time to party with the industry. Still, we party on. The Woolrich Fashion show made us want to dance (we may have acted on that impulse) and industry’s enthusiasm over the Canada Goose Cup was super fun to watch. We talked to Pam Theodosakis about Prana’s hockey win the next morning as we prepped her to speak about Project OR on camera with a local TV studio.

Of course, between these appointments we are writing like crazy so we can keep media in the loop about the news of the show. We each manage to get away for a few moments, though, to admire amazing new products on the show floor, talk with exhibitors and see how the Project OR designs are developing.

Even though there is still snow still on the ground and in the mountains, we’re shifting our attention to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, running August 2-3, 2010. Even more exciting times for SOAR and the outdoor industry are on the horizon.

Here’s to warmer weather and more hot products!

Credit Matthew McDermott

Outdoor Retailer ended in late January on a high note with both industry attendance and optimism up from winter 2009. In the midst of writing orders and thinking about upcoming selling seasons, though, the industry as initiated dozens of efforts to provide relief for Haiti after its devastating earthquake.

Manufacturers across the Winter Market show floor offered product to an industry Haitian relief effort coordinated by Terramar, Sierra Trading Post & Eric Larsen. The Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) also partnered with Americares to get first aid kits, water purification systems, headlamps, tarps and hydration containers willing donated from manufacturers in the outdoor industry to Haitians in desperate need of essential supplies. (See below for more information on getting your product to Haiti via Sierra Trading Post and Americares).

In an industry that highly values authenticity and social responsibility, it’s no surprise that the outdoor industry mobilized so quickly to aid Haiti. It employs individuals with just as much strength and heart as the products it manufactures- prepared to be put to work at a moments notice. These qualities and others make SOAR super proud to be part of the outdoor industry.

In fact, we see these qualities in the outdoor industry year round. We associate with outdoor industry leaders that support advocacy groups and let their passion for their sport drive their compassion. SOAR has had some fun and rewarding opportunities to work on a pro-bono basis with non-profits like Bikes for Kids Utah and Trips for Kids. We get to see how much work goes into each event and initiative. Every donation, vote of confidence, re-tweet and sponsorship makes a difference.

Let’s all continue to heed OIA’s call for the industry to “dig deep” during this and every time of crisis and need.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Click here to read about the partnerships forming in the outdoor industry to help Haiti.

To donate this urgently needed product/equipment contact Randy Weiss at Americares at (203) 658-9527 or rweiss@americares.org. All donations will be delivered by air and sea directly to the region by Americares.

Outdoor Retailer exhibitors are invited to donate show products to Haiti via Red Cross if it can arrive at Sierra Trading Post by FEBRUARY 8, 2010. All packages should be sent to Sierra Trading Post Robin Jahnke/Haiti 5121 Campstool Road Cheyenne, Wyoming 8200.

The outdoor industry is abuzz on Twitter, contributing comments, queries and suggestions to all participating manufacturers, buyers, retailers, media and advocacy groups in the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market through the show’s aggregate feed, ORWinter. Since SOAR launched Outdoor Retailer into the Twittersphere for the 2009 Winter Market, the outdoor industry has channeled much of its conversation through the platforms the show has provided. Attendees and exhibitors getting ready to travel to Salt Lake are using #ORWinter in their Tweets about the show to create dialogues and relationships before they even step foot into the Salt Palace. They can also follow ORShowLive to keep up with OR-specific event announcements that will help them make the most of their time at the show.

The ORWinter conversation will continue throughout the show as attendees Tweet about the new products they’re seeing, the people they’re meeting and the industry events they’re enjoying. Outdoor Retailer sponsor Channel Signal will display these conversations, too, on four 50-inch screens strategically placed around the show.

They’ll toggle between the ORWinter Twitter feed and the top five mentioned exhibiting OR brands. Look for them while you’re there. It will be convincing visual evidence of how social media permeates even the outdoor industry and a reflection of how fast the conversation can shift, especially when there are thousands of people participating.

Next to the monitors will be a directory of 200 exhibitors on Twitter.

If you’re interested in attending the show, January 21-24, please register at outdoorretailer.com. See you there!

Our "Best Of Utah" Route

I was skeptical moving away from my California paradise to the arid and hot and cold Utah desert. But this red rock, Wasatch state has proven itself in the year that I have lived here. This past weekend Utah re-wowed me as I spent three days taking my parents up and down Eastern Utah for their first visit. You could call it a “best of trip,” starting with mole at Salt Lake’s Red Iguana (killer Mexican food, really). The folks had fun with the Utah altitude hiking up to the Timpanogos Caves, driving through Castle County to Arches National Park, seeing Delicate Arch that graces the Utah license plate, riding the chair lift at Sundance and poking around art galleries in Park City.

And there are several bests we didn’t have time to do, like float down the Provo River, make our way through slot canyons, eat Navajo Tacos, snow skiing or sleep under the stars.

So, I’m living proof that you can drive nearly 600 miles in one weekend with your parents and finish the trip happy…as long as you have a group of adventurous spirits and an amazing state like Utah to tour.

I pledge to reduce my greenhouse gas emissions by 450 pounds during May, which many U.S. cities, including Salt Lake City, recognize as Bike Month.

I have the farthest commute of all the SOAR team members (about 30 miles), so I’m not going to attempt to commute the entire way by bike. But I will take the bus two to three times per week, and stop asking my husband to drop me off and pick me up from my home bus stop (I learned at the Bicycle Leadership Conference that 40 percent of trips in the U.S. are just two miles and are the most polluting). If I do this during the month of May, UtahCommuter.com tells me that I can reduce my vehicle trips by 450 to 680 miles and my greenhouse gas emission by 380 to 575 pounds.

Me prepping for the Momentum bike fashion show at Interbike

I first started using mass transit because it was cheaper than buying snow tires for my 1988 California-raised Volvo. Even though the threat of snow is gone (let’s hope), I still try to commute by bus twice a week. The entire commute from point to point takes about 30-40 minutes longer than it would if I drove by myself, but I think it is worth the extra time spent. One-way bus fare cheaper than a gallon of gas and the time I have on the bus to read Newsweek and study Portuguese is priceless. Plus, I get home to my husband in a much better mood not having fought traffic for 45 minutes.

I’ll also reduce my green house gas emissions by biking around town more. I’ve been assessing every road I drive on for its bikeability and often think, “I could totally bike this. Why am I even driving a car?” I see bike trips to the gelaterie are in my not-so distant future.

You can learn how many pounds of carbon emissions your commute reduces by registering at UtahCommuter. com (hint: if you only commute by a car alone, your commute reduces NONE! Think about it.)

We all have our interests in life. A few around the office include cycling, baseball, volleyball, golf and fishing, and we’ve talked a lot about doing these activities together to experience something a little different and to get to know each other a bit better.

Well, last week we took an opportunity to participate in an activity together by taking the afternoon to play mini-golf and hit a bucket of golf balls at a local facility called, appropriately, Mulligans.

Here are some captions of the event:

The Team at Mulligans

FORE!

Can’t Quite Get Away

Scoping out the lay of the land

One too many practice swings…enough already!

For the Win!

Past the Windmill…through the tunnel…off the rock…up the volcano…in the hole!

Needless to say, we had a great time together. While we did keep score, everyone, it turned out, won. We built team unity and relieved a bit of stress…for those of us who could get away.

We’re planning to do these types of events every couple of months. Who knows what the next one will be, but I’m sure it will be a great time to be had by all, as this one was.