Interbike!

Hello from Las Vegas! I'm here at Interbike schmoozing with industry folks and eyeballing the latest and greatest of what's coming out in 2009. It's been a blast!

We got in Tuesday late afternoon after a bumpy flight and went straight to eat and sleep. No Outdoor Demo days for us. Wednesday and Thursday we went to the show, Friday fly back. We're stopping in Flagstaff because we have the mountain bikes with us and it's too hot to go straight to Tucson right now.

The show is unbelievable. For the manufacturers and distributors this is their chance to show off the '09 product line. For the retailers, it's the chance to see what they'd want to carry in their shops and get ready for their preseason orders. For the rest of us schmoes it's a way to hob knob and network.

Actually, Interbike is a great opportunity to meet those sponsors who've helped out Grasky Endurance and give them a handshake of thanks, and to talk to other potential sponsors and partners.

So how'd it go? I'll have to tell you later. Exciting stuff indeed, but nothing's finalized yet. Sorry to keep you hanging.

Highlights of the show...

Bikes:
- Scott's Plasma 2 is my pick for the hottest bike at the show. Very stiff, very aero, very beautiful. The Cervelo P4 was the hype, but it looked flimsy and goofy to me.
- For Mtn bikes, Scott takes it again with the Spark. Velo Vie has a cool MTB carbon hardtail in the works, and Litespeed is always a good bike.
- For custom, go Rue Bikes. Beautiful carbon work, beautiful paint, sick light.
- Didn't see Cannondale there. Bummer.

Components:
- SRAM is about the same, Shimano is coming out with a carbon version of Dura-Ace that look nice. I still like the SRAM better. more comfy. I didn't check out Campy. Sorry.

Wheels:
- Zipp has some pretty cool innovations out for '09 like adjustable bearing pre-load, stronger hubs, and color options. It's a very nice wheel for '09.
- Reynolds took the already-lightest wheelset and made it even lighter. Their DV46 is in the realm of sick-light now, at just above 1000gm for the set (yes, for a 46mm rim). Their 32mm rim wheelset is under 1000gm! (Check out the media section of Reynolds' website!)

Nutrition:
- Hammer has a great new flavor in their HEED and Recoverite...Subtle Berry. MMmmmmm!

Stuff:
- Zoot has training shoes now!! The are introducing the industry's best compression gear, and their cycling gear is going to be top-notch. I was highly impressed with Zoot's '09 line!
- Genuine Innovations is always the leader in CO2 inflation!
- ESI Grips is coming out with white and pink colors for '09!
- DuMond Tech has a new "Green" chain lube and grease that's biodegradable and environmentally friendly! Look for this at the '09 GEC Training Camps!

One of the coolest parts was the racing. Wednesday night was a huge cyclocross race. Man, that's exciting to watch. All the names were there, including LANCE ARMSTRONG! He had a rough starting position (you don't get points when you're retired) but moved up well. He finished about 14th or so. Still very exciting to see. Then on Thursday night was the USA Crit Finals. Owwie. Huge pros, everyone there, and tight corners means rough crashes. (Did you know you can smell burning flesh after a crash at 35mph on pavement?) And holy cow to those guys move! I even got Jill to stay up past 9pm for this one!

Oh, but if you want to attend an almost equally exciting show (and one for consumers) check out TRIFEST. TRIFEST will be in Tucson in March and will have all the elements of Interbike's trade show but directed toward consumers, but will have speaker sessions--including top pros, coaches and industry folk--for 2 solid days, training camps, and a bike ride up Mt Lemmon with over 100 riders including big-name pros.

Until next time, rubber side down.

Shift Up!
Brian

Collegiate Triathlon

The kick off of the school year here in Tucson means the University of Arizona TriCats are getting revved up and going again. This will be my third season as their head coach, a job I look forward to each year. It’s not without its challenges, but I thoroughly enjoy watching the students grow in triathlon and in life, through the challenges that triathlon brings.

I learned a lot about managing a team of 65 my first season. Sometimes it was herding cats, but all in all it was good. Coaching a team was new to me, but as long as the 65 stayed 65 I was fine. The second season started at 100 TriCats. Wow. Now this year it looks like 120 or so. This is good growth—and we’re all growing in our ability and relationships.

The leadership this year is good and motivated. They have some great ideas and look to be working to make them happen. I’m excited to be working with them.

The highlights from last year were the weekend training camps and the USAT Collegiate National championships. The camps were a blast, and a good way for the athletes to learn more about triathlon—and themselves—in such a short period of time than they had all season up to that point. We culminated the fall training camp with a mock race and the spring camp with a real race—the Desert Classic Duathlon. We’re planning similar camps this year.

Nationals were a great time and we performed well. From Kathy placing (read about her on my site) and Alex doing very well, to the other members of the team who all either PR’d big or overcame huge obstacles to finish, I was extremely proud of the team.

We’re also looking into a winter break camp for the collegiate teams in our region. This will be a great opportunity for those schools under snow in January to come to the perfect triathlon playground of Tucson for some winter cycling, running, and swimming.

I’m looking forward to some great performances out of the Arizona TriCats this year. Keep up with them throughout their season here.