Monday, September 25, 2017

My High 5 Products at Interbike 2017 -- Last One in Las Vegas

It was sad to see Interbike say adios to Las Vegas last week. There was a subdued vibe to the entire week, a quiet acknowledgement for the fate of the national bicycle trade show heading to Reno in 2018.

But Bicycle Stories enjoyed re-connecting with old bikey friends and seeing products. Las year Bicycle Stories inaugurated its Top 5 list of products that caught my eye and here is that list.

1. Athlos Sports custom bike gear. Dave Manchester took my friend Malanda Schmitz's artwork of my dog Pugsy and made it into a wonderful LVSportsBiz.com bike jersey.  Check out Athos at its website.



2. After a car crashed into me from behind in March, I have made it a priority to use a mirror when bicycling. I first used a mirror that I mounted on my sunglasses. Now I use a much bigger mirror that offers me a good look at what is behind me thank to a sample mirror given to me by Brett Flemming of Efficient Velo Tools of Portland, OR. I mounted Brett's mirror on my bike helmet with only two ties and it's part of my daily bike ride. Check Efficient Velo at its website here. There's Brett.


And there's the mirror attached to the helmet.



3. There are some good bike socks out there. My favorite socks come from Darn Tough of Vermont. Check out their socks at their website here. They make socks for all sports.


4. I snacked on protein bars made by RxBar. They're from Chicago and it's probably the healthiest food in that city. I met the RxBar reps at last Monday's Outdoor Demo and saw them again at the trade show. Check out the RxBars at their website here.


5. My final product of Las Vegas is the Scooterboard, an electric three-wheeled skateboard with a single-handed handle that looks like it would be a nice device to get around densely-populated areas to get to class, home, work or the store. It's a 22-pounder with top speed of 15.5 mph and has a range of 7.5 miles on a single charge. The charge takes about 2.5 hours. Its owner is Rose Wang, a go-getter with a can-do attitude. She impressed me with her tenacity and kickstarter skills. The kickstarter is live through Sept. 28. Good luck Rose. Check her product out at its website.

See you in Reno.

Good-bye Interbike Las Vegas. Last scene as I left Friday at 2 p.m.



















Thursday, September 21, 2017

Choose Athlos Sports for your Custom Bicycle Jerseys and Athletic Apparel

I first met Dave Manchester of Athlos Sports apparel a year ago at the Interbike media preview show and we immediately clicked.

Dave is a super customer-friendly guy who is great at working with customers to tailor make any bike jersey, cap or sports clothing you want.

Dave shepherded this cool LVSportsBiz.com Pugsy bicycle jersey through at Athlos and it's been the hit of the Interbike trade show in Las Vegas.


To check out the Athlos website, just click here for all the info you need.

I was so charged by seeing the LVSportsBiz.com Pugsy bike jersey Wednesday that I donned it for a morning ride today through Red Rock Canyon.



If you're at Interbike, swing by the Athlos exhibitor booth and Dave will be there to field your questions. He's a great guy and easy to work with.

Thank you Dave and Athlos.

The Art of the Pug -- Thank you Malanda

Some of you may recognize the gorgeous and talented Pugsy artwork on the cool, new LVSportsBiz.com Pugsy bicycle jersey unveiled yesterday.

I was so stoked to see Malanda Schmitz's artwork on a bicycle jersey that I donned the jersey for a bike ride through Red Rock Canyon this morning.

That's the work of my talented friend and artist, Malanda, who lives with her hockey-savvy husband Karl in Safety Harbor, Fla. and who has a downtown St. Petersburg art studio.

When I say Malanda is gifted, I literally mean it because this generous woman gave me a gift I will treasure forever -- a beautiful and expressive portrait of Pugsy.


Don't take my word about Malanda's immense artistic talent and giving spirit -- look for yourself. Check her beautiful artwork on her website.

I strongly recommend Malanda for your dog portraits or any wildlife and outdoors paintings. See her beautiful work on Facebook: Malanda Art of Life

And thank you Dave Manchester of Athlos Sports for putting together Malanda's great artwork into a bike jersey I will cherish forever. More on Dave and Athlos in a different post.