Tired in Montreal...

Montreal has been awesome! The response to the bikes has been incredible. Norco didn't bring in much of the line to Canada last year and is REALLY increasing the commitment this year. The retailers here seemed to be very excited about the brand- liking the models and the colors. It's a great way to get ready for Interbike in a few weeks. It is always great to see the familiar faces of the industry as well as the face of retailers that I remember meeting and speaking to before. Hearing from retailers here who brought in bikes and then had great luck selling them is a fantastic treat for me- it sure goes a long way towards validating the very hard work we do in creating the bikes and rebuilding the brand.

The weather has not been all that great, so I haven't been riding yet. Hopefully tomorrow morning I can get out for a ride along the river. Montreal is such a beautiful city and I always enjoy getting to see it from my saddle. I would post some pictures here, but the hotel wifi is unbelievably slow and unreliable- as it has been since my first stay here 3 years ago. It's a great hotel otherwise- but the wifi signal is always very unreliable.

The downside to the Montreal experience, aside from losing my cell phone in a taxi on the first night, is that my body is really beat to hell by all the walking and standing in the booth. My right leg is extremely sore, as is my back and my neck. I feel like I've been run over by a cement truck... which has me pretty worried about Vegas and Interbike. I may be crippled by the time the show is over in a few weeks. I love what I do for a living... but right now it's taking a heavy toll on me. That said, I do feel as inspired and invigorated as ever! The feedback and support for the bikes and the various things we've been doing has been amazing and I am super happy about where things look to be heading. Success is an intoxicating thing!

Ok, I'm falling apart sitting here in the lobby of the hotel using the better wifi signal, but I'm caling it quits and heading to bed. Pictures will be downloaded and shared... promise.

Tim

A little more from Vancouver.

More from Vancouver...

The first night in Vancouver- technically the hotel was in Coquitlam- from my hotel window. The picture does it no justice.


MTB/ Adult Brand Manager, Jill Hamilton, presenting to the Norco sales armada.

My brother-in-arms at Norco, Paul Burnett; Paul is the poor stiff who gets to deal with me at Norco and who got to drag me all over the place.


This is the Gastown area of downtown Vancouver- love the brick street and the funky wedge builing; just to the left of the picture is the really cool restaurant where I had beers and snacks with Amy, Tania and Mia from Momentum Magazine.

From the outside looking in- looking into downtown from the water's edge.


Vancouver's famous Steam Clock in Gastown. It mights been a better picture if wasn't raining on my lens at the time...


I laughed so hard I nearly peed when I saw this sign in a very nice Vancouver neighborhood. Even Canadian grffiti is better than ours!

Ok... more later... again.

Tim

Heading home...

Packing up the bike into the case and heading down to check out of the hotel. It's been a great trip and I'll have pictures and stories to post soon. I arrive in San Diego close to midnight, so don't expect a post until some time tomorrow.

Thanks to all the kind folks at Norco and the ladies (Amy, Mia, Tania) of Momentum Magazine (and their CIC). I look forward to getting back up to Vancouver sooner, rather than later. Thanks too, to all the retailers who gave us their time during our visits in their shops. I sincerely appreciate the support of the Masi brand and the great feedback.

Ok, gotta finish packing- bye!

Tim

Howdy from Vancouver!

Made it to Vancouver without any problems. My legs held up fine to the flight- thanks in part to the compression tights from Skins. I actually had more difficulty with my right foot feeling restless and somewhat sore. I don't have a good explanation for it, but I'm sure it's related to the injury, etc.

The sales meeting went well yesterday and my presentation of the Masi line went fine also. The Norco sales force is now Masif-fied and re-indoctrinated. We all held hands and sang campfire songs afterwards... well, maybe not... but we coulda. My brand counterparts Jill Hamilton (MTB) and Tony D (BMX) both presented before I did and then had to bolt out the door for their flights home. I stayed (obviously) and had an excellent meal with a few of the Norco folks.

Today is the day to go visit retailers. My Masi/ Haro product manager for Norco, Paul Burnett, and I will be riding bikes through the city to visit 4-6 retailers today. I SOOOOO wish I could do that all the time for dealer visits. Later, when we're done, I'll be joinging up with Mia Kohout and the posse from Momentum Magazine.

Ok, I gotta run. Time to get ready to leave for my Vancouver bike adventures! I promise I'll get some pictures and maybe even some video.

Tim

Getting back to the routine...

Last week's sales meeting was great- the overall energy was higher than I have felt in the past few years. Haro MTB, Haro BMX, Premium Products and Masi all seemed to be received well by the sales reps and the consensus is that things are looking good for the next group of products coming out this Fall.

Something romantic to set the mood...


MTB Brand Manager, Jill Hamilton, along with her partner in crime, MTB Product Manager- Pat Crosby.


Eastern Regional Sales Manager, James Ayres, looking terribly brilliant as always.


BMX Brand Manager Tony D, looking spiffy as always... probably mouthing the words "get that thing outta my face"...


THE Boss- Joe Hawk- opening the Sales Meeting first night. (Note the Corona in the background...)


The parent company- Haro Bikes. This year is the 30th anniversary of Haro- that's pretty damned cool.

Ok- more pics and tales to follow.

Two days in to this week and it's already a doozy. Lots of follow-up projects after the meeting and in preparation for Interbike. I'll be in Vancouver, BC in mid August to help with the Norco sales meeting as they plan their distribution of Har and Masi up in Canada. I'll be in the city for a couple days, so let me know if you're in the area for a possible drink/ coffee somewhere.

Alright... I'm calling it quits for tonight. More regular posting to follow now... I promise.

Tim

Her maiden voyage...

Today, the Masidaughter was feeling much better. Her fever has been gone since about Saturday afternoon and all that time confined to being indoors with Daddy was too much for her (and Daddy), so we headed out the door and got her a new helmet and gloves from my good friends at Adams Avenue. Once home, I finally got Kate's new Adams Trail-A-Bike built and ready to ride! My good friends (and distributor of Masi in Canada) at Norco helped me acquire the new bike for my li'l punkin'.

She was happy!

And so was Daddy.

She liked going fast once she got used to the feeling of riding without training wheels... though some might state that I should still have training wheels... but those people should hush...

We rode around the neighborhood for just about an hour to help her get used to the feeling of riding with me. It is my hope that this will serve as an introduction to the sense of balance of riding on two (three, actually) wheels. Then she'll have an easier time riding her own bike without training wheels and she'll have the added benefit of having the understanding of riding among cars and won't have that as a fear... I hope.

Regardless, it was fun and it made my heart beat a little faster... and not just from the added workout of lugging her weight and the trail-a-bike weight around. My son had one when he was much younger too, so it was trip down happy memory lane.

Ride on!

Tim