Taichung- I'm still here...

Sorry for the gap in posting. The jet lag hit me pretty hard yesterday, along with a substantial hangover- Sunday night we "celebrated" the birthday of Pete Demos... so I was a lot slower moving on Monday.

The birthday boy.

The Hangover Maker.

It was a great time, even with the dramatic slow down the next day.

The past two days have been full of time in the factory, as well as more visits to vendors. Some new and some that I met back in January.

Special CX bikes moving down the line! Looks like about a 56 or 58cm... so get your order in!

I have spent time in three different decal factories the past tow days. Two of the vendors I already work with and one is a potential new vendor. The companies range from giant sized companies with operating room, ultra-modern facilities to a more "humble" one. But, the amazing work coming from each of the three is breathtaking... literally at times- the smell of the chemicals will make you a little lightheaded... which was painful yesterday. In one maker, I saw the decals being made for Trek, Specialized and Pinarello- among many, many others. In another I saw a lot of Giant decals being made along with another super high-end Italian brand (no need to mention the name and cause more "real" versus "fake" debates here). And a few hours ago I saw more Trek and Specialized decals, along with some really cool Euro brands I saw in Germany a few months ago. Let's just say, I'm in good company with the brands I share decal vendors with.

I've also met with a really great frame vendor with tons of potential for the brand and a few parts vendors. Great visits all around. It's fun to see the people who you work with and give them a catalog so they can see what you do with their parts. And, I can tell you, the SoulVille and the other steel bikes in the line are as popular in Taiwan as they are in the US.

For all you old school retro grouches, like me, you might be interested to know that I have a meeting with SunTour tomorrow... which is cool. Great brand with great history- kinda feels familiar.

Ok, time to run for now so I can go get some dinner before the jetlag kicks in again and I fall over.

Tim

More Taichung photos.

3VC Ultegra frames getting ready for decals after being painted.

Alare forks getting ready to get painted and then heading to decal.

A sea of Speciale Fixed frames... in both colors! (YEAH!) How about some steel forks to go with those frames?

Beautiful Vincere frames waiting for building- that Ruby Red paint is something you have to see in person. And a stack of the forks as well.

Makes a Brand Manager's heart get all fluttery...

Ok, time to run off to the factory and off to see some more vendors.

My last full day here, today. Tomorrow is a travel day to Tokyo. More from there... I promise.

Tim

Taichung at night

From my window...

Tim

Zoot shoes...

Before I fall asleep and forget (again)... I have to rave a moment about some awesome new shoes I was lucky enough to get:

At Interbike this year, my booth was across the aisle from fellow Vista residents and bike industry brothers/ sisters Zoot Sports. Brandt Furgerson, Director of Product, and I paid each other some mutual compliments during the show- they have an awesome line of tri products and they really liked my bikes. Zoot just recently unveiled a new line of high performance lightweight running shoes designed specifically for the tri market... and Brandt was kind enough to give me a pair before I left for Taiwan.

Keep in mind, I do not run and will never do a triathlon because of that. However, I have weird feet- long and super narrow and I over pronate big time. But, because of the weird feet, I have all kinds of problems with my feet and knees. Running shoes tend to be a bit more comfortable for me, due to the extra support and stability. I will never put the shoes through their proper paces, but I will wear them with a smile!

Yes, that's Taichung out the window.

The speedlace system is really convenient- especially when having to pull your shoes off to get through security at the airports.

The holes in the sole, near the toes, are drain holes for competing in triathlons- perfect for when you are drenched in sweat or dumping water over your head to cool off.

The interior is totally seamless too, so they are mega comfy without socks... even though I opted to wear socks. And, seeing as how I'm a bike nerd, the soles even have a little carbon fiber insert in them... so that's cool.

If you are in the market for a new pair of running/ triathlon shoes, I highly, highly recommend that you consider the Zoot Ultra Comfort+ shoes. If my unhappy, bony feet like them, then I am sure your more normal feet will too.

Tim
(PS- Thanks again Brandt!)

More Taichung...

Spent the afternoon walking around Taichung taking in the sights (and curious smells) with Pat Crosby (Haro MTB Product Mgr) and Pete Demos (Creative Director). They've been here since last week and leave on Tuesday, so we spent the day walking around and then getting some lunch and a couple beers... totally work related.

The weather today is really very nice- warm and humid, but not hot and sticky. Rain is in the forecast though, so it could get a lot wetter around here.

Yesterday was also Pete's birthday, so we're doing a little celebrating tonight. Happy b-day "sticker boy"!

The jet lag is kicking my butt now, especially after not sleeping well again, so I am going to lie down and take a little nap.

Tim

Made it!

Sitting here in my room in Taichung, Taiwan, at the Howard Prince Hotel again. Same hotel I stayed in back in January and it is our usual Taichung hangout. But this time, due to heavy bookings at the hotel, I got a little bit of an upgraded room...


It was a little grey when I first got up this morning, but it got pretty nice after breakfast.


Taiwan is still such an amazing place to me. Since this is only my third trip over here, the novelty hasn't worn off yet- though the flying part certainly has. The city of Taichung, as well as what I saw of Taipei, is such a series of contradictions. The cities are a little smelly and dirty and crammed with teeming life, but then you turn a corner and walk into a beautiful garden or a small rice field. It's such a weird "balance" of new, old, modern, ancient, ugly, pretty... it takes getting used to. That said, as I have said before, the Taiwanese people are simply amazing. The warmth and kindness of so many of the people is just awesome. One day, I'm bringing my bike with me and heading off to the mountains and down to the coast. I have been told it is some of the most beautiful scenery in the world- and I look forward to exploring it one day.

Time to get out and go for a walk and take some pictures. See what has changed around here since January. Already had breakfast at 6:30, since I couldn't sleep. It's Sunday morning here now (9:00AM), so I think I might go get some tea and take in the sights, sounds and smells of the city.

I'll be back with more soon.

Tim

I'm huge in Japan (and in Taiwan)...

Tomorrow morning starts the marathon of flights to Taiwan and then a few days later to Japan. I wanted to be all set to do some podcasting while on this trip, but that hasn't happened. Maybe during my "off" day on Sunday I'll figure out the podcast host issue and give it a try. The only problem is that the quality of the internet connections in Taiwan is usually pretty spotty, so even if I get it all figured out technically... there's no promise I can get it to work. But I'm gonna try. Maybe, if nothing else, I'll still record some audio and load it later when I return- we'll see. I'll do my best to do some good ole regular blogging too. More pictures and commentary, as best I can.

So to all my friends and readers, I'll pop back up a little later!

Tim
(And don't forget the contest...)

NEW Masiguy Contest!

Ok, I've been meaning to do this for months now... so here goes;

San Diego, CA- November 7th, 2007- Tim Jackson of Masiguy pseudo-fame, announced a new promotional contest for the month of November. Now until the end of November, readers of the Masiguy blog can attempt to guess the number of SockGuy manufactured socks in Mr. Jackson's sock drawer. When asked, Mr. Jackson stated, "it's a lot of socks, but SockGuy makes so many wonderful designs and they are such good guys, I just can't stop myself from acquiring more and more of them." Readers must correctly guess the number of pairs of socks in Masiguy's drawer before the end of November. If nobody guesses correctly, the reader who guesss the closest to the actual number wins. The winner, or winners in case of a tie, will receive a gift pack of socks from SockGuy and a Kryptonite lock (if Mr. Jackson can find the box of locks that used to sit under his old desk, courtesy of his good friend, the Kryptonite Marketing Goddess- Donna Tocci). All entries must be posted in the comment section of the Masiguy blog (this post) before December 1st. One entry per contestant. No refunds. No exchanges. Some readers may experience dizziness or mild upset stomach. Side effects may include slight gassiness, shortness of breath, mild warm fuzzies and in rare cases the belief that something intelligent was written.

So, yeah, there is new contest. Winner gets "some socks and a lock". Pretty freakin' cool if you ask me. Winner gets a nice little assortment of cool socks from SockGuy, including a pair of Masi socks- of course- and a nice new lock from Kryptonite.

To assist you in your guessing, I have a couple pictures for you;

These are just the SockGuy socks I have. Hint- at the time of this photo, I'd just finished my laundry and was wearing a pair of SockGuy socks, so add one pair to your guess.

Here are the non-SockGuy socks- roughly 1/3 the number of SockGuy socks.

Seriously, I love all my socks. Many of the socks I have were given to me as gifts. Though the SockGuy socks are my favorite socks for fit and comfort, I love the other socks too and I am grateful for each pair... but this is a contest to guess the SockGuy socks! The folks at SockGuy have been very kind to me over the years and they are buddies of mine, so I wanted to throw them some more love... as if all those Daily Drive posts weren't enough. My good friend Donna Tocci, from Kryptonite, has also been very good to me over the years and was kind enough to send me some locks a while back (and now I have to find them, after the office move of the past couple weeks). Since I have good friends, YOU get the chance to benefit from those friendships.

Good luck!

Tim

All I can say...

All I can say is... wow!

Went up to Shimano's HQ today for the yearly new product meeting. As always, I can't say anything about what I saw and I always respect that request and won't broke those rules now. BUT... cool stuff is coming.

Other than that, my good friend at Shimano- Daniel Limburg- took us out on a really fun MTB ride at Aliso Woods. Yes... I rode an MTB... one with 26" wheels too. Won't say what brand, though it wasn't a Haro, but I sure did have fun. It's been at least two years since I've ridden a geared mountain bike and an even longer time since I've ridden trails that were as demanding as these were (for me). The XT group was awesome... not that I have any idea of how anything else works. My only complaint was that the demo bike I was on was possibly a little small, though an XL sized bike, so I could not keep the front end on the ground. Even on the slightest rise, the front end wanted to lift off the ground. That said, I didn't crash once and I cleared everything without getting off and walking- which is pretty amazing for me. The trails and the scenery were both awesome. For as poor a mountain bike rider as I am, I really do enjoy riding in the dirt and I really had a good time stepping outside of my usual comfort zone. Daniel, myself, Jill Hamilton and Wayne Doran rode the trails and tested some new stuff... and I really had a blast.

Thanks to Shimano for the usual great hospitality... even if there wasn't any sushi involved.

Tim

Bringing back sexy...

Oh yes we are!


Tim