TriSports.com Blog

Warehouse 4 – Buying Department 0.

Sometimes I use this column to give credit where credit is due.  This past weekend the TriSports.com Fun Squad reunited and put together a paintball extravaganza.  Once announced, I promptly called out the warehouse crew by telling them to meet on the battlefield.  I was not sure how they would respond, but all I have to say is that they showed up and in a big way.

After they donned their brand new one-of-a-kind t-shirts provided by yours truly, they responded by pummeling us – 4 games in a row.  The beating was so bad that we had to switch teams almost immediately.  I was defeated and had the bump on my head to prove it (thanks to getting hit squarely during the first game).

Paintball was one heck of a cross training session for most of us.  Today we have employees gimping around the shop sore as can be and with welts all over their body.  Brutal, but it sure beats a weekend on the couch.  I’m off to lube up with Doctor Hoy’s Pain Relief Gel before meeting up with the Mayor tonight (exciting news to come on that subject soon).

TriSports.com Warehouse Crew

Find Your Passion

What’s your passion?  For some, it might be quiet, seemingly endless trails.  For others, it may be a newly paved road, still closed to car traffic.  But for a few, they have found their passion in helping others by using their racing as a means to raise money for various charities.  One of those few is Clif Stargardt, longtime customer of TriSports.com and Deuces Wild participant. 

Clif embarked on his first race fundraising back 2005 in Coeur d’Alene.  A self-professed feeling of selfishness for the time spent so focused only on himself prompted him to sign up for the Janus Charity Challenge.  He chose to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital after doing some research online.  He was very moved by the images of the children fighting cancer and the fact that St. Jude will treat children regardless of their ability to pay.   Come race day, thoughts of quitting (which had surfaced in his past iron-distance races) never even entered his mind because he felt that he had an obligation to his donors.

Fast-forward 4 more years, and Clif decided that doing Ironman Arizona was a good idea, and raising funds for St. Jude again was a given.  This time, Clif raised a whopping $3400, qualifying him for an additional donation of $750 from Janus, so a grand total of $4150 went to St. Jude.  In a tough economy, Clif still found the energy and drive to ask people to donate money…and they did.  To quote Clif, “The kids of St. Jude are racing their own Ironman, only theirs is a fight for their lives.  Their struggle makes any suffering I’m going through on race day insignificant.”  So to Clif, and all of you out there whose passion for racing is fueled by a desire to help others, you are amazing!

Clif Stargardt finishing the 2009 Ironman Arizona

Welcome to Tucson UHC Pro Cycling!

Last December, we announced our sponsorship of the 2010 UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis (yes that is their official, really long name). This month we are excited to welcome the team to Tucson for their official training camp. These guys obviously know what they are doing, because not only did they select *THE BEST* place to train in the winter (Tucson), they also selected to stay in a location in Tucson that is very, very, very close to the shop. Brilliant if you ask me!

To celebrate their arrival, we are hosting a very special event on Monday, February 8th including a catered reception, rider introduction with Q&A and photographs. We are looking forward to hosting the who’s who of Tucson for this event – including the City of Tucson mayor! The mayor will be making an official announcement at our event regarding the City of Tucson. I’d highly recommend joining us if you are in the area. RSVP is required.

So welcome to Tucson UHC Cycling. We’re rolling out the red carpet, getting dressed up and having a party! Of course, you do have to get up and train the next morning

PS:  If you can’t make it to Tucson for our event, consider joining the team in Scottsdale for their offcial presentation and banquet!  We will be there, will you?

CW-X Insulator StabilyX Support Tights

The CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Support Tights provide optimum targeted support to the core and knees.  The patented Support Web bands together the muscles and ligaments of the lower leg to stabilize the knee and reduce vibration for increased efficiency during activites with lateral motion.  Add to the Support Web variable compression and you minimize lactic acid build-up by increasing circulation which will allow you to be active longer and recover faster.

Working out in cold weather has many challenges, but with the added DiAPLEX wind proof, water repellant front panel of the CW-X Insulator Stabilyx Support Tights, you will be able to push harder and go further without the nagging cold and wet weather biting at your heels.  Add a pair of Newton’s Motion All Weather shoes and you are good to go – no matter what mother nature is throwing at you!

CW-X Insulator StabilyX Support Tights is gear that gets used!

Supporting Kids in Triathlon

We have a hard time saying “no” to anything a kid requests from us, as long as it is within reason.  Kids are the future of this sport and, as we all know, the incidence of childhood obesity is increasing at an alarming rate as kids sit on computers, play games and watch mindless TV.  The fact that there are kids out there who are embracing triathlon is promising, and we want to support that. 

Christian's group getting ready to start

There is a 5th grade teacher in New Jersey named Christian who has been a customer of ours since way back in the early days.  He came to me with the request of some small items for his students because he had started a running club, as well as organizing a small triathlon for any of the kids who wanted to give a tri a try.  He explained that the kids got excited about the smallest things, even his empty PowerBar boxes!  Since we usually have a large box filled with samples and promo items we have received, I went through that and sent him a bunch of goodies.  This has since become a tradition, and we have also started sending him our unused race numbers, finisher medals and awards from the Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival so that he can continue to offer these great activities at little or no cost.  Christian’s drive and desire to get kids involved in a healthy lifestyle is heroic in my eyes as he is setting them up to be healthy, goal-oriented individuals for the rest of their lives.

Alex the demolition man

One of the biggest compliments we get from people when they are in our retail store is the register counters. They are quite impressive – over 60 feet of custom concrete counter tops. After being in the space for three years, we learned that they are great for serving food but take up a bit too much space in our retail floor.  Along with the rest of our retail remodel, these counters got a nice visit from a man named Alex – Alex the Demolition Man.  It is sad to see them go, but the steel and drywall are being recycled and the actual counter top is going to be reused in a separate phase of construction. 

Alex the Demo Man

Louis Garneau Diamond Road Helmet

The Louis Garneau Diamond Road Helmet is a bold breakthrough in road helmet design.  The LG Diamond has an incredible 40 vents to help keep your head cool.  The most notable of the 40 vents are the 8 Venturi Vents at the front of the helmet that allow for maxium ventilation. To keep your head safe during a crash, LG’s Super MSB (Monocoque Structural Base) technology was developed by Louis Garneau.  MSB is a ring shaped band of plastic that reinforces the helmets perimeter and wraps the head completely. Complimenting the MSB base are microplastic inserts that spread the shock of an impact to a larger surface to improve durability and protection in a crash. Finally, the composite reinforcement of a true skeleton further spreads out the shock of an impact.

The LG Diamond road helmet is very comfortable to wear and is fully adjustable by means of the Spiderlock Elite system that allows for one-handed rear fit adjustment. Additionally, the LG Diamond road helmet weighs in at only 285g!  This is also the helmet that Chrissie Wellington wore during her victorious Kona campaign in 2009.

The Louis Garneau Diamond Road Helmet is gear that gets used!

Building for the Community

A whole crew of our staff donned hard hats and tool belts and headed out to our sponsored house on January 9th to continue work on a home being built by Habitat for Humanity.  Back on September 11th, Nik and I went out to Building Freedom Day and began construction on this home.  Four months later and it looks like a house!  This time we had 6 other staff members and a friend along to help.  Our goal was to get the home ready for stucco, so out came the rolls of chicken wire and we got busy.  In the 6 hours we had to work on the house (which goes by SO fast when you are working hard), we got it completely wrapped, plus Betty, Alison and myself got all the cracks in the eaves caulked up.  Pretty good work!  It took a lot of cutting, hammering and snipping to get everything just right. 

Nik & Debbie hammering away | Betty working on the details

We love to be involved in our community, and Habitat for Humanity gives us an opportunity to truly make a difference in a local family’s life.  What is also great is that the family is required to put in a set number of hours working on their own home, so along with the pride of ownership, the get the pride of knowing that they helped to build their own home.  One of our foremen was telling us that the  Habitat houses are so well-built that the home inspectors here in Tucson say that if they were having a home built, they would want us volunteers out there building it.  I think most of that comes from the fact that we do it because we want to and we believe in the cause (and because we likely put in 5 nails for every one that a professional contractor would!).  So if you are looking for a way to help in your community, but don’t have a ton of extra time, consider getting in touch with your local Habitat for Humanity office and help build someone’s future.

The whole crew in front of our house (from left: Nik, Alison, Scott, Kim, Susan, Charlie, Betty, Sarah & me)

Bicycle Bar Tape Installation

As of this post, TriSports.com has made over 170 videos available on TriSports.com TV.  We have tons of product information, behind the scenes footage with our pro cycling team, and much more.  Arguably, the video with the best feedback from our customers from around the world is our Bicycle Bar Tape Insallation Video.  If you haven’t seen it, here it is – a must for every DIY cyclist.

TRIFEST 2010 – It’s coming…

Where will you be in March? I highly recommend a trip to Tucson. Why? TRIFEST 2010 of course. The TriSports.com Retail Store is now the official headquarters for TRIFEST 2010 where we have 3 weekends of events planned geared towards getting you ready for the racing season. The month’s festivities kick-off with a 2 day educational conference covering various topics to ensure you get your season started on the right foot. This year’s conference is free to the general public so you may attend only the seminars that you are interested in! If you are a USAT coach or a member of the ACSM, you have the option to pay a small fee and earn CEU’s at our conference. Each weekend our retail showroom will play host to our vendor showcase where our top vendors will have hands-on product demo’s and give-aways. But it isn’t all work and no play –we also have group rides and runs planned to make sure you experience the best of winter training in Tucson. Learn more on the TRIFEST 2010 website  as we will be updating information frequently!

See you in March!