Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Cap Tex Tri, Rain Rain Go Away!

Memorial weekend is a time we celebrate our freedom and the cost of it. We celebrate our military personel, those currently serving and those who have given their lives to secure our freedoms.

In Austin, Memorial Day brings memories of the terrible flood in 1981 which killed 13 people and caused $36 million in damage.

This year fears of a repeat came when forecasters announced that they expected 100% chance of rain and thunderstorms from a very slow moving system on Saturday, 90% on Sunday and 90% on Monday. The already saturated soil was expected to add to the misery. Regardless, droves of athletes (apprx. 2,500) came to participate in the 2007 Capitol of Texas Triathlon.

We were planning on setting up at the expo on Saturday at noon. I got up early to do my morning ride but the forecast was not looking good. Lots of scattered showers all around. I decided to forego the ride and save my energy for setting up. Jack and Adam's Bicycle Sports was also going to have an event that day. Desiree Ficker who happens to be an Austinite was going to do a signing at the shop. I was invited by Jack to set up there. After saving a spot at J&A I was off to set up at the expo with Marcin. The expo was really small for the amount of people who were expected to be there, maybe 20 in all.

We were fortunate enough that all the scattered showers danced around us and not on us. The signing went off without a hitch and we set Desiree up with some of our dimpled water bottles and chip straps. She loves them!

Sunday came and the expo opened. We were slammed from the start. I think we broke our sales record from last year of 20 bags. Down the street, Marcin monitored the Bikini Bike Wash. I'm not sure if it was the weather or not, but even though the event got local news coverage we did not raise as much money as we had hoped. It did rain a bit in the last couple of hours before the close of the expo, but it wasn't bad. It was however just a small taste of what was to come.

Monday morning. Up at 4:30am. Set up a tent at one of our water stops. Marcin met me down at the Start/Finish line to set up our other tent and put up our banners around 5:40am. It began to rain. After about 10 minutes it began to pour. It didn't let up either. We put up banners, hardly able to see what we were doing. People were getting body marked and huddling under the various tents available. The large pvc framework of the start/finish line came crashing down right next to me as I was hanging the last banner. Hmm. That was a close one!
Then I got a text message at about 6:40am that the swim had been cancelled and that they would make a decision about the race starting at all at around 7:30. Marcin and I were due at 6:50am to present the Governor of Texas and the Mayor of Austin with custome wetsuits we had made for them. I searched all around for them but could not find. Is it any surprise? The time of our great publicity event came and went. At 6:55am, a sound from my phone. It's another text message. Cap Tex Tri has been cancelled. A mass exodus ensues. Is everyone's head down to shield their eyes from the rain, or would they all have their heads down anyway? An enormous amount of preparation has just been flushed away. Sad day, Memorial Day.
Custom wetsuits for Mayor Will Wynn and Texas Governor Rick Perry.


City of Austin Seal

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Bikini Bike Wash!

Austin, Texas, May 16th, 2007 – In an effort to raise awareness of bicycle safety in Austin, Rocket Science Sports and other Austin based businesses will be sponsoring the Bikini Bike Wash. “Rocket Science Sports is an Austin based company, this is were we got our start and we are very close to the athletic community here,” explained CEO Marcin Sochacki. “We love getting involved with activities that can also help out the cycling community, it is going to be a fun event”.
Created for Austin area bicyclists, the bike wash will be benefiting the Be Kind to Cyclists program www.bekindtocyclists.com on Sunday, May 27th from 11am to 5pm at Austin TriCyclist located at 923 Barton Springs Rd.
Not only will you be able to get your bike washed by bikini sportswear models but there will be products raffled off by Rocket Science Sports, Blackwell Research, and Road ID. In addition, Pure Austin Fitness is giving away a year membership, valued at nearly $1,000 and local restaurants are donating gift certificates as well.
The event is taking place to support the Be Kind to Cyclists Cause, and coincides with the Capital of Texas Triathlon on Monday, May 28th.

When: Sunday, May 27th from 11am to 5pm

Where: Austin TriCyclist 923 Barton Springs Rd. Austin, Texas 78704

Why: Capital of Texas Triathlon is on Monday, May 28th. Get your bike clean for the event and support the Be Kind to Cyclists cause.

Bonus: you don’t have to compete in the triathlon to have your bike washed!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Wildflower Triathlon

This year was my first time at the Wildflower Triathlon in California. What an event! It's the largest triathlon in the United States with 8,000 competitors and a total of 20,000 people camping out at a venue which is 40 miles from civilization. This means a captive audience for all the vendors promoting their products at this 3 day festival. Just take a look at the transition area! Have you ever seen anything like it?

This is our booth after we had to put away our wetsuits. Someone got skeered and made us stop showing them. Oh well, we sold lots of bags!

This is our new hire, LaFonda. She didn't talk much. She probably didn't have much energy because we never fed her. How horrible are we! Funny thing is that each time we passed a border patrol check point we got some strange looks from the officers. I'm surprised we were never pulled over for closer inspection.

Gophers were everywhere out there. It would have been wise to wear ankle braces for all the holes we stepped in. This is a visitor we had right in front of our booth. He was not shy at all and allowed a few people to have their picture taken with him before he decided there was too much going on. It was nice that he plugged up the hole he made before he left. He was friendlier than Chucky Cheese, and no children ran screaming in the opposite direction.