Alright, I know I've been a bit quiet, but it's only the calm before the storm.
As I type, Marcin is hard at work overseas developing some really cool stuff. All I can say is it has to do with our Rocket Race Suit, Rocket Bottles, Rocket Bag, and a version of our Rocket Wetsuit. Yes, I said "version". Do I have your attention? Gee, I wish I could elaborate!
So, along with that Marcin is scouting out and setting in place backup factories just in case of, well, just in case. I think it's prudent for us to have a backup plan, don't you?
More news to come soon, hopefully about some sponsorships, a super secret product which will turn the industry on it's ear, and maybe even world peace! Okay, maybe not world peace, but I can dream, right?
Until then here is a list of events we are going to attend this year...
Boulder Peak Triathlon 7/22/2007
Chicago Triathlon 8/24/2026
Austin Triathlon 9/3/2007
LA Triathlon 9/9/2007
Malibu Triathlon 9/16/2007 tentative
Redman Triathlon 9/22/2007
Interbike 9/26/2007
US Open Tri Championship Dallas 10/14/2007 tentative
TriOneOOne Championship Houston 11/11/2007 tentative
Bermuda Triathlon 11/18/2007
Cheers!
Friday, July 6, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
AT&T Austin Downtown Crit
This past weekend we had one of my favorite local events take place. The AT&T Austin Downtown Criterium unfolded on Saturday, June 16th with many pro's from around the country flying in to race our bumpy downtown streets.
Among those were some of my buds from Abercrombie & Fitch who I was able to attend a training camp with in the spring of '06. Mark Hekman who is leading in the US Crit Series points was joined by Rich Harper who was looking sleeker than ever after losing his fro. Brandon Gavic who is new to the team was also there proving his worth as he worked plenty to help Hekman retain his lead in the points, even after crashing on the 2nd lap of the race.
Hekman recognized as series leader
Rich Harper and Mark Hekman strike a pose with local fans
I set up a booth at this race to see exactly how our "triathlete designed" bags would be received by the genuinely "roadie" crowd. I'm happy to say that we scored big! Really, I didn't have any doubt but Marcin, as humble as he is, was not sure they would be so accepted. Not only were they accepted, I was asked by a very familiar pro team executive director to consider sponsoring his team with our bags and water bottles!
Jen McRae won the women's pro race. Her daughter Henna in matching kit is my son's officially unofficial girlfriend. She regularly beats my son Niko in the kid's race on Thursday nights. Niko didn't race the kids race downtown due to recovering from walking pneumonia. He was bummed of course, but I did get to take him around the course between races later in the day on his new bike that I got through my friend at Masi/Haro, Tim Jackson.
These wonderful pictures are by local photographer Rick Kent. Thank you Rick!
Cheers!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Danskin Dilemma
This past weekend Marcin and I were given the opportunity to show and sell our products through Austin's Bicycle Sport Shop at the Danskin Triathlon. Instead of the expo, we were set up next to their mechanics in the transition area in the 10x10 retail tent.
It wasn't long before the women started showing up in droves to rack their bikes. As they came in, we got a lot of attention simply because we had the only tents in the transition area and most of the women wanted to have a final check done on their bikes. Having not worked next to the mechanics in a transition area the day before the race prior to that day, I was surprised to find that most competitors were unprepared for the race. Many had no means of hydration either, not owning a water bottle or cage to put it in. Many others needed bar end plugs which BSS happily supplied.
Things quickly turned from us showing our product to helping out the ever growing line of women heading to the mechanics with simple things. Things like putting air back in their tires after someone at the expo was telling them all to let the air out "because the tires would pop from sitting in the sun"! What? You're kidding me, right? We race on fully inflated tires on pavement that is bubbling up from the heat, with the friction of the tires on that melting pavement making it even hotter, and someone thinks that tires pop while just sitting there in the transition area?
Let's clarify. TIRES DON'T POP FROM AIR EXPANDING IN THEM IN HOT WEATHER. If this were the case there would be warnings on all tubes, tires and bicycles warning of imminent danger in hot weather. A warning might look like this: WARNING: DO NOT RIDE IN HOT WEATHER. AIR EXPANSION IN TIRE MAY CAUSE INNER TUBE FAILURE LEADING TO LOSS OF CONTROL AND SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
Have you ever seen a warning like this in the bicycle industry? Can you imagine the flurry of lawsuits such a failure would cause if this were a problem?
So what does cause tires to pop? Several things. One of which is old, dry rotted tubes. I can tell you I pumped up my share of tires that day, and there were quite a few that had old tires and wheels covered in cob webs. Incorrectly installed tubes that are twisted or caught in the bead can also add to the issue. I know that of all the thousands of bikes there, some are going to pop, and unfortunatly, I'm guessing the heat is still going to be blamed, and we, the heroes of the pit are going to be blamed for telling them different.
They say women are good communicators, this I can attest is true. However when given bad information it can truly cause a lot of havoc. The guys from Austin's Bicycle Sport Shop really stepped up, gave the correct information and pumped tires till they were sunburned and blue in the face.
It wasn't long before the women started showing up in droves to rack their bikes. As they came in, we got a lot of attention simply because we had the only tents in the transition area and most of the women wanted to have a final check done on their bikes. Having not worked next to the mechanics in a transition area the day before the race prior to that day, I was surprised to find that most competitors were unprepared for the race. Many had no means of hydration either, not owning a water bottle or cage to put it in. Many others needed bar end plugs which BSS happily supplied.
Things quickly turned from us showing our product to helping out the ever growing line of women heading to the mechanics with simple things. Things like putting air back in their tires after someone at the expo was telling them all to let the air out "because the tires would pop from sitting in the sun"! What? You're kidding me, right? We race on fully inflated tires on pavement that is bubbling up from the heat, with the friction of the tires on that melting pavement making it even hotter, and someone thinks that tires pop while just sitting there in the transition area?
Let's clarify. TIRES DON'T POP FROM AIR EXPANDING IN THEM IN HOT WEATHER. If this were the case there would be warnings on all tubes, tires and bicycles warning of imminent danger in hot weather. A warning might look like this: WARNING: DO NOT RIDE IN HOT WEATHER. AIR EXPANSION IN TIRE MAY CAUSE INNER TUBE FAILURE LEADING TO LOSS OF CONTROL AND SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
Have you ever seen a warning like this in the bicycle industry? Can you imagine the flurry of lawsuits such a failure would cause if this were a problem?
So what does cause tires to pop? Several things. One of which is old, dry rotted tubes. I can tell you I pumped up my share of tires that day, and there were quite a few that had old tires and wheels covered in cob webs. Incorrectly installed tubes that are twisted or caught in the bead can also add to the issue. I know that of all the thousands of bikes there, some are going to pop, and unfortunatly, I'm guessing the heat is still going to be blamed, and we, the heroes of the pit are going to be blamed for telling them different.
They say women are good communicators, this I can attest is true. However when given bad information it can truly cause a lot of havoc. The guys from Austin's Bicycle Sport Shop really stepped up, gave the correct information and pumped tires till they were sunburned and blue in the face.
This is Chris Carter. He was suppose to be doing retail.
Instead he's pumping hundreds of tires and getting a
"pumper's high". This guy must have lost 10 pounds
of water and a bit of skin from his hands as well.
Here is Chris after the event. Rest in peace Chris, rest in peace.
So remember boys and girls, don't let air out of your tires. If you must, at least wait until the race is over. Save those who have donated their time for your support from unneaded pumpers high. Pumpers high can kill. Just ask Chris.
Cheers!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Shipping Woes
Do you use DHL for your business? I have, and had lots of trouble with mis-billing. Everyone I know that has used them have shared their own horror stories.
Since last November I've been fighting DHL about a shipment of 4 boxes sent, 4 boxes received. What's hard about that? They are charging me for 16 boxes! Our representative from where the boxes were shipped from may have mislabled as 4 boxes per shipping label (4 labels) but wouldn't DHL have a clued as to how many physical boxes they actually handled? Apparently not! Not only that, but they automatically upgraded the ground shipping to overnight because of the number of boxes listed on each shipping label. Huh? Yup! Four stinking boxes cost me over $800!!!
Every month I call to straighten this out. I have gotten it knocked down to about half price, only $436, but this shipment should have only cost about $100. Every month I call, get transferred a few times, explain the situation about 3 times and am told that I will be credited and to wait 2-3 weeks for verification of the credit. Does it ever come? NO!
The latest with RSS shipments through DHL from over seas is that they lost 72 of our top end wetsuits for 2 weeks. Not only that, but once they found them, they shipped them from Californial, to Waco Tx (a 1 1/2 hour drive from it's Austin destination), only to be flown to Ohio,
split up and half sent back to Austin and the other half sent to California again. I am happy to say that we have finally received all the packages. Most of them are not in very good condition however. The outer boxes were torn, and some of the inner boxes were flattened and scraped up. Lucky for us the merchandise was squishy wetsuits, not something that would break from all the extra mishandling.
Now we are having more special customer deliveries shipped from our warehouse screwed up by DHL. Where does it end? My guess is when we ship through another company.
What good does great prices do you if you end up spending all your time tracking and managing what the heck DHL is doing with your packages? Our time is worth money isn't it? I think I'd rather pay a little extra and not worry about it then continue with DHL. What do you say? Join me in a strike against DHL? Let's go!
Happy shipping! Cheers!
Since last November I've been fighting DHL about a shipment of 4 boxes sent, 4 boxes received. What's hard about that? They are charging me for 16 boxes! Our representative from where the boxes were shipped from may have mislabled as 4 boxes per shipping label (4 labels) but wouldn't DHL have a clued as to how many physical boxes they actually handled? Apparently not! Not only that, but they automatically upgraded the ground shipping to overnight because of the number of boxes listed on each shipping label. Huh? Yup! Four stinking boxes cost me over $800!!!
Every month I call to straighten this out. I have gotten it knocked down to about half price, only $436, but this shipment should have only cost about $100. Every month I call, get transferred a few times, explain the situation about 3 times and am told that I will be credited and to wait 2-3 weeks for verification of the credit. Does it ever come? NO!
The latest with RSS shipments through DHL from over seas is that they lost 72 of our top end wetsuits for 2 weeks. Not only that, but once they found them, they shipped them from Californial, to Waco Tx (a 1 1/2 hour drive from it's Austin destination), only to be flown to Ohio,
split up and half sent back to Austin and the other half sent to California again. I am happy to say that we have finally received all the packages. Most of them are not in very good condition however. The outer boxes were torn, and some of the inner boxes were flattened and scraped up. Lucky for us the merchandise was squishy wetsuits, not something that would break from all the extra mishandling.
Now we are having more special customer deliveries shipped from our warehouse screwed up by DHL. Where does it end? My guess is when we ship through another company.
What good does great prices do you if you end up spending all your time tracking and managing what the heck DHL is doing with your packages? Our time is worth money isn't it? I think I'd rather pay a little extra and not worry about it then continue with DHL. What do you say? Join me in a strike against DHL? Let's go!
Happy shipping! Cheers!
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.
Custom wetsuits for Mayor Will Wynn and Texas Governor Rick Perry.
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!
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.
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