Since the chaos of racing has not set in yet, now is a good time to mention our sponsors. It is easy to forget how much these companies are doing for us....it amounts to a big hand-out to a pile of strangers who claim they can ride bikes. On top of this, the bike industry is not exactly made of money. If it is, I must be missing something, because I have yet to make my fortune.
First and foremost,
PAValleys.com is our mothership connection. These guys saw the press we were getting for
visitPA.com and took the initiative to reach out to us. You guys are the bomb. For anyone considering a visit to the Valleys region, do yourself a favor and check out their site or better yet, stop in at the visitor's
center. You may even run into my mother in law, who volunteers there.
Cannondale has been with us for years. They create sweet bikes. Outside sales rep Bryon Kremer has been our faithful liaison to the company and is, by the way, and fine racer himself. We are so psyched to see the new Flash 29ers. I understand that it is relatively easy to get these little love machines into the sub-18 lb range, which is pretty exceptional in case you didn't know.
Pactimo has been our clothing supplier for some time as well. This year, they were nice enough to step it up and give us an upgrade to the Summit line, which is nice, comfy stuff. If you are part of a team and need custom clothing, Pactimo is the way to go. They are fast, high quality, and reasonably priced. Beth, our contact at Pactimo, did a great job of walking us through the design and order process. I can't wait to see the new kits.
Bell bike helmets just came through with our new
lids. They are beautiful. My brain means a lot to me, so thank you Bell Sports.
Finally, a big thanks to
Raw Indulgence. Their RAW REV bars are freeking delicious. These guys take the cake for generousity to our team, sight unseen. Thanks for the fuel, fellas.
Well, hope to see everyone at the
Humdinger. I'm told that the snow we're getting is part of what makes the event so special; special meaning really hard; really hard in a fun way.