Interbike 2006

Wow! What a way to start off a new partnership with a national distributor (Bike Mine)! For those who don't know what Interbike is, let me explain. Interbike is like the Detroit Auto Show but for the bicycle industry. The first two days consist of the Outdoor Demo at Bootleg Canyon which is about 40 minutes out of Las Vegas and 11 miles short of Hoover Dam (I wouldn't have minded checking that out while I was there). Lots of in the field product testing of everything from mountain and road bikes to sport drinks and portable solar powered air conditioned medical tents. Wednesday through Friday are indoors at the Sands Expo Center behind the Venetian Hotel. This is where the manufacturers pull out all the stops to show the bling bling.

This year's event was a stunning success in my opinion for Medion Corporation (Eload, EMEND and Zone Caps) as well as our new distributor Bike Mine and New Sun Productions (Scott Gibson) whom we shared space with at the Outdoor Demo.

Monday's Outdoor Demo started off a little rough with my products being lost by the handling company. You can imagine my surprise when I got to my booth space only to it missing all the product and coolers I had shipped. While those were being sought out by the company that lost them, I started work none the less. I had seen that there was a fire department mobile command station set up for all the fire and medic personnel which were there to support the event. Wasting no time I made contact with them, gave them a bunch of Eload samples and briefed them on it. I mentioned that Eload was also used in the medical tents at the Hotter'n Hell Hundred this past August as well. They checked it out, tried it, and loved it! The medics there were sending me people to get hydration! Man, you can't buy advertising like that! At one point the medics brought us a patient who was down from Alaska. He was complaining of dizziness and upset stomach in the 95 degree heat. Lucky for us we had the best of both worlds to help. Eload was used for replenishing his electrolytes without upsetting his stomach and the solar powered, air conditioned, portable tent made by New Sun Productions got him out of the hot weather. Our tag team of relief was a smashing success for our friend from the north! Needless to say, I'm sure he'll be a user of Eload for the rest of his life!

The indoor demo went just as well. I believe we touched a lot of lives during those 3 days. I met many endurance athletes, fire fighters, medics, military personnel and others who could all relate to having had symptoms of heat related illnesses including cramping, bonking (loss of energy), upset stomach, heat headaches and dizziness at one time or another. I'll bet you have too, right? I've even been told by several of the fire fighters that on the job heart attacks happening to otherwise healthy brethren have been directly associated to dehydration and lack of electrolytes during the stress of fighting fires. Why does this happen to highly skilled and healthy people? Because of improper hydration tecniques and inferior oral hydration products to prevent these things from happening. Eload was medically designed to treat and prevent the symptoms of heat related illnesses. www.eload.net

Here's a big Hi to friends out at Interbike this year. Greg Kreider from Red Rose Imports www.redroseimports.com sporting the newest in hand made Italian racing machines. Tim Jackson from Masi Bikes www.masibikes.com and www.masiguy.blogspot.com who is the brand manager and a real hard worker (not to mention co-sponsor for the men's elite road racing team Abercrombie & Fitch). I don't think you'd see many brand managers loading bikes in trucks after working two days in the desert heat. Tim was, but then again maybe he could because I loaded him up with Eload(I know, shameless plug)! And then there's Sean Lambert from Rol Wheels www.rolwheels.com. We're talking smooth, high end super light and gorgeous wheels here! I'll be sporting a brand new pair on my Carrera Estremo this week! Last but not least, one of my best friends, Marcin Sochacki, owner and product designer of Rocket Science Sports www.rocketsciencesports.com. This guy drove to Las Vegas for this show all the way from Austin, Texas. Lookout triathlon industry, you've met the next up and coming leader in the industry!

I'm sure there will be more to come as many contacts I've made will be following up in the next few weeks so stay tuned! Oh, and one last thing. I wanted to give a big thank you to Scott Gibson from New Sun Productions and Wingnut Gear for an awesome Outdoor Demo. Thanks also to Eddie Odea who came out to play with Scott for the event. Cheers and good luck guys!
http://www.wingnutgear.com/event.cfm?id=19

Until next time, cheers!