Archive for April, 2010

World Tour Check-in :: 4 Months (has it really already been 4 months?)

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

By Skittles

So today, April 27, 2010 will officially put David, Torrent and I on the road for over 4 whole months now. We are kind of surprised that it has been that long already. I personally can’t believe that much time has flown by already! Perhaps a year long adventure may turn into another? Can’t say for certain at this point, but just that we are having the time of our lives!

Days on the Road: 132
Miles Driven: Approximately 11,000
Odometer Reading Today: 44,611
National Parks Visited: 4
Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwiches Eaten: 2
Number of times we wanted to kill each other living the RV: 3
Trade Shows Attended: 3
Festivals Attended: 3
Bike Races Attended: 1
Bags of Dog Food Torrrent’s Eaten on the Road: 3
Major RV Repairs: 1
Minor RV Repairs: 6
# of Repairs Caused By David: 6
# of Repairs Caused By Laurel: 1
Miles on the MTB: 141
Days of Rock Climbing: 17
Days on the Slopes: 8
Ski Resorts Visited: 6
Number of States Visited: 11
Friends & Family Visited Along the Way: John, Clint, Mike, Kelly & Mike, BJ & Setsuko, Trevor, Skyler, Brian, Brian & Andrea, Mom & Tom, Elizabeth & Jason, Steve & Sharon, Ryan & Val
Friends & Family Who’ve Stayed with Us: Bentley & Jessica, John, Clint, Mike, Sara Climber Girl, Trevor & Darcy
Parking Tickets: $105

Davenport - Camping Surfside

Saturday, April 24th, 2010

by Dave
Torrent at davenportThe controversial ‘anti-homeless’ law in Santa Cruz states that no one is allowed to sleep in, on, or near a vehicle between the hours of 11pm and 7am. This created a bit of a hassle for us in the RV. We did pretty well at picking new, obscure spots to park each night, but the most disappointing part was that we never got to wake up to the morning sea breeze and crashing surf. Then we discovered the town of Davenport. A dozen miles North of Santa Cruz, with a big dirt lot right on the bluff over the water, was our camping spot of choice! A big sandy beach at the bottom of the bluff with HUGE crashing waves, and a couple really cool streams cut into the rocky bluff, scattered with crabs and bright green algae. Torr loved it!

Sea Otter Classic, Oh yeah!

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

By Skittles and Torrent

Sea elephants molting...really kinda gross to see, but hard not to quit watching.Wow, what a weekend! For those of you who have not yet had a chance to attend or race the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, CA - holy heck, what an event for both racers and spectators! First off, a huge shout out to, Skip, one of the coolest race directors we’ve come across. He hooked us up with a sweet booth spot for the weekend which literally made ALL the difference. Thanks for everything Skip!

Our friend Kelli, second from right.  Me, second from left.  I blend in with that jersey don't I?Our time at the Laguna Seca State Raceway started on Wednesday night after a beautiful, but grueling drive up the PCH 1 from Santa Barbara. The Pacific Coast was a sight to see from our huge RV windows and we made a couple of touristy stops at the Hearst Castle and to see the elephant seals (who were beached to go thru their annual molting process - ewww gross!) along the way. However, after about an hour into the drive, the twisty, narrow roads got to us and we were so so glad to finally hit some freeway heading towards the race venue!

This is how our booth looked the whole weekend...slammed!This was our first bike race of the trip and we were stoked to be able to get the word out about JTree products to so many racers, enthusiasts and fans. The weather for the 4 days of the race couldn’t have been any better - sunny and 70! Perfect! (Apparently, it beats the rain they’ve had at the race for the past two years.) To add to the excitement of our first Sea Otter, it was also a chance to see our friend Kelli, who was also racing for Giant bikes that weekend. It was really exciting to watch Kelli’s races and to cheer her on from our booth! I also had the chance to duck out of the booth for awhile to do a group pre-ride of some of the pro-xc course with her - good times! Both the Giant and Gary Fisher teams were hooked up with some JTree products over the weekend - we hope those folks enjoy our stuff!

Dave schelpinAs for our booth….it was probably our most EPIC event yet! We handed out over 1500 samples of our JTree Cycling Salve, and educated everyone receiving one that it is super awesome for healing road rash, saddle sores and just about any other skin irritation you could think of. A sick crash cream and chamois ninja sauce all in one! Booya! A great story from the weekend was this older gentleman that stopped by our booth after finishing the 100 miler Gran Fondo. Dave gave him the run down on our product line and he reluctantly took a sample saying that he would give it a try, even though he said that “this kind of stuff never works.” Well, the next day, bright and early as Dave was setting up the booth, he walks up with his wallet out to buy himself a big jar of our Cycling Salve. He didn’t say much, but his actions spoke louder than any words his nether region could muster praising our product!

Hey Torr!  That doesn't look like our blog!!!After two beautiful days of Sea Otter Expo WE SOLD OUT OF SUNSCREEN! Unfortunately, we had underestimated the number of folks at the race who would be looking for functional and organic ways to protect their skin - both our Sun Stick SPF33 and Mountain Mint SPF 18+ were a hit!! We even had folks buying our Winter Stick SPF15 to apply to their arms and shoulders because of it’s smooth slippery feel. Hey, whatever works to protect your skin! Thanks to Torr for helping write this blog!

Soaking Up the Sun in SoCal

Monday, April 12th, 2010

By Skittles

Trevor up on Overhang Bypass at Intersection Rock.Following our epic times in Vegas, it was time to start the trek up the west coast! Since we didn’t get enough “play” time in while we were there in January, we decided to head back to JTree for a week to hone our crack climbing skills. Unfortunately, at about the same time, Mother Nature decided to throw in 50mph wind gusts to add to the challenge of climbing rocks in JTree. Have you ever tried to finish on classic JTree slab moves while the wind is pushing you sideways? Scary! Towards the end of the week, we were joined by Dave’s long time friend, Trevor, and his girlfriend Darcy. It was fun introducing them into the world of climbing and climbing in JTree!

Torr at Doggie Beach in Del Mar.After yet another humbling experience climbing at JTree, we headed towards San Diego to spend some more time with Trevor and Darcy. It was an opportunity for us to get some much needed “work” time in, as well as visit local retailers to carry our product line. But best of all, we finally got to take Torr to the beach! And he LOVED it! The first day at the beach, he was doing hot laps up and down the beach because there were FINALLY dogs to run with and there was water (although he said it was salty and tasted bad). A huge thanks to Trevor for the hospitality, hooking us up with a lifetime supply of GU and for giving us a sick original Gordon Smith surfboard!

Although clean and with artwork, our parking spot outside Tony's was 2 blocks from Skid Row!Our time in SoCal seemed like a whirlwind of internetzing, visiting shops, spending time at doggie beaches, checking out local MTB trails and visiting with friends as we made our way north up the coast. Good times catching up with the Shepherds in Huntington Beach, then with Dave’s friend Skyler who now runs, Tony’s, a bar in the up and coming part of downtown LA (literally blocks from Skid Row) and sharing some amazing food with Setsuko and BJ in Glendale (if you are ever in Glendale, go to Porto’s for the best cuban food ever!).

How life should be.  Everyday.Continuing north, we headed to Ventura to holla at our friends at Real Cheap Sports who sell our products like crazy! And of course, what stop in Ventura can be complete without stopping at Patagonia’s first retail store and neighboring surf shops?!? Outfitted with a vintage 7′6″ surfboard, ‘new’ retro leash and wetsuit top, David was all ready to go catch some waves. Unfortunately, the beach that we chose to spend the night at had some of the roughest breaks and David got more of a thrashing than any actual surfing.

BTW, thanks for reading our blog. If you’ve liked what you’ve read so far, use the following discount code at our online store to take 20% off your order this month: TLUVSDABEACH.