Bear Necessities

In the late afternoon after visiting the warehouse and one of our long time customers on the US/Canada border, I headed east back into the mountains. The weather was perfect and I was virtually the only car on the road. I had the rare treat of watching this black bear enjoy some evening grazing. He watched me but seemed otherwise unfazed and continued about his bear necessities until someone peeled in from the other direction and insisted on stopping right in his face, in his space. This beautiful serene creature became agitated and nervous. Who wouldn't lose their appetite if a one ton pick up screamed to a halt a few feet from their face.....?

DeFeet Hikes

There is nothing like a Fall hike in the Rocky Mountains to provide more Yellow inspiration. After the summer off any writing, it's about time I got back at it. My Trail 19s, the best trail running socks on the planet, got battered this weekend on some rough terrain but thanks to their superior construction with extra padding in all the right places my feet never suffered.

Thanks to my Tour d'Afrique uber-blogger friend and former bike teammate Kelsey for the extra push to keep my blogs up to date! Good luck on your travels back to Africa.

Hair Extesions

Sea Otter is as exciting for its bike racing as it is for the things that roll by on two wheels. Bikes are just an extension of an individual's personality or sometimes just hair!

This dude is scary stylin'.

Sea Otter Stories

The 20th anniversary of the Sea Otter Bike Fest in Monterey, California is underway under sunny skies. Surrounded by rolling hills, the venue is perfectly situated in what seems naturally built to host bike racers of all disciplines. There was even a Gran Fondo this year, a tradition started in Italy as an endurance race to attract riders of all levels. We are selling socks to the cycling masses and connecting with the folks that put our products through the paces.

Brad is networking with the girl's teams we sponsor. Great partnerships are building and DeFeet had product on the podium with the top three teams in the women's Road Race yesterday.

Our California reps, Linda and John Elgart are here and Linda placed 2nd in the over 35 category in the road race. She is the first woman to race in our new women's base layer. Congratulations Linda! Great race and great start for this new product in our line.

Carmel-by-the-Sea

Brad and I landed in San Fran almost at the same time and headed to Monterey but first we just had to hit the beach and soak in the Pacific at Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Brad got busy capturing some Facebook material. I was just happy to stand there and breathe and listen to the surf. Its hard to beat the beauty of this coastline. Nice to have this break before the work begins.

We are here for the Sea Otter bike Classic.

My First Customer

From the first one aisle space on 14th st in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Gord's Running Store has grown to become the city's Premier running destination. I can still remember how happy I was to sell my first 2 dozen pairs of DeFeet Aireator socks some ten years ago, but I could not have predicted how much this first customer influenced my decision to stay in this business. Gords Running store is now in an upscale part of Calgary is recognized for the outstanding service offered by Gord as well as his expertise in precision fitting.

Gord's reputation extends so far beyond his bricks and mortar location. He has been a consistent sponsor of many local run events, contributor to local charities too numerous to mention, a track coach who helped so many of us with speed work and a loyal friend and supporter to his suppliers...... and of course his "Zen" approach to tortuous stair workouts??

Gord is also a kind of philosopher king of running. It was not uncommon to leave his store and spend much time digesting and thinking about the depth of what he had just said.

Gord also has a special place for us as he welcomed my sister Syl when she arrived here from Colorado several years ago and has been a consistent support in her sometimes very difficult but very successful running career. He is by far one of the most influential people in her success including the support she feels now being at the top of her game.

Gord himself is still a competitive runner specializing ultra distance events. He definitely goes the distance!

Go Gord Go!!

Consumers make a series of quick conscious and unconscious decisions that may take only a matter of seconds as they scan rows of merchandise. Once interest is peaked, information on a product's package has to be clear, simple and it needs to speak to the potential consumer in his/her own language.

DeFeet is an international company with a reputation for delivering a top quality product and this needs to transcend into the written word.

DeFeet's French translator is of special importance with the high volume of sales in Canada, a country in which French is an official language, and also very important with DeFeet's recent acquisition of the Tour de France license and growing sales in France.

Michel Brule has translated almost all of DeFeet's current packaging into French. As a former Professor of Sociology at the University of Montreal, a career involving the promotion and preservation of French Culture and Language, and a Doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris, information about DeFeet products is communicated with the highest degree of precision and professionalism possible.

Allez-Allez DeFeet en 2010!