midnight rider
03-09-2008, 02:16 PM
Made the 100 mile or so trek down to America's Finest City to check out the IHRSA show on Friday.
The two things I wanted to make sure I hit were Kranking & Cycleops in the less than 3 hours I was going to have to roam the exhibit floor.
On the way to finding the Kranking exhibit I ran into Marci Clark at the MDA Spin Fitness booth. We chatted for awhile and she told me she is now the Program Director for MDA Spin Fitness, which runs the new Spin Pilates program.
I briefly talked to MDA MI Bernie Krebs just before she was to lead a ride for a group of Vietnam veterans at the Star Trac booth and it was good to share a few words with Josh Taylor, who was just hanging out after leading a ride earlier that morning.
1. Kranking
This was the place to be and it would've been very easy to have spent more than my entire 3 hour allotment of time here. Johnny's wife Jodi did a great job on the set up of the booth creating an extremely welcoming atmosphere and you immediately got the feeling that you were at a party that you knew you were going to have a very difficult time leaving.
Right away I ran into Yvonne and a number of people formerly with MDA including Donna Lau and former MIs Mike Michaels, Audrey Lee from Austria & Rex Chen from Taiwan and of course Johnny. It was also good to see my old friend and as far as I know current MDA MI Clemente Habiague from Argentina just hanging out and enjoying himself.
The energy level was through the roof and there were smiles and laughter everywhere. Kranking was by far the busiest exhibit at the show and by far the most fun. Just going by the response to Kranking at the show, it looks like Johnny may very well have done it again and created another winner.
2. Cycleops
I had ran into Danielle earlier on the floor and she told me where the Cycleops booth was located. She had flown in the day before and had taught a 6:30 a.m. class earlier that morning and looked exhausted. I told her I would visit Cycleops in a couple of hours and she said she was going to definitely get some coffee.
Danielle looked much more rested & refreshed by the time I finally made it over to Cyclelops a few hours later. I threw on a pair of cycle shoes and hopped on one of the bikes for about 10-15 minutes with Danielle on hand to answer my questions.
I had rode a Cycleops for the first time a little more than a year ago, but the bike I was riding this time felt much more stable and seemed to ride much smoother. Danielle said it might've very well been the less expensive home version of the bike that I rode back then. Anyway, everything on the club model I rode at the show felt tight & right and the ride was like absolute butter. It was so cool to have all that info right in front of you and I am now firmly convinced that these bikes are the best on the market right now.
After getting off the bike, I also got a chance to talk to former MDA MI Angie Studevant, who is the Director of Education for Cycleops. I have to say that both Angie & Danielle really have a passion for the product and truly believe that it is the best. Now of course the challenge that lies ahead is to be able to somehow convince club owners and management and make them believers as well.
The two things I wanted to make sure I hit were Kranking & Cycleops in the less than 3 hours I was going to have to roam the exhibit floor.
On the way to finding the Kranking exhibit I ran into Marci Clark at the MDA Spin Fitness booth. We chatted for awhile and she told me she is now the Program Director for MDA Spin Fitness, which runs the new Spin Pilates program.
I briefly talked to MDA MI Bernie Krebs just before she was to lead a ride for a group of Vietnam veterans at the Star Trac booth and it was good to share a few words with Josh Taylor, who was just hanging out after leading a ride earlier that morning.
1. Kranking
This was the place to be and it would've been very easy to have spent more than my entire 3 hour allotment of time here. Johnny's wife Jodi did a great job on the set up of the booth creating an extremely welcoming atmosphere and you immediately got the feeling that you were at a party that you knew you were going to have a very difficult time leaving.
Right away I ran into Yvonne and a number of people formerly with MDA including Donna Lau and former MIs Mike Michaels, Audrey Lee from Austria & Rex Chen from Taiwan and of course Johnny. It was also good to see my old friend and as far as I know current MDA MI Clemente Habiague from Argentina just hanging out and enjoying himself.
The energy level was through the roof and there were smiles and laughter everywhere. Kranking was by far the busiest exhibit at the show and by far the most fun. Just going by the response to Kranking at the show, it looks like Johnny may very well have done it again and created another winner.
2. Cycleops
I had ran into Danielle earlier on the floor and she told me where the Cycleops booth was located. She had flown in the day before and had taught a 6:30 a.m. class earlier that morning and looked exhausted. I told her I would visit Cycleops in a couple of hours and she said she was going to definitely get some coffee.
Danielle looked much more rested & refreshed by the time I finally made it over to Cyclelops a few hours later. I threw on a pair of cycle shoes and hopped on one of the bikes for about 10-15 minutes with Danielle on hand to answer my questions.
I had rode a Cycleops for the first time a little more than a year ago, but the bike I was riding this time felt much more stable and seemed to ride much smoother. Danielle said it might've very well been the less expensive home version of the bike that I rode back then. Anyway, everything on the club model I rode at the show felt tight & right and the ride was like absolute butter. It was so cool to have all that info right in front of you and I am now firmly convinced that these bikes are the best on the market right now.
After getting off the bike, I also got a chance to talk to former MDA MI Angie Studevant, who is the Director of Education for Cycleops. I have to say that both Angie & Danielle really have a passion for the product and truly believe that it is the best. Now of course the challenge that lies ahead is to be able to somehow convince club owners and management and make them believers as well.