Gladwell and the Bike Show

Bike Show weekend has come and gone. Highlights included helping ladies learn more about WSD, chilling with the Sweet Pete's gang, getting to visit with Kona-Matt, a great socializing event including free beer (where WERE you?!) at the new "B-Side" store which is so beautiful -- go! And then to close it all off, an unexpected dinner invitation chez Chico's urban pied-de-terre. I have a lot of great times to thank Chico Racing for, and it was awesome to add another to the list.

Anyway, I am reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink at the moment, and came across an interesting section that might explain why actually SELLING A BIKE wasn't featured on the highlights reel.

Time and time again, I would explain the difference between hydro-forming and carbon. I would talk about how Trek has shortened up their top tubes and set the steer tube a little taller while Giant has opted for a slightly longer option. We'd go over fit and specs, and talk about why 105 is a great groupo to get started. We'd chat and laugh, she'd smile at me and eagerly bring over her friends or husband to see the two-wheeled object of her affection. And then the inevitable, abrupt, "okay-thanks-bye".

I chalked it up to it being my first time in a saleperson situation -- i must be missing the necessary skills to seal the deal. But talking to others at the show, I found out the phenomenon is actually quite common.

Gladwell might have the answer!

He talks about an experiment conducted by researcher Sheena Iyengar involving a tasting booth offering exotic jams in an upscale grocery store. Sometimes she offered six different kinds for sampling, sometimes 24.

You might think that the more choices you offer a consumer, the better chance you have of hitting their wants/needs on the head, thus sampling leads to buying. But it turns out the opposite was true. Gladwell reports, "thirty percent of those who stopped by the six-choice booth ended up buying some jam, while only 3 percent of those who stopped by the bigger booth bought anything."

In fairness, jam is a snap decision, whereas buying a bike is something you nerd out on for a fair number of hours of screen time, scouring the internet for reviews (or maybe that's just me). But I still think there's something there. It's hard to buy a bike at the bike show because there are so many choices. And it's not like jam, where you could just relax and buy every flavour without much financial recourse. Chances are you can only choose ONE bike. Gladwell goes on to say, "If you are given too many choices, if you are forced to consider much more than your unconscious is comfortable with, you get paralyzed."

So that's my academic excuse for why I was unable to seal the deal at the bike show. On the bright side, I met a lot of ladies interested in picking up cycling, and that's a good thing! Hopefully they'll remember our pretty Sweet Pete's booth and visit us when they're ready.

Montreal Bike Fest

Montreal, the short story

Kilometres cycled: 20+52+a bunch of our own = ~100km
Road Trippin Tune-age: Passion Pit
Beverage: Belle Gueule original lager
Food groups: crepes, Smoked Meats, poutine, traditional french fare, ju jubes
Change found: $0.15

Montreal, the long story

Montreal, it turns out, is totally rad. I was there this past weekend for the second time ever, although the first was a school band trip I took in grade 9 so I'm inclined to not count that (and can't remember any of it anyway). It pains me to say, I might have continued postponing my return to la Belle Province's hippest metropolis had it not been for Velo Quebec and a little good luck. I was the winner of the Bike Fest draw they held way back in the spring at the Bike Show.

The prize included two nights accommodations at Parc Suites Hotel Apartments and registration for two in a duo of Bike Fest rides — one on Friday night (La Tour Nuit) and one on Sunday morning (Tour de l'Île de Montréal).

So what's Bike Fest anyway? It's pretty much a series of activities that happen every spring celebrating the bike as a way to get around their fair city. This year, they were celebrating their 25th anniversary! People come from all over but the main group populating the two enormous rides we were on came from Montreal. It's not a race, and it's not a charity-ride. It's really just people out riding their bikes for nothing but the fun of it. It boggles the mind, I know.

And when I say enormous rides, I mean it. There were three thousand riders out for a 20km loop on Friday night's Tour la Nuit, and Sunday, there was a reported 30,000 out for the 52km Tour de l'Île de Montréal. The city shut down the roads so cyclists reigned supreme. All along the routes, Montrealers lined the streets, stoops and balconies cheering, clapping, and using all sorts of noise-making paraphanalia to cheer us on our merry way. They decorated their lawns and gardens with lights, balloons and streamers. All this commotion just for the fun of bikes? I think Montreal is mecca.

The prize was a trip for two, so Gerhard and I shared in this surreal bike-friendly experience (the jaded Torontonian said). Our only regret was that we didn't bring our own costumes and noise makers. But we did remember the beer!



Bike Fest wasn't the only thing going on in Montreal that weekend. Coincidentally (?) Beer Fest was also going off. Our hotel was right in the thick of things so when we weren't Bike Fest-ing, we found all kinds of exhausting ways to spend our time between eating.

Friday night we hooked up with friends we discovered were also in town. We converged on Bar St Sulpice in the Latin Quarter on St. Denis. It wasn't until we were about to go in that I realized I might need ID to get by the bouncer. And of course, mine was in my hotel room. A bit of palm sweat, some palpitations and a clever, karma-bank -withdrawal-story about "leaving my wallet at the poutine place" and I was in. Didn't even have to bat an eyelash. Thank goodness because I would have felt pretty silly if we'd walked all the way down there just to get a coffee. We quickly discovered why Saint Sulpice is the shit. Four words for you: Largest Patio In Canada. Hit it up if you're in town.



So our "it's cool with me to just take it easy" Friday night ended up being a stay-til-close affair. That meant sleeping in on Saturday which worked out perfectly because the sun waited for us to finish our crepe breakfast before it got out of bed. We strapped on our hikin shoes and headed down to Old Montreal to walk off mild hangovers and take in the sites. Even the graffiti in Montreal is beautiful. After a good walk around, it was time to eat again. So we grabbed bikes and toured around a little more stopping at La Banquise for poutine. Which was retardedly amazing, with squeaky curds and everything. Mine had fries, curds and gravy, sure. But also bacon, sauteed mushrooms and smoked sausage. After carbo loading, we headed up to check out the view from Mont Royal. It was a bit more uphill riding than I bargained for.



We finished Saturday off with a traditional french meal of lamb and duck in Old Montreal. The waiter was a kind old fellow, who made a wonderful wine recommendation for us. The food was amazing, and both of us said it was one of the better meals we've ever had. I was blown away just by the rice. It was my first time having duck and I think I'll be scared to order it again because I don't see how it could live up to [insert forgotten restaurant name here]'s. After a wonderful dinner, we leaisurely made our way through Place Jacques Cartier, stopping to watch the street performers before hailing a cab back to our well appointed hotel room.

All too fast, Sunday arrived with an early start. We were delighted to find that the start of the big tour was right outside our hotel's entrance so we didn't have very far to go to meet up with the thousands of riders headed out for a spin. The sun was shining, but the temperature stayed perfect and we rode our tour like champions (in french, champions).



What better way to finish the trip than with a stop at Schwartz's for some smoked meats? We walked right in (rare that there's no line!) and feasted on beef and pickles. As we left Montreal, the clouds came out, and the rain started falling. Certainly helped curb the urge to just turn the van around.



A great weekend ... and new annual tradition? Riders (and eaters) wanted!

Succès!

In my last post, I mentioned my mission to enter every draw I could find at the Bike Show. Thanks to Velo Quebec, my mission has been accomplished! They called me today to confirm I am the winner of a trip for two to Montreal for Bike Fest! Can't wait!

Toronto International Bike Show

Marked on cyclists' calendars from far and wide, March 13-15 was the weekend for nerding out on bikes. Held at the Direct Energy Centre, the recession didn't keep folks away from a day at the EX.

The Bike show features all the manufacturers in the industry hawking the newest and greatest parts, gear, apparel and bikes. There's a marketplace where shops can set up their wares and sell them for special deals. (I gave all my money to Kona for their rad hoodies at low low prices! I even got to meet the "Kona Lisa", who's name is on every Kona women's bike.) Charity rides and bike tours take up a corner on the show floor, along with advocacy groups and race organizers. BMXers gather to watch pros and amateurs jam. At the indoor dirt-track set up for the weekend, 4X racers and tricksters show their stuff on mountain and bmx bikes. And for a real treat, Ryan Leech set up for Trials demos and a seminar offering his views on the mind game of riding.

The Show Floor

I set out from work as soon as I could on Friday afternoon to register in the 4x event and visit the boys at the Sweet Pete's booth. Once I was signed up, wrist-banded, bike-banded and armoured, I went to check out the dirt track.

I bought the STP last year after test-riding one at the show, and never expected to be strapping a number plate to its handlebars. Racing 4X is not in my area of expertise. But where else can you ride dry dirt in March? My $30 entry got me show access for the weekend, a ton of practice (read, FUN) on a decent course and three rounds of racing. Pretty good deal, considering the show is ~$15/day on its own.

My only race goal was to avoid breaking anything, so I won! In my first moto, ("moto" is to bike-racing what "heat" is to track and field) I tried to pass a girl on the inside of the final berm and washed out my front wheel in the loose dirt. Crashing in 4X isn't the same as in XC -- in XC, I usually know it's coming! I was caught completely off guard on this one and hit the ground lacking all grace and style. I brushed myself off and rode another two rounds, improving my performance only by not bailing. But I didn't embarass myself either. I was racing girls with a ton of experience and they didn't leave me in the dirt, so I count it a success.


The Race Track

Once racing was over, I decided on another mission: enter every single draw possible. So hopefully I win a car/weekend getaway/bike/gift basket/gym bag. That mission forced me to check out all the vendors' booths. Some cool stuff out there that's for sure. I saw bike boxes that don't look big enough to hold a bike, hold a bike. I saw skin suits that claim to help muscle recovery. Insoles that make your feet happy. I sampled some power bars that didn't taste quite so "power bar". I saw all kinds of fancy new bicycles. I saw foodstuff charged at four times what you'd pay outside the EX. Truly amazing stuff.

Probably my favourite part of the weekend was the talk given by Ryan Leech: "The Mind Game of Riding". He told us he was inspired by a book he read when he was 12 called "Inner Skiing" (he started out as a skier! who knew?) that changed his life. The seeds that book planted helped him become one of Canada's great cycling treasures. He talked about not letting your ego get in the way of your riding. The ego is that voice in your head that won't shut up. It's usually concerned with what other people think, or how whatever you're doing translates into self-worth. It's not the "self" you should be relying on. The "self" you should rely on is your "true self" -- it comes from a place much deeper than your ego. You know you're doing it right when you get into the zone. I call that my "Racy Place". It's really tough to get there, and once you're there, your ego usually starts yapping again and it's gone. When I'm in my Racy Place, everything in my head is quiet and the harder it is, the easier it is. I feel like a Jedi racing through the trees, but at the same time, it's like slow motion. Conversely, if I'm suffering in a race, I stop focusing on what I'm doing. I just get frustrated with other riders, clumsy, and very unhappy. Ryan's talk really helped put some more context behind what's happening upstairs when I'm racing, training ... existing in general.

Ryan and his adoring fans

All in all, it was a great geek weekend for riders. The best part of the show is seeing all your riding buddies, racing pals and shop friends all in one place. You get to hear about how they spent their winters preparing for the next season. And soon ... it'll be here!

***

In 4X, where you start in the gate can be a huge advantage. To keep things fair, your moto-position is "in the cards." Here a rider draws a favourable spot!

The dreaded Gate Start. Riders must balance in the start gate until the green light drops the gate. There's an art to the timing of it all and a good gate will usually earn you a win. It's intimidating the first few times, for sure.

Here's me on the course. Photo cred: Liz!

Kona will give kids a sticker if they sing, break-dance, high five someone they don't know, or tip their caps to passing ladies. When they ran out of stickers they gave out Fun Dip instead.