2011 Sea Otter Classic Celebrates Bicycle Shops
Bike shop professionals aren’t waiting on the world to change. By getting more people on bikes right now, they not only improve the personal health of their customers who ride, they create a healthier economy and environment. That’s something to celebrate!Inaugural Dealer Days Program:
Event: Dealer Days at the 21st Annual Sea Otter Classic
Date: Thursday - Sunday, April 14-17, 2011
Location: Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA
Monterey, CA (March 22, 2011)
The Sea Otter Classic, a Celebration of Cycling, is honoring bike shops with a new Dealer Days program. Many bike shop dealers already come to Sea Otter annually—for personal pleasure, and for the contacts and information they gain that help their businesses prosper. With the new Dealer Days program, Sea Otter aims to further help bike shops thrive. And Sea Otter Dealer Days is FREE to all credentialed dealers. Go to Sea Otter Dealer Days to register online. Dealer Days includes dealers-only demo rides with exclusive access to some of Sea Otter’s famous race venues – downhill, dual slalom, pump track, and cross country. Many of the demos will be led by top pros, such as a morning downhill demo with world champion mountain biker Eric Carter. Dealer Days demo rides are apart from the public Ride-With-A-Pro program, which dealers can also participate in.
Demo bikes will be available from many suppliers, including BH Bikes, Cannondale, Giant, GT Bikes, Neil Pryde Bikes, Pivot Cycles, Specialized, and SRAM. Other products available for dealers to try out include Cobb Cycling saddles, Contour cameras, GoPro cameras, Native eyewear, and Osprey packs.
Successful bike dealers must keep up with industry changes, have access to reliable industry resources, and develop positive relationships with customers, staff, communities, and vendors—the manufacturers and suppliers of bicycles and related products. Dealer Days is designed to give dealers an advantage on all of these.
“Dealer Days is an awesome idea!” said Frank Pinto of Joselyn’s Bicycles in Monterey. Frank’s shop has again been named Best Bike Shop in the Monterey County Weekly’s annual readers poll, and he knows it’s challenging for shops like his to keep up on what’s new in the bike world. “There’s a lot of product out there, things a lot of dealers may not be aware of. Beyond Sea Otter’s fabulous Expo, Dealer Days gives new opportunities to bike shops that can help them get those cool products to the cyclists.”
“Having Dealer Days at Sea Otter is a huge asset, not only for local dealers but for dealers across the country,” said Don Dauphinais of Danielson Adventure Sports in Danielson, Connecticut. Don has attended the Sea Otter Classic numerous years, and he finds Dealer Days yet another reason to head to the west coast in April. He knows that bike shops are depended on to help their customers make sense of what many are only confused by online.
“Fifty percent of cyclists are women,” said Kelli Poindexter of Eden Bicycles in Castro Valley, California. “Learning directly from the manufacturers at Dealer Days about their women-specific product lines can help bike shops be better equipped to serve their female customers.” Kelli has specialized for many years in the bikes and products women and girls love most.
Robert Cepeda, service manager since 2001 at Sports Center Bicycles in Seaside, California recognized the value of the opportunities Dealer Days provides through its manufacturers’ clinics and seminars, and at the daily receptions. “Just being in touch with the industry professionals helps you understand product better, as well as helps the employees be better advocates for bicycling.” Clinics and seminar presentations, such as one scheduled about SRAM’s Avid Brakes, are one of the ways that Dealer Days is facilitating better product understanding for Cepeda and other bike shop professionals.
Bob Barwick, general manager of Family Cycling Center in Santa Cruz, has been with the store for twelve years; the store has been there since 1986. He finds Dealer Days a great opportunity for owners and key employees at independent bike dealers. “The key employees don’t often get the chance to get outside the store and meet with manufacturers and suppliers, or to ride with pros. The demos op is huge. To be able to go out and ride the product in the proper setting—trails, roads—and to do that with industry folks, that’s a very attractive opportunity!”
Pam Slocum and Scott Campbell own Earth Cycles of Santa Cruz, which opened in 2010, where they sell, repair, and service bikes. Earlier, Scott owned retail bicycle clothing stores. What motivated Earth Cycles to register for Dealer Days? Pam answers, “We want to get people out of cars and on bicycles!" The wife-and-husband team recognized that the Dealer Days opportunities will help them share their passion for biking with their community. Scott first learned to repair his bike about fifty years ago—he has been biking since age six—and the shop’s community contributions include being involved with bicycle safety classes in the elementary schools. When asked why he puts in the extra hours, Scott doesn’t hesitate: “I want everyone to experience the joy of seeing the world from the saddle!” Sounds like the voice of a true bicycle dealer.
What’s offered dealers at Sea Otter Dealer Days? Complimentary demo rides, clinics, seminars, and daily receptions—as well as free admission to the Sea Otter Festival, all four days. Dealers are encouraged to register online, so their badge and a dealers packet will be waiting for them at Will-Call April 13-17. Or they can register on-site, April 14-17. Visit the Dealers Day web page to register now.
Dealer Days is being coordinated by Devian Gilbert, an endurance cyclist and passionate bicycle life stylist based in Monterey since 1993. Dealer Days is supported by Cycle California Magazine, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and SRAM. For further information, visit the Dealer Days web page or phone the Sea Otter hotline (800) 218-8411 or (831) 373-2331.
About Sea Otter Classic
A four-day "Celebration of Cycling," Sea Otter Classic is regarded as the world's largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The 21st Annual Sea Otter Classic is April 14-17, 2011 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California. For more information, visit www.seaotterclassic.com or call (800) 218-8411.
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Event: Dealer Days at the 21st Annual Sea Otter Classic
Date: Thursday - Sunday, April 14-17, 2011
Location: Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA
Monterey, CA (March 22, 2011)
The Sea Otter Classic, a Celebration of Cycling, is honoring bike shops with a new Dealer Days program. Many bike shop dealers already come to Sea Otter annually—for personal pleasure, and for the contacts and information they gain that help their businesses prosper. With the new Dealer Days program, Sea Otter aims to further help bike shops thrive. And Sea Otter Dealer Days is FREE to all credentialed dealers. Go to Sea Otter Dealer Days to register online. Dealer Days includes dealers-only demo rides with exclusive access to some of Sea Otter’s famous race venues – downhill, dual slalom, pump track, and cross country. Many of the demos will be led by top pros, such as a morning downhill demo with world champion mountain biker Eric Carter. Dealer Days demo rides are apart from the public Ride-With-A-Pro program, which dealers can also participate in.
Demo bikes will be available from many suppliers, including BH Bikes, Cannondale, Giant, GT Bikes, Neil Pryde Bikes, Pivot Cycles, Specialized, and SRAM. Other products available for dealers to try out include Cobb Cycling saddles, Contour cameras, GoPro cameras, Native eyewear, and Osprey packs.
Successful bike dealers must keep up with industry changes, have access to reliable industry resources, and develop positive relationships with customers, staff, communities, and vendors—the manufacturers and suppliers of bicycles and related products. Dealer Days is designed to give dealers an advantage on all of these.
“Dealer Days is an awesome idea!” said Frank Pinto of Joselyn’s Bicycles in Monterey. Frank’s shop has again been named Best Bike Shop in the Monterey County Weekly’s annual readers poll, and he knows it’s challenging for shops like his to keep up on what’s new in the bike world. “There’s a lot of product out there, things a lot of dealers may not be aware of. Beyond Sea Otter’s fabulous Expo, Dealer Days gives new opportunities to bike shops that can help them get those cool products to the cyclists.”
“Having Dealer Days at Sea Otter is a huge asset, not only for local dealers but for dealers across the country,” said Don Dauphinais of Danielson Adventure Sports in Danielson, Connecticut. Don has attended the Sea Otter Classic numerous years, and he finds Dealer Days yet another reason to head to the west coast in April. He knows that bike shops are depended on to help their customers make sense of what many are only confused by online.
“Fifty percent of cyclists are women,” said Kelli Poindexter of Eden Bicycles in Castro Valley, California. “Learning directly from the manufacturers at Dealer Days about their women-specific product lines can help bike shops be better equipped to serve their female customers.” Kelli has specialized for many years in the bikes and products women and girls love most.
Robert Cepeda, service manager since 2001 at Sports Center Bicycles in Seaside, California recognized the value of the opportunities Dealer Days provides through its manufacturers’ clinics and seminars, and at the daily receptions. “Just being in touch with the industry professionals helps you understand product better, as well as helps the employees be better advocates for bicycling.” Clinics and seminar presentations, such as one scheduled about SRAM’s Avid Brakes, are one of the ways that Dealer Days is facilitating better product understanding for Cepeda and other bike shop professionals.
Bob Barwick, general manager of Family Cycling Center in Santa Cruz, has been with the store for twelve years; the store has been there since 1986. He finds Dealer Days a great opportunity for owners and key employees at independent bike dealers. “The key employees don’t often get the chance to get outside the store and meet with manufacturers and suppliers, or to ride with pros. The demos op is huge. To be able to go out and ride the product in the proper setting—trails, roads—and to do that with industry folks, that’s a very attractive opportunity!”
Pam Slocum and Scott Campbell own Earth Cycles of Santa Cruz, which opened in 2010, where they sell, repair, and service bikes. Earlier, Scott owned retail bicycle clothing stores. What motivated Earth Cycles to register for Dealer Days? Pam answers, “We want to get people out of cars and on bicycles!" The wife-and-husband team recognized that the Dealer Days opportunities will help them share their passion for biking with their community. Scott first learned to repair his bike about fifty years ago—he has been biking since age six—and the shop’s community contributions include being involved with bicycle safety classes in the elementary schools. When asked why he puts in the extra hours, Scott doesn’t hesitate: “I want everyone to experience the joy of seeing the world from the saddle!” Sounds like the voice of a true bicycle dealer.
What’s offered dealers at Sea Otter Dealer Days? Complimentary demo rides, clinics, seminars, and daily receptions—as well as free admission to the Sea Otter Festival, all four days. Dealers are encouraged to register online, so their badge and a dealers packet will be waiting for them at Will-Call April 13-17. Or they can register on-site, April 14-17. Visit the Dealers Day web page to register now.
Dealer Days is being coordinated by Devian Gilbert, an endurance cyclist and passionate bicycle life stylist based in Monterey since 1993. Dealer Days is supported by Cycle California Magazine, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, and SRAM. For further information, visit the Dealer Days web page or phone the Sea Otter hotline (800) 218-8411 or (831) 373-2331.
About Sea Otter Classic
A four-day "Celebration of Cycling," Sea Otter Classic is regarded as the world's largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The 21st Annual Sea Otter Classic is April 14-17, 2011 at Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California. For more information, visit www.seaotterclassic.com or call (800) 218-8411.
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also that is a great picture