Cycling Tidbits

Jonathan Maus has decided to take a step back from his blog Just Riding Along to focus on a few other things like his growing family and his fabulous Bike Portland blog. If you are a cyclist in Portland or will be visiting the city, this blog is a must read. He's graciously told readers of JRA that they can get a bit of a cycling fix here so I best not disappoint! Here are a few tidbits --

In a week the Liberty Mutual Cyclo-Cross Nationals will be in New England! The four-day event will be held at Roger Williams Park in Providence, Rhode Island. The fun all starts December 9th. If you are in the neighborhood don't miss it.

Tim Jackson is on my 'smart cookie' list for a lot of reasons. One is that he has great ideas and then makes them happen. His latest brilliant idea can be witnessed over at the new collaborative blog he's started with other cycling industry marketing folks. Even though I'm a complete newbie to this process I agreed to be a contributor, too. I think it is going to be fun working with the talented group of people he's put together.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the title sponsor of the Tour of California. If you haven't read Bicycling's Joe Lindsey's article from November 15, give it a read. I learn something new just about every time I read Joe's Boulder Report.

The Tour de Georgia is April 18-23, 2006. They just announced the route for this year, which you can see on this map or read about at cyclingnews.com.

Just some cycling tidbits for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Giving made easy

I learned an easy way to make a charitable donation that I wanted to share with you.

Citibank has a program called "ThankYou Points" (R) where you accumulate points with the dollars you spend. I've always been wary of these programs figuring that, if you picked something from these 'rewards', you'd be charged some hidden fee. Just the skeptic in me.

However, Citibank now tells customers that they can donate their points to a charity. When you sign up online to view your point total there is a spot to choose charitable contributions. If you donate 2,500-3,000 points then $25 goes directly to one of the listed charities including American Heart Association, American Red Cross and Home at Last Sanctuary. If you donate $5,000 points, $50 goes directly to the charity you choose from their list.

This couldn't be easier! If you have a Citibank credit card and you see "ThankYou Points", think about turning those points into dollars for charity.

Just a tidbit for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Erma's Thanksgiving

This is one of my favorites from Erma Bombeck.

"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Halftimes take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence."

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Goals? Me?

I was asked today by a smart cookie what my goal is for this blog. Good question. I hadn't spelled it out even to myself because that would seem too much like work and, as I've mentioned, this isn't work. But he might be right (he often is)....

So, here are some things I'd like to accomplish:

1. Network and meet more fascinating people like the smart cookies listed to the right. They floor me on a consistent basis with their great ideas. I've been lucky to learn from them. I hope to add more to that list as time goes on.

Also, networking some place away from work, where you are seen in your own right, is a good thing sometimes. Ironically, Allan Jenkins had a post relating to this today titled "Don't mix your identity with your employer's".

2. This is also a way to have a place to express some of my own ideas and opinions about PR, marketing, blogging, events, cycling and a bunch more. I'm not a complete dumb bunny and sometimes I might just make sense. I've been very fortunate to learn from some great people in my career because they were willing to share some of their knowledge with me. If I can provide one tidbit of knowledge to, or spark an idea for, someone I would be wildly flattered and happy to be able to share that with them.

3. This is a chance for me to learn more about technology as I go along with this blog. You might see me 'kick and scream' from time to time as I flub my way through all of the technology, but I'll get there (I know, I know, RSS is next on the list for this site). There is just so much I need to learn. I'm a newbie here and I know it. I'll get there, just please have some patience with me.

Thanks, Tim, for making me put this in writing. It was a good exercise. You are a smart, smart cookie and a good friend.

Just some tidbits for today...thanks for stopping by.

Rottie Security

As I've buzzed around the blogosphere I've realized that while being honest and sharing it all is seen as a good thing, it just might not be the most secure thing.

In this day and age of identity theft we should all realize that criminals are changing with the times, too. Many people put very personal information on their blog such as the town they live in and then they talk about their schedules - when they go to conferences or out of town at trade shows. For example, Joe Smith says on his blog that he lives in Mayberry and is going to be out of town from Monday thru Friday at a blogging conference. This can be a huge red flag for anyone who might live in his town and have less than honorable intentions.

I'm not sure what the answer is since there are folks that promote their professional life online and think it is like sharing things with their colleagues (bloggers). But, is everyone who reads your blog honest? And who is watching your home while you are away? Is it sitting there empty for anyone to take advantage of? You might want to think about this before giving off too much of this personal information.

As for me? There is always a Rottie patrolling the house, even when I'm away on business.

Just a tidbit from my world today. Thanks for stopping by.

How bad have you got it?

Today is the last NASCAR race of the 2006 season. By the end of the race they will have crowned a new champion. Whether you like NASCAR or think watching cars go around in circles is boring a couple of things are for certain. NASCAR isn't watched by just 'rednecks' and the organization markets brilliantly.

NASCAR started over 50 years ago with a few races down south and have steadily grown to what they are today; a nationwide series with a 36 race season from February to November. The growth was orchestrated by smart, visionary marketers - the France family . Now, the stands and television audience are filled with men, women and children, each with their own favorite driver and the merchandise to let the world know who that driver is. It isn't uncommon to see a family at a race sporting shirts and hats from totally different teams. NASCAR says that their fans are the most loyal in sport. I read an article awhile back where the chairman of Lowe's mentioned that for every dollar they spend on sponsorship in NASCAR they get three dollars back. This seems to prove NASCAR's point.

No longer can companies ignore the buying power of these fans. Many companies, like Lowe's seem to realize this now. After all, it's not just car companies, beer companies or oil companies that are sponsors anymore. If you haven't watched a race lately because you can't stand the thought of watching a car go around in circles for hours, flick it on for a few minutes and look at the hoods of the cars. The title sponsors may surprise you. If you missed it this season, no worries, the Daytona 500 is set for February 19, 2006.

Just my tidbit for the day. Thanks for stopping by.

Blog or Bloc?

Interestingly, when I use spell check it calls out 'blog' as not being spelled correctly. It suggests 'bloc' instead. "Blogging" it suggests to replace with 'flogging'. That all just amuses me somehow. Here we are using blogging software and yet the spell check they offer does not include the word 'blog' or 'blogging'.
Just my tidbit for the day. Thanks for stopping by.

Testing the waters

So...this is the blogosphere...

Well, I'm here. Now what...

Why am I here, you ask? I like to write and I do have opinions on a lot of things, as some of you know quite well. I'm not sure how this will all shake out because I'm the least technical person you will ever meet. I will be six steps behind everyone else - or maybe ten - but have patience, I'll get there eventually.

Right off the bat, I'm going to set some ground rules. Why? Because I can.

1. Play nice. You don't always have to agree with me; many people don't. But, voice your opinion in an articulate manner without malice. Thank you.

2. No. I will not discuss anything about 'that incident' from September, 2004. Not here. That is work. This is not. Thank you.

3. This is my personal blog, not a work blog. These are my very own opinions and thoughts. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of any company I currently work for or with. Please keep that in mind. Thank you.

So, what will I discuss? Pretty much whatever comes to my mind. Marketing. Public Relations. My thoughts on blogging. People that inspire me for a variety of reasons. And other tidbits.

Until next time....thanks for stopping by.