I’ve recently built myself up a new toy
for summer, to be frank it just wasn’t on that I was still XCing on my steel Blizzard…

I’d been squirelling this frame and some choice components away for quite some while.

And I’m not braggin’ but there’s a few choice bits on her I’d like to tell you the stories about. Soon. For now though: here are the pics:

Just a quick update on a ‘few things that happened this week’… though if you follow me on twitter you’ll know already.

If you scan back a few posts you’ll spot a message I wrote, as it seemed at the time, which now feels like it came from a different world…

Little did I know, that those two seemingly unconnected events, were right at the very start of a chain reaction that spread like wildfire throughout offices, factories and iPhones across the globe.

The most amazing thing was; it was never ‘meant’ to happen; the vid was finished last Saturday night, uploaded on YouTube on Sunday, went viral by Monday morning and is still growing as we speak; all being well we will hit 2 Million views by 8pm tomorrow night. Precisely one week since one of the most amazing athletes, and an amazingly nice, down to earth bloke, was launched to a hungry world.

So it’s a major understatement that this weeks been amazing! Although it has been rather tiring, having pulled two all-nighters (one of which was a real ‘not one wink of sleep and on a roll’ affair) but all because of a global phenomenon, like 1,905,546 (and counting…) others, from all 4 corners of the world:

I’ve been: Inspired By Danny

And it’s an amazing project (personal, not professional - make the distinction please) that’s almost uncannily suited to my (relative) skills: firefighting frightening lawyers, selling a high value service, branding something ‘real’ not manufactured and helping a young, enormously talented rider who deserve his best shot.

Keep watching this space, even better, watch this: www.inspiredbydanny.com

It’s been on my mind for a long while, I’ve seen both sides to the triangle: how do you remain loyal to the principles of the social media web 2.0 manifesto: integrity, honesty, transparency, ‘be real’?

While also avoiding the ‘I was photo tagged in a intoxicated mess the night before I called in sick at work’ type of issues that are arrising due to a erosion of the work/life boundaries?

Especially when you have a fairly ‘high profile’ job, with responsibilities to corporate investors, for a very web media agressive company, AND to top it off: have a rather distinctive and incredibly rare name…?

Ultimately, it’s all a moot point, as this week something is blowing up (oh, and I mean BLOWING UP, you’ll find out due course) that’s going to make all of the above a moot point. I will be sen, I will be counted, I will be named.

So I’d rather shoot myself in the foot in advance… here’s my recent Twitter posts:

BTW: I’m coming out… VF has been my online alter-ego for many moons, when I wanted to keep work/play seperate. No point anymore: so I am..

..going to stop the anonymity : Velofello.com remains my personal identity, mainly for non-work , and is me being ME. So sometimes diff…

…to my work identity. Dayjob = running Mountain Cycle. I’m Krien: Dutch born, UK expat living in France. MTB enthusiast, Daddy, Mac addict

…though many knew all that already!? There, ‘coming out’ of alter/ego wasn’t too difficult..

www.velofello.com www.mountaincycle.com

So; what changes around here?

Well not much really, expect the same irregular ramblings; the occasional good post and the glut of crappy ones; about Bikes, social media (though I do also have another outlet - which started well and has died a death due to time, over here) and stuff I like.

One fundimental change though; the understanding that you, Dear Reader, appreciate this is my Personal & Private domain, and not connected in any official sense with that of Mountain Cycle.

All opinions expressed on this website are personal and do not reflect in any way, shape, form or ethereal mass the views, opinions, dreams, hopes, aspirations or drunken rambling of his current, previous, past, or future employers, their staff, vendors, associates, friends, riding-buddies, drinking-buddies, fuck-buddies or enemies in any state, or in any state of intoxication under any means natural or chemically enhanced and delivered via any means of transferral, including but not limited to e.mail, blog, facebook, in a cheeky roll-up or just plain old hand-written and posted.

So there I am today, minding my own little business. A call comes in on Skype from an old buddy in the US - chat chat this, info and sneaky rumour that…

While that is going on, I get  sent a chat message from Dave, a great guy and boss-man-chap of Inspired bikes.  It’s a link to YouTube, so I start watching that while chatting with Todd.

The video is great, crazy skills on display.  So I send the link on to Todd.

Nuff said for now: go watch

Anyway, no less than an hour later, I get an e-mail from Dan, who says something like “I don’t often send round video e-mails, but I just received this one, and it’s well worth checking out”.

It’s another link to the same video…  And although all three are friends of mine, neither Dan, Todd nor Dave know each other….

I’m not going to give a blow by blow breakdown of XTR history: just let the photos do the talking.

I’ve kept one LH crank from each of my generations of crank: although I cheat slightly as #3 (not shown) is still on my bike, and #4 is a never ridden proto.

Incidentally #2 is also a proto, one of the 952 series when that was updated. It’s probably got the most miles on it, despite, or perhaps because of, being hand made.

Each generation, upon it’s launch, set new standards, allowed new performance, was lusted after.

Look back at the ‘94 era stuff and we can snigger. Solid. Square taper.

Back in the day, it rocked. And I think it still does.

A few images from my stroll through Sydney - fresh off the long haul from Hong Kong.

Filmed a couple of weeks ago at 4am outside of my hotel. Long-Haul Jet-Lag / Insomnia sucks…

…and there is no excuse…

But (if you are not already) then why not follow me on Twitter also? I’ve been geting into that, and really got to terms with it this week, it’s great to not just push content out onto the web, but hear back about it from others.

I’ve just finished with a seriously hecktic week in Taiwan; super super super stoked with the meetings we’ve had - does not even begin to describe it!

I’m a little concerned at the extra volume of work it creates… ut that will have to wait to next week.

I’m currently enjoying my last Taiwan dumplings at the airport, now heading to Sydney to meet with the elusive Mig Pilot (creator of this here fine site) for the very first time… It’s going to be good I know, and can’t wait to cogitate with him…

A comment of note; was approached a a senior and very well known bike industry celeb this week… who came to ‘congratulate’ me on this blog design… of course, I did the descent thing and gave him MP’s real work details…

The Taipei Cycle Show is often spoken about in hushed tones; journalists can only allude to what they saw, brands stay very tightlipped about what they’re working on, and and although the public are invited in, but the reality is that only locals turn up and pay the admission fee.

A few weeks ago was my sixth trek out there, and as with previous events I have come back with a boat load of work, and a head full of ideas and inspiration. But seeing as he “world economic crisis” has led to cutbacks, visible in the reduced number of foreign trade visitors this year, it’s also encourage me to ask myself the question “why?”

Essentially, it’s about the people. The industry guys who are at Inter and Euro Bike, are there for selling, no time to schmooze…

my colleagues at different times during the show week…

So Taipei is an opportunity to bump into people, a cab ride with one guy, dinner with another, a 10 minute chat while walking the aisles. I sometimes feel that the lumps of metal we’re all fondling and buying, are merely a by product of what actually the industry’s premier social event of fast pace calendar.

It is gruelling event, as not only are the days long, and the meetings important, but the pace with Taiwaneese entertainment is fast too, you have to keep up with your tables collected alcohol intake.

The day starts early; partly because jetlag is twisting your melon in ways that only frequent long-haul short-stay business travellers know how. Breakfast is a hurried affair, talking over today’s meetings as you shuffle out to the courtesy bus. Once at the show, at least if you’re working it right, you won’t have a moment’s respite. Meetings are dispatched back chain-smoker. Get-in, light it up, watch their faces and body language more closely than their squirming answers. Get out and thou shallt follow up.

WTB pizza and beer, more stems and the sweetest bike of show

But also has its calmer, more fun moments; our staff party was one place where we forgot about e-mails and to do’s. Just kick back on a sofa listen to to the office girls sing karaoke. Setting up and taking down the stand is also always a great moment; people chipping in to help, checking out the best way of displaying their wares, or furiously scrumming to throw everything back into a truck and get the heck out of out there.

One of those very convivial moments this year was with the guys from WTB, who seem to know the way to a product manager’s heart. Pizza and beer, while sat on a comfy sofa being told why pandas are evil…. I know you just did, but please don’t. Don’t ask. Just be aware that one of the guys there really has it in for the pandas…

Centre Lock rotors from Avid, Meetings, the drivers at the airport and Tim Jackson

In an industry that is driven largely by a high-volume, low priced products, it’s also real  pleasure to meet some of the genuine Artisans that still exist. Guys who just get all hard when they tell you about what they can now do with lumps of metal. I’m probably pretty jaded these days, I don’t tend to get excited about product like they used to. But there was one bike that I would have married instantly and her children with.

Some reason, the question most commonly heard between Western visitors is “so, seen anything new?” I always seems to be the same answer, nothing new, some advances here and some progress there. Maybe new decals.

To be honest, I voice found that very question to be somewhat of an oxymoron. In my mind, what’s new should be more about whatever addded value can we offer to the consumer? How can we leverage our vendor’s progress in manufacturing, to provide a better product to the end-user? Not just cheaper, though obviously price has a big factor. But what about longevity? How easy it is to fix on the trail? Why does the stem and top-cap my bike use three, four and five mm allen keys?

You have to tune your eyes to be on the scout for the interesting things. A graphic on a stem, even though the design of it might be disgusting, might just be the clue that they are now able to ink-jet print directly onto a 3-d object, no decals needed. A surprise to me was the somewhat surprising discovery that Avid have now licensed centre lock from Shimano as an option on all their brakes?

Split rocks, our hotel, dumpling lunch and 10pm bikeshops

Or the seemingly innocuous FSA BMX chain set, but with killer knife edge styling, does that tell you something? Future trend, or design aesthetic? I only found that chain set because I was hanging around waiting for my (absolutely perfect) free FSA latte.

Also waiting for a latte was the omnipresent but industry Internet presence that is known as Massi Guy. Not only an incredibly smart chap, and one who has influenced me greatly in the way I want to relate with my customers. But also just a really good fun guy to spend 20 minutes chatting with. We set the world to rights, maybe even laid the foundations for a few later discussions, then set off on a different paths, probably to next meet at Interbike,  or here again next year.

But the memories take away with me every year, tend to roll around the same images. It’s surprising to the first-time visitors to Taiwan, but it’s an incredibly rich culture of innovation and experimentation, mixed with a pragmatic eastern logic of business first. The hotel we stayed at, although not exceptionally high end, has made all kinds of little efforts to make it look good, going as far as dressing itself in cladding that makes it look more like a Lake Como villa, than a love hotel in Taipei’s commuter district.

But in amongst all the maddening crowds, you can always find Zen. Out the front of Nangang halls there’s a line of 21 boulders, each one large in the previous, and even the smallest still the size of a washing machine. Each one cut down the middle, the services plated in stainless steel. Spaced hip width apart, you can stroll through several million years of evolution at the time of a short fag break.

And then go back into the halls, and see what is happening in 2011.