You’ll have to excuse me if my vanity gets the best of me but when it comes to getting off my bike and walking into Starbucks to get my caffeine fix… I’d rather not be a hot sweaty mess and blind as a bat. You and I both know, there’s a time and a place for hot and sweaty!

Have you ever heard of the Sweat GUTR™? If you haven’t heard of it you’ve surely seen the ads on Facebook and several other popular websites. In any case, I’m here to tell you first hand this simple device actually works! Up until recently I had been seeing the ads for the Sweat GUTR™ everywhere but never paid to much attention or clicked on any of the ads. As chance would have it I was passing by the Sweat GUTR™ booth at Interbike a few weeks ago and stopped to ask, what is this Sweat GUTR™ all about?

Luckily for me the person I asked was none other than president and founder Erick P. Flatt. I shook Erick’s hand and told him jokingly I had seen the ads for Sweat GUTR™ everywhere and all over my Facebook account, he couldn’t have been more delighted. Erick then went on to explain the technology behind this simple practical device that has everyone saying… “why didn’t I think of that”!

Erick then pointed out that Old Man Winter is right around the corner and a lot of people (not fortunate enough to live in SoCal like myself) will be making the transition to cycling indoors. Here’s what he had to say.

Riding indoors this Winter

Indoor cycling classes are becoming increasingly popular, especially during the winter months. Whether you’re participating in a cycling class at your local bike shop’s clinics, riding on rollers or an indoor trainer with cycling buddies in your garage, indoor cycling can be a great way to stay in shape during the winter months. However, working up a sweat takes on a whole new meaning when cycling indoors. Most cyclists will drape towels over their handlebars or use bike bras to protect their bikes from the endless sweat. Even cyclists that don’t normally perspire much will drip with sweat while cycling indoors and those of us that are real sweaters will pour buckets of sweat. Needless to say saturation becomes an understatement and cloth sweatbands don’t stand a chance of keeping our eyes clear and dry.

Thinking about using a hat or bandanna? Sixty percent of your body heat escapes through the top of your head. Do you really want to trap all that heat and add to that steam bath feeling?

Enter the Sweat GUTR™ sweatband. Channeling sweat away, your eyes stay clear and dry. Since the GUTR™ is nonabsorbent, you never have to worry about it saturating like cloth sweatbands.

The GUTR’s very small profile allows heat to freely escape off the top of your head to help keep you cooler. And, when you’re done cycling the GUTR™ is basically dry and not a soggy mess to deal with. After a quick rinse to remove any salt residue, the Sweat GUTR™ is ready for your next training session.

Echo’s sweaty testimony

So needless to say after chatting up Mr. Flatt (and learning more about sweat than I ever thought I’d learn), before parting ways he gave me a GUTR™ to try for myself. I was a bit skeptical, having been the punchline for many jokes in the past because of my excessive sweat (and funk)… I was thinking to myself this is too good to be true.

Unfortunately the Sweat GUTR™ didn’t do anything for my body funk after 2 hours of trail riding but it did keep the sweat out of my eyes and face! I’m also an avid tennis player so I took it out on the tennis court with me and by George if I didn’t have one of the best games of my life! Tennis is 99% mental, I don’t know if it was me thinking I had an edge with the Sweat GUTR™ or if I just thought I was too cool because nobody else had one… either way I kicked some tennis rear-end while wearing the Sweat GUTR™.

If you haven’t gotten the message already… go get the Sweat GUTR™ it will definitely prove useful, comfortable and you’ll be the envy of all your friends. You can buy the Sweat GUTR™ at any major sports retailer or go online here.

Video demo

Website Sweat: www.sweatgutr.com
Facebook Sweat: Coming soon.
Twitter Sweat: Coming soon.

Some ideas just make sense! That’s the first thing that came to my head when I met Nan Kappeler, owner and founder of T Mat Pro™. Nan and I met at the Interbike convention this year and in our brief discussion and exchange of business cards she managed to pass on a little information about a product I had yet to discover, the T Mat Pro™.

What I’ve come to find in the weeks that have past since Nan and I first met is that I along with numerous other bloggers, magazines and athletes agree the T Mat Pro™ is a great product and surprisingly useful for multiple applications.

Another bonus is the T Mat Pro™ can also be used in companion with TRIslide lubricant spray to shave off precious seconds at your next triathlon race!

The T Mat Pro™ is great for fast triathlon transitions, changing clothes at your car and stretching.  The bright colors make it easy for triathletes to spot their bikes at races, and the non-skid rubber backing keeps the mat flat, so it doesn’t bunch up like a towel when you wipe your feet.  The mat rolls up to fit in a backpack and can be easily transported in your car for changing before and after a ride.  No more pebbles in your underpants!  After changing, just place the mat on your trunk floor or car seat and store your sweaty clothes on top.

Nan and T Mat Pro™ are also partnered with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training! Women’s Cycling Magazine would like to commend Nan for her efforts at raising awareness and making a difference. Show your support by checking out Nan’s page here.

For more info on the T Mat Pro™ check out the video below.

This past week at the Interbike convention in Las Vegas I had the chance to briefly talk with Michael Ehrenreich, MD, Chief Executive Officer of SOMA Cycle, Inc, a.k.a. Zigo! I’m excited to say Zigo has a phenomenal product line backed up by an innovative and dynamic team of engineers and designers.

If you haven’t already heard of Zigo it’s okay I hadn’t until recently as well but don’t let that fool you, Zigo is definitely making a name for itself and most certainly poised to be a household name soon enough.

Let’s talk about the product. I’m sure you’ve seen several different push and pull strollers out and about in your local community but I can guarantee you you’ve never seen anything like Zigo Leader X2 Carrier Bicycle (available now) or the Zigo Leader X1 Carrier Bicycle, coming Spring 2010.

The Zigo systems are far superior to other manufactures products, I’ll highlight some of many new and innovative features that give the Zigo award winning cycling/stroller systems the chance to win your confidence and loyalty.

• Zigo Leader Carrier Bicycle System can operate as a 3-wheel carrier bicycle, stroller, jogger, bicycle, or conventional bicycle trailer, converting among these modes in under 30 seconds using patent-pending LeaderLink technology.
• The forward positioned ChildPod allows for constant visual contact with your children. None of the anxiety of a tow behind trailer.
• Children are a lot more stimulated riding up front than being towed behind staring at the bike or Mom’s behind.
• No need to give up active lifestyle once children come. Use the Zigo Leader and integrate your kids into your outdoor lifestyle.
• One product for biking, walking, and jogging.
• Reduces carbon emissions dramatically. Most carbon emissions are from short trips by suburban parents. But once you have kids, biking becomes more difficult. The Zigo Leader replaces short car trips for school, play dates and shopping.
• New for this season, 7 gear Shimano hubs.
• Meets all relevant ASTM standards and CPSC requirements.

For more on the Zigo brand and family of products please visit www.myzigo.com and tell’em Women’s Cycling Magazine sent ya!

We just got word in to keep a look out for the Ritchey booth #3325 at Interbike 2009. Word on the streets is they’ll be showcasing some stellar new gear from their 2010 product line and Ritchey-sponsored Team TIBCO Women’s Pro Cycling pro’s Brooke Miller and Alison Starnes will be there to socialize and sign autographs!

Are you scratching your head and wondering what it is exactly Ritchey will awe us with this year? Well if you are we’re excited to say they’ve given us a sneak peek into the 2010 product line and it’s looking good.

The SuperLogic Carbon 46mm Road Tubular wheels and WCS Carbon 1Bolt Ritchey WCS Carbon Zero-Offset postZero-Offset seatpost are both new to the Ritchey line. The SupeLogic wheel set is entirely hand-built with carbon rims that make it one of the lightest on the market. The Zero-Offset seatpost allows riders to be “on top of” their pedals and makes saddle adjustments easy.

Ritchey WCS Carbon WheelsThese and all Ritchey products are made according to the Ritchey Fit Logic philosophy that “the best performance is achieved when a bike fits the unique and individual dimensions of the rider.” This exactly the kind of custom fitting that the new Fit Logic poster facilitates. It gives a Ritchey dealer a new tool to help customers dial in the fit of their bikes. The poster’s new visual presentation of the fitting system demonstrates how the stem, handlebars and seatpost can be adjusted to meet an individual rider’s needs.

That’s just a sneak peek into the 2010 product line swing by the booth to ask questions, place orders or get an autograph. If you’d like more specific information or would like to setup a time to come by ahead of time please use the following information.

Maura Lansford
for, Ritchey Design
SOAR Communications
mlansford@soarcomm.com