SURF EXPO SEPTEMBER 2019 COMING SOON

In a few short week the 2019 Surf Expo will return to the Orange County Convention Center.  This is the second Surf Expo of each year.  Each year the expo just keeps getting better and better.  So if you are an owner or buyer for a local surf shop or a sporting goods store or specialty outdoor gear  retailer, do not forget to mark your calendar and make your Orlando travel reservations because September will be here before you know it. Do not miss out by not attending. Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

ENDLESS SANDALS, FLIP FLOPS AND SHOES AT SURF EXPO

When one goes to Surf Expo you will see almost every brand of sandals, flip flops and surf lifestyle shoes one can imagine.  Each season these brands create a selection  of new styles that can make your head spin.  Rider, Sanuk and Flojos are just three of the many brands exhibiting each year at Surf Expo.  What I have found out by attending Surf Expo over these past years is there is a duplicate of styles between brands and price points. If you are not tied to a particular brand and are just looking for a style you like at a price you can afford, you will be able to find what you want by searching the web or your local retailers. You will find these three brands at almost every surf shop from the Pacific to the Gulf to the Atlantic coasts. During a trip to the Outter Banks this past June, we shopped at the the Kitty Hawk Surf Shop. Upon entering the shop is was like going to Surf Expo. Every brand I could remembering seeing at Surf Expo was on display for sale.  I saw these three brands on their racks. 

I am lucky to have Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach just 32 minutes from where I live. Ron Jon carries all three brands. So if you are looking for a new pair of sandals, flip flops and surf lifestyle shoes be sure to check out your local surf shop if you have one to go to or visit your local sporting goods retailer or department store because they all carry one or more of these brands.  The second Surf Expo of the year is the first week in September where all the brands will be there.  This marks the end of summer surfing as we head into the fall and winter surfing season here along the Space Coast.  Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day n the great outdoors.

ICEMULE COOLERS NEW GO SERIES AT SURF EXPO

When I go to Surf Expo in January and September of each year I have my favorite brands.  ICEMULE just happens to be one of my favorite brands. I have been covering ICEMULE since they first showed at Surf Expo many years ago.

As a media guy I sometimes get free samples to try out. After the show, I received my first ICEMULE.  After extensive testing I was sold.  I love how you can roll up the cooler into a small  tube. You can carry this in your luggage or in your backpack until you get to your destination to use it.  In a pinch it can also be  used as an insulated dry bag.  When traveling using motels, it is the perfect solution going to the ice machine to get ice for your room.  Just slide the open end of the cooler bag under the ice machine ice dispenser and just fill the bag up.  So convenient. Here are my photos from Surf Expo and few I took to show how the bag rolls up.  The photo above of my ICEMULE was taken on a dolphin tour at the Outter Banks. Just the right size to carry on the boat. When you seal the cooler bag by rolling the top of the bag and clipping it shut, a perfect handle is formed. This makes the bag real easy to tote. At the January 2019 Surf Expo, ICEMULE rolled out the new GO SERIES coolers.  These coolers are the next generation from the original design with new fabrics and insulation.  Be sure to give  these a look at your local retailer or online. So when you are looking to get a lightweight flexible cooler, check out ICEMULE.  Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

IGLOO COOLERS TAKE IT UP A NOTCH AT SURF EXPO

At the January 2019 Surf Expo, Igloo Coolers had a really great display of all their new rugged coolers.  With the cooler war battles being fought on many fronts, Igloo has really stepped up their game giving outdoor campers, hunters and anglers a few really good choices. I especially likes their all-terrain "Trailmate Journey"  70 quart cooler.  makes it real easy to move a cooler full of ice long distances by pulling it along behind you.  Check it out by visiting the Igloo Cooler Website.  All the Igloo coolers can be purchased at a local retailer near you or online. Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

2019 January Surf Expo Skate Jamb

Electric Bikes Are Here To Stay - Check Them Out At Surf Expo

Unless you have been living on an uncharted island, you cannot have missed the surge in E-Bikes or Electric Powered Bicycles over the past few years. Electric bike designs have been around since the 1990s. In 1992 there you would be hard pressed to find a commercial electric bike for sales in America.  By 2010 in China small motorized bikes were being replaced by E-Bikes. In 2013 E-Bikes in Germany were gaining popularity. When this bike niche market first started gaining traction in North America, bicycle industry press were skeptical if electric bikes would last.  According to VeloNews E-Bikes are here to stay.
If you are a member of Facebook, you know how the Facebook advertising algorithm knows how to feed you advertising.  I get on a regular basis E-Bike ads.  Today I saw an ad for Super73 E-Bikes. 

What caught my eye was that one of their E-Bikes looked like the BMX bike my son had growing up. It is called the Super73-Z1. It looks like a fat tire BMX bike. Super73 is a vetran owned California business.  Their E-Bikes are certified for global sales.  They have five E-Bikes ranging from $1,400 to $4,500 in price.  This Memorial Day weekend four of their E-Bikes are on sale.

At the 2016 Surf Expos ago I was introduced to the RAMBO E-Bike. This was their first show.  They brought their full line up of bikes. After the show I did an article for my blog on the Rambo E-Bike.  When you visit the Rambo website you can see that there are two different types of bikes, Extreme and High Performance. They even have E-Bikes with a carbon fiber frame.  Their bikes are in the $3,999.99 to $4,699.99 price. range.

I think there is a place in the global bicycle market place for E-Bikes.  Especially for older folks like myself who have lost the stamina to be able to do long bike trips but still like to ride bicycles.  An Electric E-Bike can go a long way in keeping old timers like me on on the bike trails. But the only draw back as I see it is the availability to test these bikes before purchasing one.  Your local bike store may only carry one brand if they carry E-Bikes at all.  Making the choice to buy an E-Bike online may be a hard choice for many of us when spending over $1,000.00 on a bike you have not tried out.

Surf Expo happens in September at the Orange County Convention Center from the 5th to the 7th.  Hope to see you there.

Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.

Kingdom Trail Network in Northern Vermont

Did you ever wonder where Florida Mountain Bikers go when they venture out looking for new trail challenges when they do not head out west?  How about all the mountain trails that border the Appalachian Valley. 

At the northern end of the Great Appalachian Valley are the mountain trails of Vermont, the Green Mountain State. One of the most notable trail system networks in world just happens to be in Vermont. It is the Kingdom Trail Network.  

The Kingdom Trail Network  welcome center is located behind the Northeast Kingdom Country Store in East Burke Village in northern Vermont. The entire 100 mile trail network is located on private land. Bike Magazine voted the Kingdom Trail Network as the Best Trail Network in North America.  

The Kingdom Trail Welcome Center is open M-F 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM April to October.  During the winter season December thru March the Kingdom Trails Nordic Adventure Center located in Lyndonville, Vermont is open seven days a week 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 

All trail riders are required to either be a Kingdom Trail Association year round adult member (16 years to 69 years) for a $75.00 fee or become a Daily Adult or Youth Member for $15.00 or $7.00 respectively.  If you are under 8 years or over 70 you ride free. Membership can be purchased from the Welcome Center and the Village Sport Shop (During the Summer) and the East Burke Sports (During the Winter). 

Over this Memorial Day weekend I have a workmate, Sue Hann, that is making a trip to the Kingdom Trail Network. Sue has biked these trails before and highly recommends them. When I found out that she was a mountain biker I had a ton of questions for her.  I asked he what kind of bike she rode.  She told me that she rode a Santa Cruz mountain bike. I was not familiar with that brand. After I looked this brand up I realized that she has be a serious mountain biker to ride one of these bikes. 

As we chatted about her trip she told me that you cannot go to that part of Vermont and start and finish a mountain bike ride without stopping at Creemees.  Sue said they have an amazing soft serve cone called the Maple Creemee.  She said that this treat is so amazing it is almost worth the trip just to eat one. 

After this long weekend is over and I get back to work, I cannot wait to hear how her trip went. Hopefully I can snag a few photos from her and giver everyone a quick update on how Sue's mountain bike adventure went.  So next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors. 

All Good Products at 2019 Surf Expo

The 2019 January Surf Expo is one for the books.  Sunny skies and cool temperatures brought the surf lifestyle community together to see what us new for the 2019 season.

This year I visited the All Good Products booth to lean about their "Reef Friendly" sunscreen and their other products. At the booth I met Annie Flick.  She is a Sales Manager at All Good Products. We had a good discussion about the harm sunscreen does to aquatic life that contains the chemicals octinoxate and oxybenzone.  Both of these chemicals are deadly.  Back in the day before I learned about these chemicals, I killed my fishing bait more than once by putting my hands in my bait bucket laden with sunscreens like Bull Frog or Copper tone.  Reef-Friendly Criteria.  When using their sunscreen and lip balm  you can be assured that you will not hurting ocean life when you go into the water.

Today I only use fish friendly sunscreen.  That is where All Good sunscreen comes in.  Their sunscreen is reef friendly.  All of the All Good sunscreen and lip balm products contain ingredients that meet the Reef-Friendly Criteria.  When wearing the All Good sunscreen or lip balm you can rest assured that going into the water will not hurt the aquatic life that lives there.

So the next time you are looking to replenish your supply of sunscreen and lip balm, be sure to check out All Good Products.  You can get them online or at local store in your home town. Click HERE for a location near you.  Until next time be safe in the sun and have a great day in the great outdoors.