Spyder Interview on "The Competitors Radio Show"

As you may recall from the Challenged Athletes Event blog I was interviewed on "The Competitors Radio Show" by 'The Voice of Ironman' Bob Babbitt and Paul Huddle. click the link below so you can hear first hand about how much fun the Can-Am Spyder Roadster is! I was a little nervous at first but these guys were a blast!

http://www.competitorradio.com/

Election Night Downtown

Earlier today, I had heard on the radio that there were going to be “election parties” at various places throughout the Gaslamp Quarter. I thought it would be fun to take the roadster down to see the various events supporting each of the candidates.

I was amazed at how much traffic was headed downtown. It looked like election night was a great night to go out. I headed over to the House of Blues where the San Diego Democratic Party had booked the venue from 8:00PM to 12:00AM. When I pulled up I immediately had people approaching the vehicle. I threw on the hazards and spent some time handing out information and answering questions. There was a ton of enthusiasm about the evening and plenty for the Can-Am Spyder as well.

My next stop was Stingaree. I parked right in front of the main entrance next to the CBS news van. One of the reporters said “Wow, that’s the first time I’ve seen one of these outside of the ads.” He could not disguise his excitement. We spoke for a while as I continued to hand out fliers to the steady flow of people headed to Petco Park. Apparently most of the heavy traffic was due to Madonna playing at the stadium. While I was outside the club Obama had secured enough electoral votes to win the race. Since this was another Democratic event, people were going crazy with excitement.

After speaking with a few more groups of people, I headed around the corner and parked in a “Taxi Zone” right next to the entrance of the park. I handed out SpyderSanDiego.com fliers to anyone who looked remotely interested in the Can-Am Roadster. The majority of these people were girls in retro “Madonna like” clothing accompanied by supportive men who were happy to walk away with some information on a cool new vehicle. After spending some time explaining different aspects of the Spyder to many different groups, I realized it was getting late.

In the interest of balanced promoting I had decided to head down to the where the news reporter suggested, the Republican Party’s election night event at the Westgate Hotel. Considering the results of the race, I was not surprised that when I arrived, the place was dead.

After a few trips up and down 5^th and 6^th Avenues, I rode home along the water on Harbor Drive reflecting the election. I was reminded how lucky we are to live in a nation where Democracy gives the people the power to control the future of the country.

2008 Gaslamp Fall Fallback Festival

Today I headed on down to the Gaslamp Quarter's Fall Back Festival, a benefit to raise money for the Gaslamp Quarter Historical Foundation. This was an event primarily geared towards children brought the families out of the woodwork. The crowd appeared to be mostly mothers and children but I managed to find a quite few stray dads looking to learn more about their next toy. I landed a parking spot right next to the main gate on 5th & Island so there was no missing this awesome piece of machinery on the way in to the event.

Since this event was in the heart of the Gaslamp district, there was plenty of foot traffic from local businesses. I spoke with quite a few groups and individuals who had plenty of questions. Those who didn't have questions but were staring at this classic roadster in passing ended up with a SpyderSanDiego.com card in their hand. Promoting downtown sometimes requires rapid tactics to make sure that plenty of people walk away with the information that they need. I found myself explaining all the fun involved with being a SpyderRyder and receiving very positive feedback. When I wasn’t answering questions, I was handing out cards to people passing by and emphasizing that there is “no need for a motorcycle license in California” which caused quite a few people to stop in their tracks. When I followed that up with the details of the of the ABS, VSS, and traction control they always had plenty of questions. This roadster really demonstrated its ability to turn heads today.

When I stepped away to grab a bite to eat, I made sure to set a good amount fliers and booklets on the vehicle. I was gone for about 30 minutes and when I returned, I was pleased to find that all but a few items had been picked up by prospective SpyderRyders. These roadsters really have a way of attracting people to them.

The 2008 Carlsbad Fair

I had my second experience of someone following me to learn more about the Can-Am Spyder. At first I thought he was just pulling into the gas station for a fill up. However, after he approached me and we talked for awhile, he just left. He came in to learn more about the Spyder, period. I'm not sure how long he had be following me.
He asked me several questions including where he could get one. I pointed him to the nearest dealer. He said he would go take a test ride. My gut says this guy will purchase one. He was fired up. He owns off-road ATV's and was very familiar with the Can-Am brand. He's been looking for something to take to the streets and saw himself riding a Spyder.
Next I drove around the Carlsbad Fair to scope out my parking options. I circled around the block and found a prime spot near the bus / shuttle pickup. I was impressed... there were hundreds of people walking around the 4 block radius.
It turned into a great event for Spyder exposure and potential sales. I talked with dozens of people. They were all excited about the roadster. One guy had his motorcycle stolen and was looking for something to purchase with the insurance money. I spent some time chatting with a women in her 60's who wanted one to cruise local streets. She was funny... I gave her my email address. She doesn't have a computer but wanted me to send her the photo I took. I think her daughter is going to email me so I can send it.
There were so many great conversations. I really enjoyed my time at the fair. Check out some of the folks I met...

Camp Pendleton "Buffalo Alley 10k Trail-Run"

This morning was great, I was up early and looking forward to a nice run. Using the convenient trunk in the front of the Can-Am Spyder, I was able to load up all my running gear along with some Spyder media and be on my way in no time. I was headed over fifty miles up the coast to the North end of Camp Pendleton near San Onofre for the "Buffalo Alley 10k Run". The ride up was amazing, what a beautiful area that was with plenty of breathtaking sights. I was so happy to be SpyderRyding...

When I arrived I managed to land a parking spot right next to the end of the Start/Finish chute. I stuck around a few to answer questions from event spectators and loaded up the vehicle with a few SpyderSanDiego.com cards and booklets as well. This "trail run" was shaping up to be a lot of fun. After that I threw my shoes on and headed out on the course. Friends on the race staff let me know that there were a good number of people checking out this awesome piece of three-wheeled technology as they waited for their athletes to come in. When I came across the finish line the first thing I saw was that beautiful Yellow Can-Am Spyder.

After the race, I spent some time hanging out with athletes, volunteers, and military members talking about the Spyder. One guy told me that he just bought a different motorcycle and he wants to sell it to get a Can-Am Spyder Roadster instead. I really enjoyed all of the positive feedback. It really puts a smile on my face.

On the way out, I decided to check out a very cool beach camp site called San Onofre Beach. Surfers really like this beach, because it’s exclusive to military members. It is usually less polluted than beaches in the city. You can really see what I mean in the Spyder shot below. I even got a thumbs up from one of the lifeguards. It was a great ride back and I even stopped as soon as I was off base and took my safety vest off so that everyone on that long ride home could see my BRP.COM logo on my jacket. There were a ton of people on the road and I caught plenty of eyes.

It seemed like everywhere I went today I found active consumers eager to learn more about this unique roadster. I stopped for gas and a couple from Oregon pulled up and had plenty of questions. They were very happy with the book and some fliers. When I arrived at the gate to Camp Pendleton, the marine who checked my ID said “Where’s your motorcycle endorsement?” I quickly explained how the law worked in California, handed them each a SpyderSanDiego.com card, and I was on my way. Even when I went down to Ocean Beach to get a breakfast burrito on the way home, people were swarming and I found myself giving even out more media. AWESOME!

On my way back to the house I saw a friend walking his dog and stopped to say hello. I didn't even call the dog over to me. She instinctively cuddled up with the Spyder. As you can see from the picture below, even dogs love the Can-Am Spyder Roadster.

5k Walk for Autism - Balboa Park

It was a beautiful day to get out on the Can-Am Spyder. I headed down to Balboa Park and ran into a detour due to some construction. It took me out of my way but was nice to cruise through new areas... living the "Y" factor. I actually found the main drag of Little Italy; which I've never seen before. The streets were busy with Saturday morning joggers, walkers, and al fresco diners. The Spyder received some good attention.

Next I stopped at the Autism walk at Balboa Park. There were hundreds of people spectating and out walking for this cause. I found a great spot to park the Spyder. I hung out and talked with those passing by.

Not completely content with the numbers of people I interacted with, I decided to head down to the Gas Lamp district. I pulled the Spyder up on the side walk and got a great shot of it with the sign in the background. I stayed and talked with some folks. It was a perfect location right by a walking trail.

Finally, I made a stop closer to home at Swami's Park. I had a few people come up and inquire about the roadster. One very interested mother said she wouldn't want her son on a motorcycle but could see him on a Spyder. I gave her a brochure and directed her to the website. One surfer came up and chatted for a while. He said he had a Can-Am motorcycle years ago and it was the best bike he every had. He went on and on about the quality of the Can-Am brand. The one line he repeated was, "That's one handsome piece!".

2008 CAF San Diego Triathlon Challenge Interviews (Video)

What a great day to be outside with our Can-Am Spyder Roadsters. We were lucky enough to have an Expo tent positioned at the entrance to the transition area. This is where the majority of spectator traffic occurred all day. As the fog cleared Steve and I took turns polishing up our Roadsters while the other spoke with interested people. In a matter of minutes people began crowding around these distinctive and exciting vehicles. As the morning went on we had a steady flow of intrigued consumers.

Later in the morning, my girlfriend “Amanda” joined us as a volunteer marketer. She works as a software trainer and she’s heard me discuss all the facts so many times, she was a natural. People from all walks of life spent time with us learning about the Spyder throughout the day. Many people came back multiple times for an additional eyeful. Our expo tent was almost as cool as the VIP tent. This roadster was a hit with just about everyone who passed by.

One gentleman who did not have the use of his legs saw amazing potential with this stable machine. He told us about mobility solutions companies which do adaptive configurations to help people with physical challenges enjoy the mobility that many of us take for granitite. As the day went on we found more and more people in similar situations who were interested in getting back on the open road.I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the first Spyders modified with these configurations in the near future.

After almost ten hours we had finally finished our mission. We emptied almost two full boxes of the Spyder booklets and hundreds of the SpyderSanDiego.com cards. I made sure to invite everyone to the site to see the photos taken throughout the day.

Later on Bob Babbitt had me on The Competitors radio show to discuss all of the Benefits of the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. I was a little nervous, but I managed to share as much pertinent information as I could. I made sure to plug not only SpyderSanDiego.com, but also www.SpyderRyder.com. I will be sure and update this blog with the link when they publish it online.

15th Annual CAF San Diego Triathlon Challenge

The morning was cold and foggy as I drove the Spyder down to La Jolla cove. I arrived around 6:45 AM and parked up on the lawn under the Can-AM Spyder canopy. The outside expo area was already jamming with athletes, sponsors, spectators, and event staff. Before I could even get my helmet off, I was approached with questions. "What is that? Is it street legal?"

Buck arrived and we were both challenged with trying to get the area organized / set-up while talking with the crowds. It was a good problem to have. The day started off with a bang and continued through the 3:30 PM breakdown.

Our location was perfect! It was front and center to the main entrance; everyone came by our canopy. Someone said this event draws 5,000 people. I'm guessing 90% of which saw the Spyder booth. We interacted with hundreds of people. Some wanted to sit on the Spyder, some had questions, some were just curious, some wanted to own one, some wanted literature, and some were a combination of the above.

We took a few photos and Buck shot some video to capture the essence of the day. In my opinion, this was perhaps our greatest event to date. Not only did we reach a large number of people, many who never saw us before, we had a large number of highly interested customers who would be taking test rides and purchasing.

Buck and I also received some interesting feedback from the challenged population. Some had one, two, or more limbs with prosthetics. They commented on how they could never ride a motorcycle but could see themselves on a Spyder. For example, one guy had a prosthetic on his left foot. I explained how we have a semi-automatic shifting option that he could work. He was excited about the possibility. Along those lines, we had several other inquiries about modifications to the Spyder. "Could I get the throttle on the left side?" "Could I get a hand brake?" Buck and I just said it may be a possibility but the manufacturer would be able to provide more information.

By the way, there was another first. We had a man who just married a couple come check out the Spyder. A man in a suit on the Spyder... nice look.
In summary, it was a fantastic event. We received tons of exposure, had direct interaction with hundreds of people, generated interest from a potential new market, and got inspired from the energy of the event.

PS - a big thank you to Buck's girlfriend, Amanda for helping us out at the event.

See photos from the event:

San Diego's "Old Town" Historic District

Tonight we headed on down to the historic tourist haven known as Old Town San Diego. As soon as we rolled up the people began to stare. We took the first parking spot at the end of Old Town Avenue right at the entrance to the "Old Town State Historic Park".

Since its Monday night the streets weren't completely packed, but there were definitely quite a few interested people. I took some time to ask the people who were obviously checking it out if they had any questions and gave out a couple of booklets. I then loaded the vehicle with a couple more booklets and cards before heading off to dinner.

When I returned all of the cards had been removed by intrigued pedestrians. The booklets had been removed from the windshield and one of them was left open on the seat by whoever was reviewing the interesting information contained within.
Although it was a mellow Monday evening people were still clearly interested in learning more about this exceptional means of transportation.

Charger's vs. Patriots Promo (Video)

It was a beautiful afternoon and chargers fans were lined up to get into one of the biggest games of the season. The Chargers were playing the patriots today and you wouldn't believe the traffic getting into this event. As I sat in traffic waiting to get into the stadium I spoke with multiple people about how much fun it was to own this cool new roadster. I managed to hand out at least half a dozen SpyderSanDiego cards as I battled stadium traffic with the masses.
On the advice of a stadium worker I had met last night, I entered through gate 1 which took me through all of the R/V parking. This area was packed with groups of Chargers Fans with their families and friends, many of which cheered for the Spyder.

On my way to checking in with our BRP crew at the Bud Light Power Party I must have spoken with 10 different groups of people. It seemed that quite a few people had empty parking spots next to their tailgate party that they wanted me to fill with this unique vehicle. Rather than take the parking spot, pulled up, cut the engine and took a few minutes to enlighten them on the details of the Can-Am Spyder Roadster. I wrapped up by providing most of them with our marketing media and moving on to the next interested party. When I arrived at the BRP Can-Am Spyder tent the party was in full swing. I was ecstatic to meet some very fascinating BRP staff members. I grabbed a beverage from our cooler and went to work on the crowds.

Before I was even able to start my roadster back up, I was approached by three or four groups of people who were eager to learn more about the Spyder. After taking some time to answer their questions and direct them to our display to get their Spyder eShots, I headed back out to the masses to share the good word with even more people.

People continued to call me over to their tents as I passed through the parking aisles handing out flyers. One gentleman who indicated that he rode motorcycles his whole life was kind enough to share his opinions in the interview below. I made sure that he had one of our booklets in hand before I moved on to the next group.

Link:

After chatting with a few more people and wading through the crowd on the Spyder, I ran into a crane operator. He was very enthusiastic about the Spyder and was eager to share his opinions.

Link:

The San Diego Locals were clearly into this innovative vehicle. I managed to get a few more opinions and made sure to provide as many people as possible with media in order to allow them to follow their instinctive desire to follow up and learn more.

Link:

As it got closer to the kick-off time I headed over to the main Stadium gate. When I attempted enter the parking area, the guard asked me why I needed to be there. I proceeded to explain that I was with one of the vendors and I would not be leaving the vehicle. He was OK with that and I parked in a loading zone next to the massive line of people headed into the game.

At one point, I was speaking with a group of about a dozen people. One lady who was clearly impaired jumped onto the Spyder and punted my brand new Can-Am/BRP helmet into a wall. I quickly recovered the fumble and she apologized profusely. To avoid any negative energy, I kept my cool and continued to work with the group.

Link:

As the crowd got bigger and more and more people rushed for the line, two police officers approached and made me think that I would have to move. I was worried for a moment until I realized that it was the officer I had trained for the Boot Camp Challenge (pictured in my first blog) and her associate. They were happy to see me and encouraged bystanders to ask more questions.

In the end, the Chargers finally beat the New England Patriots and San Diego fans were raving not only about the game but also about the Can-Am Spyder Roadster…

Fleet Week Classic SDSU vs. USAF (Video)

Buck and I met up for a quick coffee shooter before heading over to Qualcomm Stadium. We took some time to polish up the Can-Am Spyders with some pledge and Armor-all before the event.
When we arrived, we received a warm welcome from the stadium staff and police officers. One cop waved me over to ask some questions and give some Spyder compliments.

We found a good spot to park by the Air Force support section. We spoke with a few and passed out brochures. The demographic was a mix. You had some of the younger college students but then also the alumni fans.

We were even approached by guerrilla marketers from a company called Honest Tea, an organic beverage company. They asked if we could take some shots on the Spyders for their marketing program. We were happy to oblige since this would give this classic roadster even more exposure.
Next we headed over to the main gate area close to the stadium. There was a ton of foot traffic. We stayed and talked with scores of people. Many of them were motorcycle riders looking for something new. Some of which seemed educated and familiar with BRP.At the start of the game the USAF sent an impressive aircraft to commemorate the beginning of the Fleet Week Classic football game. Working in tandem allowed us to attract and speak with larger groups of people, this was definitely a good technique.