Website 101

“I need a new website.”

These five words strike more fear in more business owners than hearing “We are heading for another recession”. Websites are everywhere, so why are they so hard to construct? The answer is that they are not. Websites are easy, great websites are a lot of work.

That was my mission nine months ago. Create a great website that distinguishes us from our competition. I consider any recreational activity vying for cyclists’ time and attention to be competition. I needed people, lots of them, to look at how we operate and help create our online vision. The funnel theory was explained to me on how we need to direct more people to our proposed site and get them to act on our message. Sounded like a good theory, so I searched for the best “funnel” people that I could find.
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A Day with Lance Armstrong and Senator Kerry at PMC 2011

Friday evening in Sturbridge, MA started out with our traditional dinner by Rovezzi’s Restaurante before the official Pan Mass Challenge ceremonies would kick off.  Attending were Senator John Kerry, his brother Cam, PMC founder Billy Star, Senator Kerry’s Aide Jason Meininger, my wife Liz and Lance Armstrong. The conversation was eclectic and light, as you would expect from such a diverse group. We bantered from this year’s Tour, to recent politics, to the amazing growth of the PMC, raising nearly $35 million this year to fight cancer. Continue reading

Rapha Pro Team apparel

What’s in a name?

2011 marked a big step for the folks at Rapha. If you are not familiar with them, Rapha is a UK based clothing brand that has gained an incredible following thanks greatly to it’s traditionally styled, high performance clothing pieces. Since their inception their goal was simple: to create apparel that not only meets the demands of the sport, but also looks great on and off the bike. Unlike many of today’s brands, which cover their clothing in logos and graphic, the Rapha aesthetic took it’s roots from the cycling classics era of the 30’s and 40’s. Continue reading