This week we stumbled upon the thoughtful Grounds & Hounds coffee brand, the Specialized S-Works Aerofly road handlebar, the Panache houndstooth themed trisuit, the Oakley Tincan shades, the #WeAreAllMonkeys anti racism twitter campaign, and the threadless Die Trying t-shirt.
Grounds & Hounds coffee
The motto at Grounds & Hounds Coffee Company is "Something for everyone, every one for something" and 20% of all revenue the brand receives is donated to the company's rescue partner located closest to where the product is bought. You can learn more about this hound passionate brand at the link above, but it is likely not difficult to guess why I personally am completely smitten by this brand. And I don't even drink that much coffee.
MSRP: $13.50 and up
Specialized S-Works Aerofly bars
The S-Works Aerofly carbon handlebar was introduced late last summer but has not been much in the public eye. It is available in 40, 42 and 44cm widths and weighs 250 grams in the middle size. It features a 130 mm drop and an 80 mm reach, and like it most newer road bars it is ready for internal cable routing and is also electronic shifting compatible. This is a relatively affordable aero upgrade, and at the very least should give you a mental advantage. And please don't tell me that you still have a regular road bar on your aero road bike.
MSRP: $220
Panache Houndstooth Trisuit
The Panache Cycling crew in Bouder, Colorado has become famous for their funky designs and their healthy dose of houndstooth inclusion, and you can now have that look and feel in a trisuit or tri tops and bottoms. In a world where so much of the tri apparel looks the same it is nice to see something that breaks the mold. Plus your spouse will appreciate it if you can be identified from a distance.
Sizes: S-XL
MSRP: $144
Oakley TinCan
Of course you can wear your Oakley Racing Jackets while you are on your bike racing or training, but don't show up with them at work, while on a date, or any other non athletic public excursion. The TinCan shades from Oakley lets your friends know that you are athletically wired to some degree, but does not make you look like a tool when walking in the park with your family.
Colors: Various
MSRP: $200 as pictured
#WeAreAllMonkeys twitter campaign
Racism is still very much present in our society and recent news quotes ranging from Donald Sterling to Cliven Bundy make most of us shake our head in disbelief. But sadly these cases are not rare, they just happened to be in the limelight. In soccer the racism topic is very hot too, as fans have thrown bananas on the field and made monkey sounds when opposing team players with dark skin complexions touch the ball. Recently Brazilian born Barcelona player Dani Alves of FC Barcelona got ready for a corner kick against Villarreal when a banana landed near his feet. Alves casually grabbed it, peeled it and took a bite before tossing it aside and continuing with his kick. That was a very clever response by Alves and the incident has now sparked a twitter movement in the soccer world with the hashtag #WeAreAllMonkeys. But the picture below was posted by Belgian Omega Pharma - Quick Step Pro Iljo Keisse after his team mate Mark Cavendish won the opening stage of the Tour of Turkey yesterday and happened to be bestowed with bananas. And he used the hashtag #WeAreAllMonkeys of course.
Let us now see what we can do in cycling and triathlon with that hashtag, and please - be creative.
Threadless Die Trying t-shirt
I venture to guess here that this Threadless t-shirt is not triathlon themed or targeted, but somehow it fits, and it is more clever and entertaining than most triathlon t-shirts out there. My gripe would still be that the art is too big, but I guess most folks want to get as much print as possible for their money. This shirt is available in a variety of sizes and also in a women's cut.
Sizes: S-XXL
MSRP: $20
