Year in Review

What a great year for Grease Monkey Wipes.

- We have grown our retailers from about 10 to over 45 the past year.
- Our sales for the year increased by over 50%.
- We received product mentions in Triathlete Magazine, Dirt Rag Mag, and on Fat Cyclist.
- We began a strong relationship with High Five Events.
- Team Grease Monkey Wipes participated in several charity cycling events.
- From these events we were able to raise over $10,000 for the various charities.
- GMW was able to sponsor some amazing teams and organizations such as Threshold Cycling, Big Pig Racing, Transparent Racing, and Austin Cycle Camp.
- On a personal side Erin completed her first Ironman, and Tim completd over 4000 miles on the bike.
- We have met tons of amazing people.

Team GMW wants to wish everyone a fantastic new year. Look for some huge things from us in 2010.

Enjoy the ride.

Team Grease Monkey Wipes

Grease Monkey Wipes to Swim with the Sharks!

It's been about 6 months in the making, but we are VERY excited to finally share some big news from Grease Monkey Wipes.

Drum roll please...on Friday January 15, 2010 at 9:00 pm EST/8:00 pm CST, Grease Monkey Wipes will be featured on the Mark Burnett produced reality TV show Shark Tank on ABC.

That's right - Grease Monkey Wipes is going prime time!!

The premise of Shark Tank revolves around entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to 5 multi-millionaire investors in hopes of getting funding in exchange for an equity share in their company.

Obviously we can't share what happened to us on the show... for that you'll just have to tune in on January 15. But we can give you an inside peek at the path we traveled to get on the show...

We heard about the opportunity through Twitter in late May and emailed some basic information to them thinking why not. We were then contacted by the show in early June. At this time we began the extensive application process that included filming a 5 minute audition tape (which may be leaked to YouTube in the near future). The first week of July we found out we were semi-finalists for the show, and then the first week of August we found out we made the show. Woohoo!! After this we flew to Los Angeles at the end of August to pitch Grease Monkey Wipes.

Below are some pictures from our very own trailer on the Sony studio lots. And here's a sneak peak of what we were up against... Kevin O'Leary (i.e. you crazy chickens!) was shooting us as we set up to pitch!





This has been such an amazing experience for both of us (even though we have been waiting to pop holding this news in since August.) We have absolutely relished every minute of it. There are tons of people to thank for their help along the way, and that will come in an update soon. But for now, we just wanted to let you know that on January 15 (9:00pm EST/8:00pm CST)Grease Monkey Wipes will be taking a swim with the sharks and we hope you will tune in to see if we come out of the tank alive or if we become chum.



Thanks for all of your support and enjoy the ride,

Erin and Tim

Tim's Tips: Inflation Method

CO2 inflation or not CO2 inflation, that is the question.

One of the most important items that a cyclist can carry with them is something to replace a flat tire. This includes not only a spare tube but a way to fill this tube. There are two main options: a hand pump or CO2 cartridges.

The usual argument against CO2 cartridges is the cost. Each CO2 cartridge costs between $2-3 at your local bike shop. Well, if you think outside the box you can buy them much cheaper. If you buy the cartridges in the paint ball section at Wal-Mart, Academy, Dick's, etc. you can get a box of 15 for around $8. This is a huge savings over the LBS. For my money the convenience and time savings associated with CO2 makes it a far superior to a hand pump.

Just remember to recycle the spent cartridge when you get home.

Making a Carbon Bike Frame

Pretty cool video on making a carbon bike frame.

Nudity forgiven but cyclists feel heat over helmets

Some interesting cycling news from New Zealand...

Two naked Kiwi men have been issued with a warning for riding without protective head gear around a New Zealand seaside town.

Senior Constable Cathy Duder was patrolling Whangamata, a beach resort in the North Island, on a quiet Monday night when she came across the two nude men aged in their early 20s.

"They were more shocked than I was, trying to cover up their bits and pieces with their hands," she said. Asked to explain, the pair said "they wanted to experience total freedom".

"And I said to them: `The way you're heading, you're going to experience total confinement'."

The officer said the "very fit" men "didn't seem drunk at all. That's what worried me".

Constable Duder issued a warning for failing to wear helmets and sent them home.

"I suggested that they stay on their bicycles and not get off because they were managing to discreetly hide their bits and pieces," she said.

Just a Little House Cleaning

Nothing to see here, please move along...just need to do it to get on Technorati

VUWUYAV4RSRD

Quote of the Day

“Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race”

H.G. Wells