The Toughest Bike Race in North America comes to Aspen (save the dates).

Stage 3 & 4 in Aspen, August 22 & 23The USA Pro Cycling Challenge will be rolling through the Rocky Mountains on August 20-26.  683 miles in 7 days.

Known as the toughest bicycle race in North America, USA Pro Cycling Challenge (USAPCC, click for all the info) will be in Aspen on AUGUST 22 and 23, so save the dates. 9 huge mountain passes (along with thousands of awesome viewing sites) makes the USAPCC an extremely grueling task for the pro cyclists and a great time to enjoy the mountains for spectators.

So whether you're a local or a tourist, a 2nd homeowner, a fractional owner, a hotel / lodge guest, or a camper just passing through...get to Colorado in late August for the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. "The Aspen Stages are the coolest"...A. Party.  Book it.

Stage 3, August 22.  Gunnison to Aspen  130 Miles. Two 12,000+ foot passes.  Cottonwood and Independence

Stage 4, August 23.   Aspen to Beaver Creek  97 Miles   back over Independence Pass

Stay Classy San Diego

During the off-season Aspen Spin likes to break out past the traffic circle.  For the past few Summers we've been enjoying America's Finest City, San Diego.  It's a BIG City that always stays classy.

Old habits die hard...so A-Spin hit some events San Diego style.... in between Double-Doubles and sponging sessions in the pacific.  Click the pix.

STAY CLASSY

San Diego Padres vs. Colorado Rockies. Click 4 pix.The top tweeters in San Diego at #SMBSD @nbcphotog @sugarjones @sdrealestatedadWorld class field for the San Diego Triathalon a qualifier for the U.S. Olympic Team.Bird's Surf Shack, home of the first ever San Diego Surf Film Festival.

Facebook IPO. Is FB the new MySpace?....... (5 reasons why FB is Jumping the Shark)

I've been called a "pro Facebooker". It's not the worst I've heard.

Seriously, in the beginning no one loved Facebook more than I did.  At AspenSpin we love to point & shoot, then post & share our photos.  Facebook gave Aspen Spin a worldwide platform to do just that. 

When I matriculated at The Wharton School I received my first facebook, an actual book of faces that everybody called "the pig book".  I spent hours studying it and memorizing everyone's photo, undergrad school, major and hometown. I felt like it gave me an edge because I knew where they came from, where they went to school and it helped me remember everybody's name.  "Hey-- you're the guy from SF who went to Williams". People thought I was friendly....and also weird because I knew all their stats.

When Zuckerberg's Facebook was just reaching the adults, my teenage cousin asked me " do you have a facebook page?" I responded "f#%K facebook, I have my own BIG time website to worry about".  The same day I received an e-mail from Aspen Mountain Ski Patroler and helicopter pilot  "Chopper" Cohen inviting me to join Facebook.  I knew Chopper was legit so I jumped in. I put my cartoon-style avatar up and a few sick pix. It was so user friendly.  Chopper had created a Monster??  Next thing I knew I was connecting with kids from my elementary school class, getting friend requests from strangers and learning way more info than I needed to know.  The epic ski season of 07/08 was about to end and I was heading West to San Francisco without a plan.

I loved Facebook.   The pure simplicity of it was fabulous.  It was clean, it was intuitive and it was easy to connect to people from all over the world. Instead of scribbling down someone's name and e-mail for AspenSpin, I could just "facebook em".  And it was easy to post the sick pix.

Carmelo and I took the scenic route to SF, through Lake Tahoe and posted a few pix.  People liked them, even before you could "like" them.  Everybody I met in SF kept asking me "are you on FB"?   I was hooked.  Through connections I met on FB I started going to social media events with the "traveling 400".  Pete Cashmore from Mashable, Brian Solis, Guy Kawasaki and others...in real life.   Mostly people half my age.  I was there when the "geeks merged with the rest of the people".  Then I started tweeting ...really?  Yeah really, I was the "first to tweet in Aspen".  Social Media was just getting started....and I got an early, first hand look at it. 

Facebook has grown up a lot since then.  900,000,000 users and still growing.  They are about to offer shares to the public.  The 337 million share IPO will be led by Morgan Stanley (my former employer).  Price talk is $28-35 per share and values the company at nearly $100 billion.  The shares will trade on NASDAQ under the symbol FB.  Zuckerberg will sell 30.2 million shares, but retain 58.8% voting control.  I have not read the prospectus, but I'm luke-warm on the deal.

Dear FB please don't turn off my account.  It's just a blog post.

5 REASONS WHY FACEBOOK is JUMPING the SHARK.

1) Privacy:  Privacy is the new black.   Privacy replaces "self expression" as the new black".  Facebook has made controlling what you share and who you share it with much more difficult.    The rules seem to change "whenever??",  and many people can't figure out how to adjust their own privacy features.  I predict people will eventually get tired of publicly sharing their every move.  "BillyBob is watching porn" on SocialCam.  Maybe I'm wrong here...but its my website.

2) The Simplicity is gone.  As mentioned above, Facebook used to be so clean, basic, simple and USER FRIENDLY.  Status Updates and Photos...that was about it.  Now it's pages, groups, lists and everything you click gets shared through an ap. on your timeline.  I'm taking Viddy, Social Cam, Washington Post, Yahoo etc etc.   Sure its cool to see what everyone else is reading...but only if everyone else is reading something interesting.  There is so much irrelevant B.S. to sift through to get the nuggets of info that interest you.

3) The Algorithm Mentality.  I get it...these kids are smart. Google is smart. Zuck is smart. But I want to control my own content.  I don't really care what's "trending" or what the algorithm thinks I want to see.   FB was much better when the user had more control of what popped up on their feed.

4) Advertising.   You think those trending stories aren't ads?  You're wrong.  Go ahead, join a contest or play a game on FB...give your personal information directly to advertisers.  The amount of information that people willingly and unwilling give-up is vast.   Do you click on ads? Me neither... I didn't think so.   There are more and more of them...and they are being disguised as content, and you're clicking on them without even knowing it.  It's getting sneaky.  Plus...I know I shouldn't talk...but everyone is a promoter now???  It's getting tired.

5) Identity Theft (and other cyber related crime).  This a BIG problem and getting bigger.  Facebook isn't the only offender here, but it's not helping.  Go ahead...post your SSN...I dare you.

Thats it.  Thats my take.

Into the Flow

San Diego is America's Finest City, it always stays classy. Coastal California is sooooo laid back.  Aspen Spin is fighting traffic and hanging out at the mall.  This Summer we're up in Del Mar, near dog beach.  It's a little more homogenized and suburban than Windansea.  The surf crew up here is the blond frat boy / J. Crew type rather than the ink covered gangsta locals we met during 2 Summers in La Jolla, near the pump house.

School is still in session so it's pretty quiet on the beach.  The SD County Fair and Del Mar Race season are not far away.  We're prepping for a siiiiiiiiiiiick Summer session.  We snapped a few cool pix.  Click 'em

INTO the FLOW  (click 4 pix)

Vinny G. from the Jersey Shore made an appearance in La Jolla. AspenSpin was there.Surf Legend Rob Machado giving back through the Rob Machado Foundation. Click 4 pix.A. Party and Carmelo made it to the beach for another siiiiiiiick Summer in San Diego. Click 4 pix.Made in California. Click 4 pix.

Beer Fest

Beer Fest in San Diego. Click 4 pix.Beer drinking is almost certainly the most popular activity in the world.  Whether its from a can, a bottle, in a mug expertly drawn from the tap or directly from the keg when performing an upside down moon chug...drinking beer is a good time.   In fact, the next time you pick up a 12-er remind yourself you are part of the 1/2 quadrillion (500 trillion) global beer market.   Craft beer makes up about 10% of the American beer market, thats almost 12 million barrels in 2012.

Aspen Spin had the chance to attend the CRAFT BREWERS CONFERENCE and BREWEXPO AMERICA (CBC) in San Diego on May 2-5, 2012. We did a quick fly-by of the action.  Click 4 pix.

BEER FEST (click 4 pix)

WOW! is all I can say.  Almost 5000 attendees.  "Hobbyists", home brewers, brewery owners, bottlers and suppliers converged on the Town and Country Resort on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley.  Boy...can these guys (and a few Women) drink??  The Craft Brewing industry is growing at about 10% a year.  In today's American Economy a 10% growth rate equates to a bull market. 

You could tell that there were lots of guys (and a few Women) pursuing their passion by brewing beer professionally.  The BrewExpo was a mixture of siiiiiiiick swag, plentiful beer stations and people making deals.  Over 250 exhibitors attended the trade-show with a waiting list of 150 more. Booths dedicated to malts, hops, bottling, refrigeration, taps, kegs, glassware, and even The Party Pig filled the convention floor. 

AspenSpin missed the CBC's night-time beer drinking sessions, but we heard that things got pretty crazy.  We had the opportunity to taste a lot of beers. We also got a feel for a fast-growing entrepreneurial American business.  Next time you stop at the party store...try a new craft beer, there are lots to choose from.

After you've had 4 or 5..click our pix.  BEER FEST.

Breakfast of Champions. Bacon topped Maple Bars. Click 4 pixCustom Beer Gear. Huge sellers. Click for pix.Hydro Flask from Bend, Oregon. Best insulated bottles ever. Click 4 pix.Beer babes in San Diego for the Craft Brewers Conference. Click 4 pix