• Fixin' to open a can of reconcilliation. #
• Atayne launches Grind Cycling Jersey http://shar.es/mXCg6 #green #cycling #
• Green retailer? Thinking about LEED certification? Check out Larson Binkley http://ow.ly/1cOHC #
• You run? You live/work near So. Portland, ME? The first Spring Point Tavern Running Group meets Wed, Mar 3, 6pm #
• I've made post-run banana/egg smoothies since '94 @outsidepr "Gatorade Recover 03: the world's first hydrating protein drink" Really? #
• Maine Track Club's Roastes Run to celebrate 6th anniversary on March 6, 2010 http://shar.es/mX8aT #
• Anyone notice how more blogs and websites are not showing date stamps on their articles? It bugs me. #
• Attn Maine Track Club: Psychic Coffee 5K is Sat. Mar. 6, 7am at Maine Roasters in Falmouth http://tinyurl.com/ycle7mg #
• Great "10 Steps to a Sustainable Event" webinar today by Athletes For A Fit Planet http://www.afitplanet.com/index.php/ #running #green #
• The first-ever Spring Point Tavern Run tonight at 6pm in So. Portland, ME: an easy post-work run followed by a cold beverage #
• Eat bunnies. http://www.good.is/post/backyard-bunnies-are-the-new-urban-chickens/ #
• Atayne's new cycling jersey mentioned in the Brunswick, ME Times Record (scroll down) http://tinyurl.com/yb7h8ls #
• Looking for a good mystery novel? @therichbrooks 's mom dishes book reviews at http://www.marilynsreads.com/ #
• #BlameBush @adventurevida What is UP with all these quakes? Sumatra hit by 6.5. http://bit.ly/bohRtd #
• Attention bloggers: register your site on Quantcast http://shar.es/m3TRS #
• Oh yes, it's #beer30 @Roanoke_Outside @VAbike @pembaserves @mbaction @tetongravity @allinoland @paulkirwin @roadmag #

While planning web outreach programs for their clients, PR agencies like Two Lights Consulting increasingly use tools like Alexa and Quantcast to “background check” blogs.

Specifically, Quantcast provides valuable metrics–i.e., traffic, gender, income, and other stats–for thousands of websites that register to be tracked.  In a glance, a PR professional can learn a lot about a blog to guage relative media value for their client.

Say a PR professional is on the fence about whether they should send an expensive product sample to a blogger.  Using Quantcast helps make an educated decision.

Obviously, raw traffic data and demographics information is useful.  But the mere fact that a blogger has made an effort to register and make their blog’s information readily available to the world also sends a powerful signal that the blog is credible.

Registered on Quantcast? The sample product you requested is in the mail.

According to a recent “RAAM Report” on Race Across America’s website, bicycle sales outpaced car sales in the U.S. last year.  2.6 million bikes were sold vs. 2.5 million cars.

While cycling remains primarily a recreational activity in this country, and today’s bike sales are being driven by the “Lance Effect” and popularity of road cycling, the article highlights an increasing bike-commuting trend due cities continue to invest in infrastructure for bike transportation.  (Yeah!)

Not convinced bike commuting is viable in a northern climate?  The article also noted 50% of Copenhagen residents will pedal commute by 2015.

For the full RAAM Report article, click here.

• rt @atayne Building Products to Last – http://www.atayne.com/red-shirt-blog/2010/02/24/building-products-to-last/ #
• Fog horns, driving rain, wind, a stormy nightfall on a rocky coast–I should be writing a novel instead of tweets. #
• Why are bedroom closets so big nowadays? And how many running shirts do I need? http://shar.es/m0pj6 #sustainable #
• File under "stuff I read and like" http://www.good.is/ #
• Wind = hurricane here in Cape Eliz. tonight. It's a little freaky out there in the back yard. #battendownthehatches #
• Chainsaws, generators, scavenging firewood, unwashed kids running around–it's Mad Max in Cape Eliz. #

Atayne's Grind Cycling Jersey: High on performance, style, and sustainability.

Brunswick, Maine, February 25, 2010 – Atayne, an eco-active apparel manufacturer, unveiled the Grind Cycling Jersey, Atayne’s first-ever, zip-up, road-cycling jersey.

Atayne’s Grind Cycling Jersey is a high-performance garment made in the U.S.A. from 100%-recycled polyester. The jersey has a three-fourths hidden zipper in front and traditional three-pocket configuration in back. The jersey is blue and white with a green collar that pays homage to Atayne’s commitment to the environment. Customers can choose from six Atayne Cycling Point of View Graphics.

Atayne crowdsourced the Grind Cycling Jersey’s design, drawing on the expertise and preferences of the brand’s athletic and eco-conscious fans.  In 2009, Atayne asked customers to vote on their favorite point-of-view graphics for the jersey. Earlier this year, Atayne surveyed its cyclist customers to determine the jersey’s zipper design.  Atayne then implemented a social-media contest for the company’s followers on Twitter and Facebook to choose the colors.

“Atayne stands for ‘performance with a point of view,”” said Jeremy Litchfield, Atayne’s founder and pacesetter.  “Atayne’s point of view is social responsibility and care for the environment,” said Litchfield.  “Our point of view is also that of our customers who are passionate about their sport.  Instead of going with a bike-jersey design we liked best, we left it up to the Atayne community to decide,” said Litchfield.  “Listening to your customers–it makes a whole lot of sense to us,” said Litchfield.

The Grind Cycling Jersey will be available in men’s and women’s sizes in March 2010. The jersey will retail for $85 at Atayne.com and select cycling shops.

About Atayne, LLC
Brunswick, Maine-based Atayne inspires positive environmental and social change through the power of active lifestyles.  Atayne uses innovative technologies and materials made from plastic bottles, coconut and crab shells, and fabric scraps–in other words, trash!–to create high-performing athletic and outdoor gear that is safe for people and the planet.  www.atayne.com

###

Media Contact
Brock Foreman
Two Lights Consulting
brock.foreman@gmail.com
207-233-7968

I owned a house once that was built in the 1920s. The bedrooms had the world’s smallest closets. Broom closets by today’s standards. People got by with fewer clothes back then. (Or people were much, much smaller.)

Thinking back, my grandparents and great grandparents owned relatively few clothes. (And they were in the retail clothing business!) But the stuff they had was nice, sturdy, classic–built to last.  It all seemed to fit in their tidy closets.

Like any lifelong runner, I can almost fill an entire 1920s-era bedroom closet with performance running shirts.  Many shirts I don’t wear too often because their cut or color has fallen out of fashion.  The new ones pile up, and the old ones settle at the bottom of the shelf like layers of sedimentary rock.

It’s wasteful.

My grandparents preceded performance athletic apparel. But if they were alive and running today, my bet is they’d opt for a small quantity of t-shirts that would go the extra mile performance-wise and fashion-wise. Sustainable without even knowing it, my grandparents.

• The key to, well, everything: Less is more. #
• Less is better, but I'll keep my running shoes. http://shar.es/m1Ayk #
• Writing press releases. #
• Thanks to Green Guide Network for the nice report on Atayne eco-active apparel http://bit.ly/arPXHH #
• Attn Maine Track Club: Psychic Coffee 5k is March 6, 7am at Maine Roasters, Falmouth. #

When I edit my writing, I delete.  And when I delete, my writing improves dramatically.  Minimalist prose sings.  I didn’t know this trick in school.  I do now. [...]

• Culling my social media herd to focus on the good stuff. #
• I love Devo. Please tell me this is an ironic jab: http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/02/devo-advertisment/#respond #
• Puts me in a sharing mood. RT @JustinNXT RT @NiemanLab: Sharing on Facebook surged 500% in the last 6 months. http://j.mp/aND2Hl #
• Everything you wanted to know about Barnacle Sex* RT @mauka2makai http://bit.ly/9KmneO #
• Joined Buzz at 9:35 am. First Buzz spam arrived at 11:42am. Just saying. #
• Claim them quickly? RT @mainebusiness RT @turbotax: How do you claim wages from a company that went bankrupt? http://bit.ly/cNyMCD #
• Conf. call with Team Fox. Help fight Parkinson's. http://www.teamfox.org #
• TEAMFOX

  You guys are good! RT@TEAMFOX We're looking forward to it! RT @brockforeman: Conf. call with Team Fox. Help fight Parkinson's. #

• Buzz automatically makes your contacts public. If e-mail contact privacy is a concern, change it on your google profile page. #
• Quick user survey re Buzz: set "following people" link to public or private viewing? #
• The long arch of social media history bends towards complete public visibility. Behold the future: http://tinyurl.com/y8ck5ha #
• Anyone have a favorite blog about running? #

Today, I started using Buzz–Google’s latest stab at a social-media status update platform.  I like it. I’ll keep using it.

Buzz is like having a Facebook or Twitter status feed built into your Gmail account. In fact, one click lets you stream your Twitter feeds. However, Buzz updates don’t post to your Twitter account. At least not until Google finally decides to open its wallet and drop a few billion dollars to buy Twitter. [...]

• Go Celtics! #
• Fixin' to write about running. #
• Atayne Trash Running Team partners with Maine Tri for a Cure – http://shar.es/aMCpz #
• Are you running in the Mid Winter Classic in Cape Elizabeth this weekend? No? Then please volunteer: http://tinyurl.com/ydkpxf7 #
• Here's a better link to the Midwinter Classic http://www.mainetrackclub.com/midwinterclassic.html #
• I'm done. Time for a run. #
• Minimalism. #
• Online Running Gear.com tests Atayne's recycled Grind T shirt on the sunny beaches of Mexico – http://shar.es/aNbof #
• Vote for your favorite design for the new Atayne Cycling Jersey and be entered to win one. Please RT – http://ow.ly/13S7T #
• I like Dwell mag. I LOVE this send up blog, http://unhappyhipsters.com/ #
• What? No razor-ribon wire? http://tweetphoto.com/10509781 #
• And the gym gets a thousand TV channels from the satellite dish? http://tweetphoto.com/10509781 #

Atayne is about to launch its first-ever cycling jersey but needs help from its fans to pick the best design.  Vote now and you’ll be entered to win a jersey!  Click here to vote.

Online Running Gear.com put Atayne’s “recycled runner” Grind T performance shirt to the test during an extreme winter beach vacation in Mexico. Read the review here.  The article’s sunrise beach photo caused extreme bouts of jealousy from Atayne’s marketing department here in frostbitten Maine!

Claim Token: W7EXHTV7JCWB

This is not a post. I’m just pasting this claim token here so you can find Two Lights Consulting’s “The Blog” on Technorati.

Brunswick, Maine, February 2, 2010 — Eco-active apparel maker Atayne announced the Atayne Trash Running Team will pick up trash at the third annual Tri for A Cure triathlon in South Portland, Maine on August 15, 2010.

The announcement marks an expansion of Atayne’s successful “green” events initiative. For the past two years, Atayne’s marketing staff has used Atayne’s blog, e-newsletter, and social media sites like Facebook and Meetup.com to organize trash pick-up crews of volunteers–the Atayne Trash Running Team–at outdoor athletic events in Chicago, Washington, DC, and in the company’s home state of Maine.

Atayne Trash Running Team members are local, eco-minded athletes who are as passionate about recycling and the environment as they are about their sport. Their enthusiasm shows: In October 2009, Atayne reported its Trash Running Team picked up an estimated 450 pounds of trash along the Maine Marathon race course and helped divert nearly 80% of the event waste from heading to a landfill.

“Atayne looks forward to assisting Tri for the Cure which is doing so much to improve personal health and fund cancer research here in Maine,” said Jeremy Litchfield, Atayne’s founder and pacesetter. “The Atayne Trash Running Team will enjoy getting grubby and scouring Tri for a Cure’s race course for every piece of trash we can find,” said Litchfield. “We’ll search every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse!” Litchfield riffed from Tommy Lee Jones’ classic line in the movie The Fugative.

“Atayne is helping us make our event as green as possible,” said Julie Marchese, race director for the Maine Tri for a Cure.

The venue for the Maine Tri for a Cure triathlon at SMCC in South Portland, Maine.

About Atayne, LLC
Brunswick, Maine-based Atayne inspires positive environmental and social change through the power of active lifestyles. Atayne uses innovative technologies and materials made from plastic bottles, coconut and crab shells, and fabric scraps–in other words, trash!–to create high-performing athletic and outdoor gear that is safe for people and the planet. www.atayne.com

About Maine Tri for a Cure
The third annual Tri for a Cure triathlon is scheduled for August 15, 2010 at 2:00 pm at the Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Maine. All money raised from this non-profit event will support the Maine Cancer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, to support cancer research and patient support in Maine. www.mainetriforacure.org

###

Media Contact
Brock Foreman
brock.foreman@gmail.com
207-233-7968