The SportRx Crew Heads to Tour de Palm Springs
Our first time going to Palm Springs was in 2012. It was just Collin and me. The number one lesson we learned from that trip was that we needed more than two people. So this time around, we brought Frankie and the homie Z along with us. We rented a big van, loaded up our equipment, and headed out to a beautiful four-bedroom house that we booked for the weekend. When we pulled into the driveway, there was a dog peering sideways through the window. Did we type the wrong address into the GPS? The four of us got out, looked around, and decided we were definitely in the wrong place. So we jumped back in and made an obnoxious exit as the van beeped while we backed all the way down the driveway. As we drove off, the unsuspecting owner of the house came out onto the porch with a puzzled look on her face. What a funny start to our trip.
Bright and early the next morning we set up the booth at Tour de Palm Springs and made friends with our neighbors for the weekend – which wasn’t hard to do considering we livened up the place with our music going and cowbells rattling. We came stacked with Oakleys, Tifosis, and all kinds of cycling glasses to showcase to the riders. For kicks we brought the prize wheel (which turned out to be a huge hit!) and ended up giving away a ton of SportRx water bottles and gift cards. There was even a news reporter who spun the wheel. We were on live TV!
Tour de Palm Springs Cycling Crowd
On top of the (self-proclaimed) fame we received from the television exposure, one of the coolest things about these shows is the people from all over the country who have ordered from us before but have never seen us in person. They run into our booth at these events and are like “Hey, I know you! I got these awesome glasses from you guys!” It’s so cool to actually see people wearing the glasses we made for them and to hear stories about how we’ve been able to make a difference in their sport and overall quality of vision.
Aside from all the fun we have on these trips, the main reason we go to these things is to generate awareness. There are so many people out there who are suited from head to toe, have these beautiful bikes, team kits, the latest gear, carbon fiber everything…but they’re wearing some BUNK glasses! Why?! “My doctor told me this was all I could wear with my prescription.” FALSE! You can get some amazing Oakley Racing Jackets with vented anti-fog lenses in custom colors to match your kit with your prescription AND a progressive. “No way!” YES way! It’s all we do.
So ultimately, the best part about going to these events is being able to be out there in person and show people what we can do to help them see better. Of course, if you ever need one-on-one optics advice, you can always call us up and speak to a SportRx optician.
