Update on the Groucho Happy Hour

Here at Groucho, we know that most of us do the things we do because of how it makes us feel. We're out there running/biking/swimming/whatever because it pushes our limits, ups our adrenaline, and makes us feels as if we are capable of anything - no mountain is too high, no obstacle too steep.

Which is also why we're so passionate about giving back to our community. Whether it's through donating our time, skills, or resources, we've come to learn and cherish the value that comes from striving to be a building block to better communities. It does the same thing for us that athletics do - makes us feel as if we have the power the change the world.

The Second Harvest Heartland is a most excellent organization that fights to end hunger in our communities. Donating is easy - check out their list of most needed items, and you'll be as delightfully surprised as we were to see that most of these things are already sitting in our pantry and closets. And so, instead of just bringing the good times and holiday cheer to our Groucho Happy Hour at the Lyndale Tap House on Friday, December 10, we'll also be bringing an armful of goods and some big ol' boxes for any donations that any of you out there might want to make, too.

Sidenote: Did you RSVP yet? What, you got something better to do at 5:30 on a Friday? You don't, do you? Quit playin' and RSVP - we want you there. We will accept you there. We will introduce you to other fun, high attractive people there, and won't even whisper embarrassing stories about you in their ears when you walk away to get another drink. Yeah, you don't get that promise from other people very often, do you, buddy? That's why you wanna come to this Happy Hour.

Whether or not you can make a donation, it doesn't matter - we understand that times are tough for everyone out there, and we want you there regardless. But if you have the means to do so, we hope that you'll join us in furthering the holiday spirit by supporting families in need.

Do it for the kids, man.

Groucho Gnome Series

Groucho visits Seattle!

Groucho Photo Shoot

Team Groucho had a photo shoot on Saturday...and why wouldn't we? We are nothing if not highly attractive, extremely photogenic individuals.

The girls looked pretty cute, too.



Special thanks and internet high-fives to our amazing makeup/hair stylist, Angelia, and fantastic photographer Jason!

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The UPS guy is quickly becoming our favorite person...bowchickawowow...

He just keeps bringing us rad stuff like this -



When we started this blog, we promised we'd take you guys with us on every step of this - to quote The Bachelor - "incredible journey." Because not only do we want to share our excitement and enthusiasm as our dreams start to take (literal) shape, but we also want to hear what you think.

So every other Friday, we'll be doing a special blogging series where we'll be talking about and showing you our brand-spankin'-new product samples as they arrive. We haven't come up with a name for the series that we like yet (we tossed around "Friday Release" but that just sounds...weird), but we figured that could be Assignment #1 for you creative types out there.

So give it to us! Think of this as a safe sharing circle. A place that is warm and friendly and inviting...like your mom.

Whom we completely honor and respect and would never use as the target for a joke, because we are a safe sharing circle.

Groucho Holiday Happy Hour

What better way to celebrate the holiday spirit than with a happy hour? Also, we think you're quite handsome and would like a chance to get to know you better.

So on Friday, December 10, come down to the Lyndale Tap House in Minneapolis after work for a couple of cold ones with Team Groucho! We will also most likely have a couple of product samples you can paw at, as well as some fun giveaways. And, if Amber has her way, we will also be crossing the street later in the night for some hardcore karaoke, which you will NOT want to miss.

Or maybe you will. We don't even know you yet! We can't make those decisions for you.

Groucho Team Blogger Erin!

I’m passionate about health, wellness and fitness and always sweat at least once a day. Yoga is bliss (yoga challenge day 73 and counting!). Riding my Madone is exhilarating (hellooooooo, speed!). Running is painful… well, at the moment it is because of hip/hammie injuries; otherwise, running is rejuvenating (Boston in 2012? Yes, please). And CrossFit… I’m just starting so ask me after I have a few more sessions under my belt (and can actually walk up and down stairs without holding onto the railing).

Off the yoga mat and out of the saddle, I’m a 30-something gal who does communications for a local corporation as well as educates at my other favorite store, lululemon athletica. And I’m also pursuing my master’s in strategic communications (is it May 2011 yet?).

Awesomeness: my family and friends, traveling, surfing and the beach, the Pacific Northwest, espresso, dark chocolate, my Weimaraner, yoga, cycling, running (did I mentioned these three already?), happiness, LIFE.

**You can also follow Erin on Twitter.

Groucho Team Blogger Luke!

1. Well let's see, I was born and raised in Conestoga a suburb on the west side of Philadelphia. Growing up I spent a lot of my time maxing and relaxing and playing on playgrounds. And I used to love shooting hoops outside of the local elementary school. But then a couple of guys who were up to no good, started making trouble in my neighborhood. I got in one little fight and my mom got scared...

Hmm?

The Fresh who now? The Fresh Prince? Never heard of him.

*cough*

Anyway, so...

I don't run with headphones because I find the music too distracting, but I do love to make playlists for getting ready to run. I really don't want to like 30 Seconds to Mars, but after hearing "Kings and Queens" playing during every slow motion montage of Versus' Tour de France coverage (OMG, that just happened, how can that be part of a montage already?!?!??), I was kind of hooked. Jared Leto may be an ass (random story: I have a friend who went on a date with him, but that's neither here or there), but it's a catchy song. Other artists on my current pre-run playlist: Mumford and Sons, Eminem, Drake, Boston, Taio Cruz, Sara Bareilles. Don't judge.

I ran a marathon in 4:00:11 last year, and those 11 seconds - well 12 I suppose - drive me nuts. Using the Boston Marathon philosophy (where a 3:10:59 counts as a 3:10 somehow), it's technically a 4:00 marathon. Um. No. My two attempts this year (Twin Cities and Mankato) both failed rather impressively, which I attribute to starting my training late (see discussion of trip below) and not eating enough gummy bears in the weeks leading up to the races. So those 12 seconds will haunt me for another year.

I've recently moved back to Minneapolis after living in Cincinnati and New Zealand. One of those was awesome. One of them was not. I'll leave it up to you to guess which is which.

On my back to MSP from Cincinnati, I took the scenic route on an 11,000 mile road trip going as far west as Big Sur, as far south as Austin and as far north as Canada. Highlights included: An 18 mile run into the Grand Canyon, including a 6 mile stretch in the base which was amazing; Setting up a tent in snow at Lake Tahoe; Mountain biking in Moab; Falling into a snow drift up to my waist in Glacier; Clutching a metal chain on the narrow Angel's Landing in Zion National Park with a 1,000 foot drop off of either side of the trail. In other words: Awesome.

I'm psyched that Groucho Sports has given me this opportunity to explore...well, all of it. The love of the sport. The dedication (obsessiveness?) of seeking to be better. The connection to other people (bow chicka bow waaaah).

And most importantly, remembering to have fun.




** You can also find Luke on Facebook, Twitter, OkCupid, and Garmin Connect

Groucho Team Blogger Carly!

I’m a 25 year old lady-type kickin’ it in the Uptown area in my most favorite city in the US of A. (If you must know, outside of the USA, my favorite city is Sydney, Australia.) I recently joined the ranks of “bike nerds”, and own more spandex than I do non-stretchy fabric. Because it is literally impossible for me to do anything half-way, my journey into bike nerd-dom was kicked off by me signing up for Team In Training with the goal of completing the infamous century ride, America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride (AMBBR), which includes the 72 miles around Lake Tahoe. I trained, fundraised my ass off, and when the time came, I completed the ride with my team. Since my epic triumph over AMBBR (with a sinus infection, no less), I have been cycling all over the Twin Cities and having a wonderful time doing it. Bike people are a strange breed, and I fit right in.

Professionally, I’m a technical writer. This means I write instruction manuals for a company that makes wireless networking devices. Because technical writing consists of absolutely no humor and no voice of my own, I look for any opportunity I can to write creatively. I try to maintain my own blog, but the fact that I have two followers and am accountable to only myself makes it something I often skip in lieu of say…a bike ride. Being part of this team and writing for a (gasp!) real audience will be utterly fantastic, and will allow me to exercise my creative genius. (He gets a little lethargic being all cooped up while I write about Wi-Fi)

**You can also find Carly on Twitter, Facebook, and on her other blog.

Groucho Team Blogger Jim!

blogger. sketcher. cyclist. #bikeschool. beer runner. normal runner

You can follow me but I'm directionally challenged.

You can also find me on Twitter.

Allow us to introduce ourselves...

For the past three weeks, we here at Team Groucho have been beyond pumped about adding a core of bloggers to our team. Our vision for this was bringing you a team of people who could share their experiences - ones you could relate to, commiserate with, learn from, be entertained by - when it comes to taking the world by a two-wheeled storm.

We received a lot of submissions - way more than we had anticipated - and we were blown away by the just all-out phenomenal people who applied to be Team Groucho Bloggers. These people were doing some of the coolest things out there - whether it was prepping for their first century ride, committing to 30 Days of yoga, building an online biking community, throwing everything to the wind and just traveling the country for 3 months, or taking the mountains of Washington by ski, muscle, or board. Everyone brought something new and fresh to the table...which made for an absolutely brutal selection process.

We're not ones to shy away from tough choices, however, and when it came down to it, we knew we had found the people we were looking for. This team of bloggers are not just out there killin' it on the bike...they're out there, killin' it in everything. Which is exactly what we wanted. We didn't want just a group of people who only wanted to talk about their bikes...we wanted people who had other cool stuff going on in their lives as well, whether it was other athletic endeavors, career ambitions, community involvement, or simply the entertaining trials and tribulations of personal/family life. Passionate, driven, well-rounded individuals who don't take themselves too seriously...the kind of people whom, once you know about them, you can't wait to see what they'll do next.

We're confident you'll agree.

So follow along today as we roll out our red carpet and introduce our new Team Groucho Bloggers. Hang around and say hi, check out some of the cool things they're doing, feel free to ask them some questions about themselves, and stay tuned for when our new website (and their blogs) launch. We're excited to get to know these guys better, and we know you will be to.

So. You guys ready?! LET'S DO THIS THING! We'll be announcing a new member of our team on this blog every hour on the hour. Watch our Twitter and Facebook feeds for the announcements, and then come back and bring it all in for a big old internet hug.

Because, sometimes, you just gotta get real and admit that it's time to take things to that level.

Don't fight it, brother.

Holidays came early here at Groucho HQ!

Enough to fill the stockings of all the kickass girls and boys out there!!

Some things we're excited about, when it comes to our new water bottles:

* 26 oz.
* Biodegradable, so you couldn't hate on the earth with these even if you WANTED to.
* DuoFlow Caps, for those of us who have still not learned how to drink out of an open cup without spilling all over ourselves (Amber)
* Graphic printed with ultraviolet ink, so the graphic will stay on that bottle no matter how much you toss it around and beat it up. Also a plus? Using ultraviolet ink also does away with the pollution of conventional inks.
* You can fill them with water or candy
* Since they're black and white, they'll look amazing with all your outfits.

The sad news? They're not for sale yet. The good news? You might be able to snag yourself one in the next few weeks by following us here and here.

Polar Bear Plunge 2011

If there's anything we love here at Groucho, it's making sports and athletics all inclusive. We want everyone to join in on the fun.

Here's what we don't love here at Groucho: Jumping into freezing cold water in the middle of winter in Minnesota. But we're gonna do it. Wanna know why? Because it directly supports the Special Olympics and the amazing work they do in making sports and athletics not just accessible, but an achievable dream. If you've ever attended a Special Olympics event, then you know what we're talking about - being a part of that kind of performance, that kind of commitment, that kind of passion not only changes the lives of those competing, but everyone watching.

So Team Groucho is putting our money where our mouth is - we're in for the Polar Bear Plunge, taking place at Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 5, 2011. The core members of Team Groucho are all signed up and ready to go, and so far our fundraising goal is set at $3,400. But we're not stopping there. We don't know if you've maybe caught onto this yet, but the three of us...there's not a lot that we do halfway. We like to excel, push ourselves to the limit. We like a little healthy competition. And we fully plan on being the #1 team come March 5th.

And we want you to join us.

If you live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, then we want you on our team. What's in it for you? Only hanging out with the coolest team in America, that's what. Oh yeah, and being a part of some kickass fundraisers and team events. Annnnd...as we are all adults and are fully aware that there might need to be a couple extra shots of courage to help go from "This is frickin' cray-zy" to "Gee, plunging into hypothermia might actually be...kind of fun?", we fully intend on throwing a pre-Plunge team party (and then a post one to celebrate the fact that we're never going to have to do that ever again...or at least not until 2012). And that's just the beginning. We haven't even scratched the surface of all the awesome things we could do as a team. But one thing we do know for sure - once we start gearing up, you won't want to miss out.

So go on over to the Polar Bear Plunge website and get registered (remember to sign up under Team Groucho) Next, check out some of the sweet tools they have on their site for getting the word out on what you're doing.

Then get your sweet ass back here and let us know that you're now a permanent part of Polar Bear Plunge Team Groucho 2011, so we can give you an internet hi-5, add you to our "Coolest People In America" list, and let everyone else know that you're now a key part of our strategy of being "in it to win it." And by "it", we mean beating out every other single team in the history of the entire universe for most money raised for the Polar Bear Plunge while also having an out-of-control time with our extremely good-looking team and if anyone tries to mess with that goal we're gonna Polar Bear Plunge the crap out of them.

Won't you join us?