SmartStop Self Storage, the retail brand for Strategic Storage Trust Inc., signed on as the presenting sponsor of the 2011 Team Mountain Khakis (TMK) cycling team of Jackson Hole, Wyo. TMK is focused on educating, developing and advancing a team of eight young riders (average age of 23). The team was created five years ago under the primary sponsorship of Mountain Khakis, an outdoor-lifestyle apparel company also based in Jackson Hole.

"Professional cycling is a relatively underappreciated sport in America, and TMK does a fantastic job of giving young riders the experience and the resources they need to pursue their dreams," said H. Michael Schwartz, chairman and CEO of Strategic Storage Trust. "One of our core values as a company is giving back from our success. When we saw the opportunity to step up and sponsor the team, getting involved and lending our support made sense. And it didn't hurt that we have a number of cycling enthusiasts in our company who were already following the team."

TMK competes successfully at the national level while preparing the next generation of cyclists for the opportunity to race professionally at the national and international levels. Competing in the USA Crits Series, TMK has won the overall title twice, with Mark Hekman in 2009 and Isaac Howe in 2010. TMK has also captured the team overall title three years in a row. The team kicked off its 2011 season at the Sunny King Criterium in Anniston, Ala., on April 9.

"Having SmartStop as our presenting sponsor enables us to increase the number of races we can target, and many of those will be in places SmartStop may not have reached otherwise, explained Pat Raines, TMK founder and managing partner.

Strategic Storage Trust is the first and only self-storage real estate investment trust in the public non-traded REIT marketplace. The companys portfolio includes approximately 41,000 self-storage units and 5.1 million rentable square feet of storage space. Its sponsor is Strategic Capital Holdings LLC, which manages a growing portfolio of more than 7 million square feet of commercial properties, including 5.5 million square feet of self-storage.