After my first (BRUTAL) endurance race, I came home to a freshly made bed and tried to rest up for my flight to Vegas. My legs and rear end had other plans...they kept me awake. There wasn't any good position to sleep in after climbing 10,000 feet on a cross bike in 7.5 hours. And while I was second to last in the female division, my legs didn't know the difference. I finally gave up around 3:45 and decided to make a pot of coffee. Let's get ready to rumble!
I met up with Trevor and Chapman at the airport and they immediately made fun of the way I was dressed. "If I had known you were such a girly girl, I would have made you stay at home." Of course, they were joking...few people have seen the other side of Megan. My closet full of cuteness demanded to be worn. I listened. I'm a 31 year-old, single and tom boyish chick. What do you expect me to wear on a trip to Vegas? And yes...I had make-up on too!
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| We love beer. |
The waiting and sitting was making my already sore legs, well, sore. I was super ready to land in the city that never sleeps. Once we landed, we grabbed our bags and waited in the SUPER long line to catch a cab. It was hot as hell. I forgot about that...but at least there was no humidity. She is my arch nemesis...humidity makes me want to break stuff. Anyway, we made it to the hotel and shimmied our way up to our room. It was time to check out the strip...
As we made our way to the Interbike registration, we noticed all kinds of interesting people. Drunk bums, drunk college girls, drunk old people and drunk drunks. It was like walking into a Walmart with an open bar. Once we took care of business, we decided it was beer thirty.
I'll just skip to the next day because of two reasons... 1) I can't be 100% I'm giving correct information due to the number of adult beverages I consumed and 2) No one wants to hear about awesome cover bands and gangster rap...other than myself. And besides, we were in bed by 9:30 if that tells you ANYTHING. I did get to dance...a lot. Which is more than I could ask for :)
Monday was first day of Outdoor Demo. Bootleg Canyon was always a destination for my downhill buddies when I lived in Mammoth Lakes. I never made the trip but had always heard them gushing about it. It was a hot day in the desert and there were TONS of companies reppin' their stuff. Beers, food, music and lots of bikes. Once we hopped off the bus, I realized how beneficial an IV setup would have been. Meggie needed hydration in a bad way...apply rule #5 here and let's play on some bikes.
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| Mmmmm...Giant |
First bike I rode was a Giant W's Anthem 29er. Let me tell you something....IT WAS SIIIIICK! It felt like a cloud and I felt like an angel riding it across the technical sections. It was like watching a movie in slow motion...smoooooooth. I got excited after clearing a sketchy section and decided I was going to increase my pedal strokes just a tad. Time to get this lady movin'!
I got her movin' alright.
I came around a small berm and the world stopped immediately. I'm pretty sure I washed out...when I did, I flew over the handlebars and my left leg slammed into the stem. I did a few rolls and instantly stood up. I landed on my chest and couldn't catch my breath. I was trying to laugh my way into a happy place when Chapman pulled up.
"Dude, did you crash?"
No, dipshit, I'm just covered in dirt and my handlebars are turned all the way around.
"Dude, look at your leg"
As I looked down I noticed an immediate and very large hematoma. I noticed there were a couple of them, actually. They hurt pretty darn bad, but I wanted to be tough so I got back on my bike. "I'm alright" (and so sketched out that I rode like a 4 year-old to the next aid station).
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| The start of something BIG. |
We stopped at the tent and I got some water. I felt like a tard...oh well. Next!
We turned in our bikes and checked out more of the demo. Lots of rad bikes and funky ideas. Some of my favorites booths were Yeti, Giant, Surly (of course) and Zee. I saw more DH bikes than I ever needed to see and wanted to ride one pretty bad. Since I crashed on a non DH trail and I was now Mayor of Wussville, I passed. The guys were trying to get me to do the Downhill Challenge where people had the opportunity to race against the clock. I declined. I would have killed myself.
We rode around on some different bikes...and tested out more of the ground...or at least I did. I went over the handlebars YET AGAIN in a pretty loose patch. This time I wasn't turning or going particularly fast...I just ate it HARD. I flipped to my right side, tearing up my leg, elbow, hip and shoulder. My helmet saved the day when my head slammed onto the ground. We were sure I had cracked it, but luckily I hadn't. I had blood everywhere and ripped up my jersey. At this point I was just plain pissed off that I couldn't stay on my bike. Chapman offered his advice..."Maybe you should try slowing down." Thanks, Captain Obvious.
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| Clean me up, hottie! |
We headed back to the tents and by this time my hangover was cured and all I had was a headache, probably from slamming my cranium into the desert floor. We decided to eat and check out some other stuff in and around the demo. Met all types of cool folks and jammed out to a great DJ at lunch. On our way out, little angels were handing out water and cans of Sierra Nevada. Torpedo will bring me back to life! We went out to eat and met up with some reps...then I rode a mechanical bull. It was a good day!
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| Megan's official beer of Interbike. |
Day 2 of Dirt Demo had a little different feel. We had 26 miles of the Tour de Lake Meade and I had been lined up with a Giant Avail with Di2. That stuff is smooth like a baby's butt! Meggie likey!
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| Purple Gurple. |
The first half of the ride was screaming down a hill pretty much all the way to the lake. The lead pack was flyin' and I tried my best to keep up without all the wobbly kooks whizzing by me on both sides. Sketchy sketch balls. Once it flattened out, I decided that 25 mph was faster than I wanted to go and I slowed down a lot. I was still feelin' Monster Cross in my quads. We arrived at the lake and took some shots...
Photos...not actual shots...
The ride back to the demo was up, up and away. Hmmm. I love climbing. Not! It actually wasn't bad once we got out of the lake basin. I kept it slow and steady like a turtle and made it back to the Giant tent in one piece. Thank God I haven't learned how to crash on a road bike...yet. I was feeling a little snotty at this point and figured it was just allergies from all the dust. I would later learn that I had SARS. Ok, not really, but it could have been?!
We milled around demo, ate, drank and rode bikes. We played on Surly's Pugsly...it was fat. As silly as you might think they are, they can actually hold a pretty solid line. I had a great time riding that little thing. This is where I picked up my new name..."Molly the Shop Kitty". God bless those guys at Surly. They are the jam.
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| Does this bike my my ass look fat? |
Fast forward to dinner...drinks...SRAM 25th Anniversary industry party at Lavo. More dancing...the boys did some gambling. Pretty mellow evening. The next day was day 1 of the actual Interbike trade show...let's see mo' bikes!
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| Scott Sub |
When I walked into the show, I immediately gasped. It was HUGE! I felt like Charlie when he entered the Chocolate Factory...except there were no Oompah Loompahs and I couldn't find the chocolate river. I met quite a few of our local reps and got a sneak peek at what's new for 2013. I learned a TON and it did nothing but spark more of an interest in these little wheeled beings. Cool folks everywhere and we all had one great thing in common...bicycles. We had a few meetings, discussed ideas for the shop and took lots of bike photos...
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| New Hospital Foam Crosscheck |
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| Ritchey 650b |
Wednesday night was Cross Vegas. Loved this! I had the pleasure of checking out some rad women on bikes like Alison Powers and Robin Farina. I felt like ass in a can by this night and the only thing to numb my bird flu pain was Sierra Nevada Torpedo. I drank till we had to ride the bus back and then I died. Pretty sure I was going to wake up in a puddle of my own drool...with SARS. Yep. It was that bad. I somehow managed to stay in the "fun zone" until it was bedtime...thank goodness!
Both my phone and my camera died, so my CX photos are lame and limited. And blurry. Boo.
Thursday. More trade show. More bikes. More cool ass people. Thursday night...Sinclair party. It was the jam. I stayed out too late and had a few too many...so did everyone else. I dance till I had blisters on both my feet...multiple places. It was like I ran a marathon in a pair of Keds.
We wrapped things up on Friday. Last minute stroll through the bikes and last minute chats with reps. I was tired and ready to go home, but sad to return to my "normal life" as a paramedic. The more time I spend in the bike world, the less I want to be a full-time paramedic. I'm starting to think about my B.S. in Recreation Management again...will it ever end?
The moral of this story, while poorly written, is Interbike opened my eyes. I'm down for this industry and stoked to see what new things come our way. I'm even more stoked to finally have a basic knowledge of what I'm doing in the shop. I can't wait to get back in there and sell the shit out of some bikes. I met some super awesome folks too...Jamie, Tarbell, Joanna etc. I actually saw some people that I knew...mostly from my Mammoth and Boone days. It's for sure a small world out there.
I'm sick, beat up and still very exhausted from my week in Vegas...but ready to hit the shop tomorrow morning and see what I can do.
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| No really...I can. |
