There’s nothing like nearly a week in Vegas to have some fun, see lots of old friends, check out all of the new offerings from the bicycle industry, eat too much, ride not enough and put the final nails in the coffin containing any semblance of fitness! The show, as it’s called, is similar to a high school reunion for me. Having been involved with bikes for more than 20 years, I get to see lots of great people, some of whom go clear back to the late 80’s: industry stalwarts like Steve Boemke, Steve Blick and Nobakatsu Hara, as well as racers such as Thomas Frischknect, Greg Herbold, Tinker Juarez, Brian Lopes, Joe Murray, Ned Overend, Daryl Price, Paul Thomasberg and John Tomac. Throw a little Hans Rey, Richie Schley, Geoff Kabush and Ross Schnell into the mix and you’ve got a whole lot of high-profile passion for riding bikes with knobby tires, not to mention a bit of history, too.
Day 2 in the desert. On Dirt Demo. Hot and windy with added dust!
But the majority of my time was spent in the company of the Topeak Ergon crew: Franc (Germany), Jeffrey (West Hollywood, CA), Irina (Russia, currently living in Germany), Tim (Germany), Nory (Germany), Richard (UK), Jeff (Ft. Collins, CO), Sonya (Peoples Republic of Boulder), Yuki (Japan, currenty living in Denver, CO), and Eddie and Namrita (Atlanta, GA). We were staying just off the strip in a quiet hotel and we took breakfasts and dinners together, worked the On Dirt Demo, worked the show, rode in some cabs, rolled in Jeffrey’s brand-new secret service issue Suburban (rented), and just had a great time hanging out in the electric desert. We call it a team but it’s more like a family; a great posse to be hanging out with.
I didn’t snap a whole lot of photos but here are a few:
I was lucky enough to get to go on a bike ride with John Tomac and Blick and Rich and some others from the Oakley crew. Johnny seemed pretty darn fit even though he says he doesn't get to ride much. And can he still ride? He made us all look silly more than once!
Ross Schnell, formerly uninked, showing his new tat he earned for winning Singlespeed Worlds in Durango.
Jeffrey Neal, Richard Todd and I took in a little side trip to Hoover Dam.
Richard really likes these t-shirts. He had a package sent top-secret delivery to our hotel. They look cool and I think they're really thin. Me? I like the thin t-shirts, man! Where do I get my hands on 'em? Rich said if he told me he'd have to kill Kerkove.
Every night we went out to eat, someone would tell the wait staff that it was Yuki's birthday. We were there for nearly a week; you do the math. I think Yuki's birthday is in April.
Another restaurant, another birthday for Yuki!
