Yesterday, I began my first Interbike journey (pilgrimage?) I spent most of the day crammed in planes, but soon enough, arrived in Vegas…(prepare yourself for a day’s worth of blurry camera phone photos)

The plane ride here was long enough that I made it through about 2/3rds of Tyler Hamilton’s Secret Race. It’s pretty fascinating, and (aside from the drug use part) makes me feel a twinge sentimental for road racing. While my time on a “real” team was brief, I could still relate to the dedication and willingness he describes to work and suffer for each other to win races.
From the air, the desert area outside of Las Vegas looks fascinating. While there appears to be very little in the way of population, there’s a spiderweb of what looks like dirt roads/4×4 trails that criss-cross the landscape. I could see myself getting intentionally lost out there for days.

Once I found my bags and favorite roomate, Amanda Carey, we shuttled to the hotel and sat around waiting for stuff to happen. Nothing happens here at a reasonable hour. It’s always winding up about the time I’d be winding down and drinking chamomile tea while Ryan and Matt are doing the dinner dishes. Last night was no different. After having a kickass dinner at Spago with Joe (President of Outdoors) and Joel (head bike buyer of Outdoors), I met back up with Amanda, and we found Hollywood Jeff and his lady-friend Julie.

The next few hours included a trip to the SRAM after party (stupid crowded & noisy, so I had a martini and bailed) and a much more low-key, successful from a networking-standpoint, gathering at Treasure Island. I didn’t leave until 1:30 or so. The sidewalks were packed outside…

This trip might be slightly more exhausting than going to an actual bike race.