Vegas

Vegas has never really appealed to me -- don't gamble, don't drink, don't stay up late (i'm no fun) and I don't love the desert. But bring in Interbike with the world of cycling and add a cyclocross race and Vegas is suddenly the place to be! And Vegas does have a few other things going for it... it's pretty cool that you can see the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and a Pirate Ship all on one street.

Interbike was a bit overwhelming with a giant convention center full of bike toys -- it brought me back to those days of being a kid in Toys-R-Us... feeling so small and surrounded by tons of fun! I explored lots of bikes, parts, and accessories before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the evenings festivities -- Cylcocross!!!!

Cross Vegas has a sweet atmosphere -- at night, under the lights, tons of spectators and lots of 'cross stars lining up on the course. It promised to be a good race.... oh... until about 1/2 way through the first lap when I realized that racing on "sticky" grass in the middle of a desert is not the brightest idea... it was a lung burner for sure! Turned out to be a tough race, but still a ton of fun. Despite being so far away from home, I had awesome cheering sections from the Pony Shop guys, the crew from Bike Station Aptos, the Ellsworth folks, and lots of Chicagoland racers. It was fun to hear so many cheers throughout the course! Thanks :)

The next day Aspen and I were able to tour around Interbike a little bit more (and Aspen won himself $25 at the blackjack tables!) before I headed back to the midwest for the Planet Bike Cup...