I’m talking about Interbike. The biggest bicycle show around is going on right now, and I’m sitting here feeling left out. I can peruse the Internets and follow Twitter for up to the minute coverage, but it’s not the same. Being somewhat of a bicycle geek, I should be one of the many in attendance. Hell, after years of hemming and hawing, Dicky is even going this year. I feel uh, dejected.
I’ve never been to Las Vegas, and I’m not really that keen on going there for the usual reasons. If I want to lose my ass trying to gamble, I could head to the mountains and give the Cherokee Tribe my hard-earned dough. Since I’m married, I have no need for the high-priced call girl services available at the many fine establishments out there. I just want to go see new bike stuff. I could also go see my long lost brother out there, since he lives nearby. I haven’t seen him since we were kids, and it would probably be nice if I went to visit.
Back to Interbike. They don’t just let anyone in that place. You have to be “in the industry”, or know someone who is. Being a half-assed famous blogger on the Internets just won’t cut it. I have an ace up my sleeve though. I know lots of people. I thought about begging George or one of my local shops for a hookup, but I didn’t want to stoop to that level. I did mention that I was interested in going to one of my bike industry friends last week, and I didn’t think anything of it. I wasn’t trying to get him to sneak me in or anything; I was just wishing him luck on the unveiling of some new products (more on that another day.) Not long after my well-wishing though, he sent me a message stating that he would get me in if I could get a flight out to Vegas. Shit. I couldn’t believe it. I would finally be able to see some of the cool stuff at Interbike.
Immediately I started looking into flights and hotel rooms. I was surprised how how cheap that stuff was, and I was ready to pull the trigger. I would need to rent a car though, so I could at least drive down and see my brother for a short visit. The trip cost was adding up, but money wasn’t the issue. My schedule was. Being stuck on standby status for work, and not enough notice to take vacation days, I started thinking about being uh, “sick.” With so many people on vacation though, I didn’t think I could pull it off. After a few days of deep thought, I decided to pass. I told my friend that I would plan on it next year.
Do I regret my decision? A little. I would love to go out there and see what the Almighty Bike Creators have to offer, but the timing just wasn’t right. Had I known that I would get a way in, I would have planned a little better. Lesson learned. I guess I could have my own Shiny New Bike Shit Show, but it just won’t be the same. I don’t really have anything new anyway...except for this little trinket:
This is a new co2 cartridge from Genuine Innovations. It’s a tad bit bigger (20 grams) than the normal sized ones (16 grams), and they say it will actually inflate a 29er tire all the way (or as much as I would need anyway.) I found a few, so I snatched them up. If I can get away with only carrying one cartridge on my rides, then I will be happy. I don’t really want to test one out, since they are kinda expensive. I might as well throw my wallet out on the trail. Hopefully it will work when I need it.
Up next is a photo of the new bike mount for my phone.
Not too shabby, and it does the job. It’s currently mounted on my road bike, and it seems pretty secure. I ran over some bumps and other associated rough shit, but only on the road. It held up fine, but the real test will be when I put in on my mountain bike. I’ll try it, and hopefully won’t lose my expensive phone out on the trail. I guess the worst fear would be if I crashed. I don’t plan on doing that. I can’t plan for shit though.
No comments:
Post a Comment