IB or Bust
by Mikel Aucutt on October 3rd, 2006
Ahh Interbike…that magical place where all things “bicycle” converge. You’d swear the world was going to implode. It’s “Didneylan”, Hollywierd, and Venice Beach rolled into one event. Bring in a bunch of wheeled contraptions, and complicated accessories, then have it all glamorously presented by some hot piece of T&A…preferably Italian. Let’s not forget the most important part. Folks without whom, no tradeshow across America could exist…yes it’s the Teamsters. Surely Jimmy is proud of his legacy, wherever he is. I may poke fun, but they are hard working folks in the midst of a logistical nightmare. Able to setup/tear down a small city in a matter of hours using little old ladies w/ cigarettes permanently, yet precariously attached to their bottom lips. How do they do it?!?!?
This promised to be a busy weekend.
Our mission?
-Get to Vegas.
-Help Bryan in the Evomo booth.
-Tear down the Booth.
-Ride Bootleg Canyon once the Outdoor Demo has moved on.
-Beat traffic out of town.
First Official Spec Op – We loaded Rob’s brand new SRT-8 wagon, and departed his house around 2PM Thursday, attempting to miss traffic. Of course in LA, traffic is the rule. Along the way Rob spoke some incantation, and his car called his friend, Scott, whom we would stay with in Vegas, and told him we’d be there in 5 hours, and to be ready for pizza. After hanging up with Scott, Rob began chanting some bizarre dialect, at which point his car displayed a map and began barking directions to Scott’s house. I gotta get me one of those!
IB The Show – I’m not as much of a gadget freak as I use to be, so to me IB was awash with the usual suspects, nothing too different from past years. I was simply excited to be able to contribute something more tangible to a sponsor’s IB efforts…something other than being a rolling billboard. Helping Bryan in the Evomo booth by being a go-fer, and helping pack at the end of the show was my main goal. The booth turned out great, and everyone loved the designs…can you blame ‘em?
We eventually started getting hungry, and struck out shortly after noon in search of the food court in the Venetian with the “cheap” pizza. Easier said than done. Who designs these places? I asked Rob to call his car, and tell it to get us the hell out of there, he said that feature was optional. I tried navigating by stars, but the ceiling was overcast. If not for the Grand Canal we’d still be lost!
Thanks to our neighbor booth, Vellum Cycles, for the beers. They went well with our pizza, which had gotten cold by the time we made it back from “The Venetian Maze”.
The award for The Best Accent goes to Jimena Florit cracking the whip on her teamates, when Rob was getting a Luna Chix autographed poster for his daughters…”Ladies. Ladies! Joo haf customairs.”
That’s a Wrap – Appearently, all you need to pack up your IB booth is some gaffers tape, and a big roll of Saran Wrap. It’s also good to have someone…someone who is responsible….to supervise, and make sure nobody is “mistakenly” wrapped up with the booth….I guess that’s bad since the Teamsters won’t move it that way.
Bad Ju-Ju Ride – After breaking down the booth the night before, it was time for a well deserved ride in Bootleg Cyn. All was well until I flatted five minutes into the ride. I hadn’t even fallen into any Cholla Cactus yet. Fixing the first flat I somehow pulled the valve completely out of the stem on the replacement tube…psssssss! Since we were only 100 meters from the car, we walked back to the comfort of the floor pump to replace the tube and tire. An hour into the ride, and we had gone less than a mile…what N00bs! Once everthing was fixed we had a fun ride. Trails were everywhere. Must go back in the winter.
Homeward – The journey home was pretty uneventful. More traffic, of course. On the way the SATNAV system started speaking Spanish, and would no longer make calls when instructed. What does it mean “vuelta derecha?” I think it caught a virus. Perhaps Jimena can help translate.
Final Score-
Free beers: 4
Pizzas eaten in 3 days: 3
Hours lost in the “Venutian”: 2
Flats in 1st 24 min riding BC: 2
$$$ lost gambling: 0
People accidentally saran-wrapped up with our booth: Unknown
