On top of the Rio!

Back to Fresh Mountain Air!

Vegas! It is a nutty, crazy place! New York City may be the town that never sleeps, but Vegas is the town that tries to make you think you're not supposed to sleep. The Venetian (which we had to walk through everyday to get to the Sands convention center) has the phony cloudy sky which makes you think it is daytime, all the time. This was the busiest show I have ever worked. I hardly ever left my booth---even on Friday which is typically the day when I can walk around the show and see "what's new".

I am amazed that in this day and age, that people can still do the "vegas-unhealthy" thing. The smoke in the casino's and the air-freshener spritzes that try and mask the smell are atrocious. I don't know what scares me more. The rush of awful air you smell when you first open the doors to the casino? Or the 20 minutes later when you can't smell it anymore because you are "used to it"? It's all very 80's. From the disco-bright lights to the life in the fast lane feel.

Can you tell I don't like Vegas? I can see how it might be cool for the first time---I suppose. Mike and I enjoyed a ride up Mount Hamilton before we flew out and ride back up Mount Hamilton when we returned. The best part of the whole gig was seeing my folks and riding, and seeing all my old "peeps" from PAB and other shops around the country.

Here's some pics of our party (taken by Nathan Heidt) (first one is me with the Bicycle John's crew and Ivan Dominguez) and of Mike on top of the world with Alan---post show. The funny thing is that the kayser's and the Taylor's were all on Mount Hamilton on the same day. Alan & Mike rode up and down together. I rode up after they did and passed them on the way down, and as I was going down, I saw Alan's wife Sue riding up.

I will write more this weekend---I am still de-compressing and re-adjusting to the altitude...again! Happy Thursday!

What happens in Vegas...

...stays in Vegas! Ha! In all the year's that Mike and I have been together and been in the bike biz, we've never made the trip to Interbike together. Hard to believe. This year, we are both going---so the Scrapper is staying with her Grandparents in California for a week. Last week was a hugely successful week in the Bay Area. I hope this is a sign for a really good year for us!

I rode my bike to pick up a rental car at the airport on Monday. How nice is that? I love living in a town that is small enough to ride (my bicycle) right into the airport (without traffic), and yet big enough to have an International airport. I left in the afternoon and when I hit Albany I could see the San Francisco Skyline and Mount Tamapais. It brought tears (literally) to my eyes to see my lovely city by the bay. I can't describe it. Even better was the fact that I was reverse traffic (i.e. no traffic at all) from Reno all the way to the Toll Plaza. The worse traffic was actually in Truckee as they are preparing the roads for winter and all but one lane was closed for about 8 miles.

I spent three days in San Francisco working and it was a great trip! Tomorrow we are going to ride and then head to my Mom and Dad's and then fly out of the San Jose Airport to Las Vegas. It'll be hectic and I will be glad to be through with the trade show. The best part will be seeing everyone. But other than that...it is crazy Vegas.

We have cooled down 20 degrees this past few weeks and my morning rides are already chilly. Fall everywhere is lovely. In the Sierra's you get that crisp air blowing in from elevation, and beautiful sunrises and sunsets! We even got some rain today and some dusting of snow up on Mt. Rose.

Happy Birthday Rick! Happy Yom Kippur! Happy Saturday!