INTERBIKE
Oct 25, 06:18 PM
Interbike was sick this year, I had a lot of fun… at least that’s what my friends tell me. It all started with the dirt demo which was hot, dusty, and windy. Even though it was hot as hell there were plenty of people out to test the new bikes and shred the gnarly terrain. There were some prime examples of road rash around due to the razor sharp rocks that made up 99% of the downhill runs. After we were throughly cooked we tore down the Kona demo compound, loaded up the bikes and headed back to sin city.
The Kona tribe was hungry so we decided to hunt down some food. We started walking up the strip to find a restaurant and much to our dismay there was a minimum hour wait at every joint. At about the umpteenth place we hit up at we decided to get on the list and grab a spot at the bar. We were so damn hungry we were thinking of jumping someone and taking there food, lucky for joe tourist and his wife our party was called to a table. “Sweet!” Finally some nourishment. We ordered and awaited the feast. Our food arrived and damn did it look good, the feast began. About thirty seconds into it our buddy Alistair from Bolivia yelled to Dave Watson at the head of the table” hey Dave you remember when you got totally sick in Bolivia and yacked all over the place?” As we all turned to see Dave’s response we heard him utter the words “I dont feel so… BLAAGHHHH!!!” Usually I would be pissed that my meal was coated in a layer of acidic bile but, I have never seen anyone launch puke at that velocity in my life. I wasn’t even mad, I was impressed! Needless to say Dave’s ralphing promptly ended our dinner so we headed back to the hotel. My posse from Santa Barbara rolled in later that evening and thats about all I can remember, the rest of the trip is pretty much a blank. We have gathered evidence, interviewed witnesses and studied video surveillance. So far this is the story we have been able to come up with. Fat tuesday, 190 octane with two shots of everclear added for good measure in a 40 oz mug….. Uhh yea. More details as they come in.
The next day we went to the show and checked out all the new stuff the industry had to offer. To tell you the truth I was pretty impressed. A lot of company’s are stepping it up with product development and are starting to make bikes and gear that suit different riders needs and ability’s, riding style, terrain, etc. For example, a lot of company’s would say “OK, we need a bike for this freeride thing… I’ve got it! Those freeride people like to huck their chicken….No no, throw their meat…no wait, huck their meat! Thats it. Well let’s make a bike with as much travel as we can, who cares about weight they only go downhill right? Every part will be beefy and over-engineered and of course incredibly overpriced!” Those times are long gone. The bike industry is realizing that “freeride” is actually becoming a sport and not just guys going big to flat. By sport I mean things like the structured slopestyle events that are gaining more and more popularity and are going to draw the next generation of mountain bikers. It also helps that bike company’s now know what they are buildings bikes for. Early on “freeride” was so vague and across the board, people were doing all kind of things on there bikes. About the only thing they could agree on was the fact that most everyone liked to “do jumps” or “catch big air dude”. Today there are structured events and purpose-built equipment designed with the input of some of the leading talent in the sport. Now all we need is more coverage, the more coverage we get the more people realize we actually don’t wear lycra, and that there are some pretty core dudes killing it in the scene. Shit, some kid might actually think twice about trying to squeeze into some pair of his sisters ultra tight jeans to ride his little bmx bike. Well anyways the show was good. Sorry about that I got a little off point there.
After the first day of the show it was time for the real show to begin, the premiere of New World Disorder 6 “Unchained”. Big D, head honcho at freeride entertainment Invited all the riders, sponsors and VIPs to a special dinner before the show and in typical Big D fashion he made sure we were ballin’. He didn’t get that name for free let me tell ya. He might have to sell his house now but as with all of Big D’s party’s there were a lot of drunk and happy VIPs walkin’ out of that restaurant to watch his premiere next door. Time for the main event! We were all pretty amped to see the movie, for most of the riders it would be their first time seeing the fruits of a years worth of hard labor. The club was packed and the crowd was going off, it was show time… BAMMM! Everyone in the crowd got pimp slapped at once and that was only after the first scene. I would tell you how sick the movie was but I don’t think I could really do it justice, you’ll just have to watch it for yourself. To top off the premiere swollen members rocked the house ‘til the wee hours, it was great and judging by the pictures it looked like everyone had a good time.
It’s the same story every year, everyone is so fired up at the beginning of Interbike and a couple days deep they start to waver, by the end of the week they are completely fried. It’s pretty funny seeing a bunch of zombies walking around trying to sell each other bike stuff. I am usually ready to get the hell out of dodge by the end of the week but this year we had a different plan, bring the boat and hit the lake. Lake Mead is right there so we figured it would be a fun ending to the week to go shred on the wakeboard. I didn’t realize how big Mead is! It was great, glassy water, warm weather, and not a person in sight. The lake was a perfect ending to an awesome week but I think it will probably take me all year to recharge enough to head back to Vegas. Luckily they only do this once a year!