Interbike 2011 - Travel

I honestly don't know how much I'll be blogging in the next few days from Interbike. I hope a lot, but I think that fatigue and the fact that I'm not a news outlet will temper my work. I know that it'll be a great show but, truth be told, I'm not quite as good at the "late-night-early-morning" gig as I used to be, back in the day.

That said I'll share the trip out, just because I can.

The Missus rallied and accompanied me to the airport. With the date in mind I wanted to show up early, ready for some intense security.

Ultimately I flew through the empty TSA lines - no one seemed to want to fly this morning. Even the plane took off virtually empty. I'm glad Southwest still charges just $50 for the bike.

Later it got a bit more crowded, after the transfer in Chicago. Ironically my sister was only a short bit away, visiting the city the same time I stopped through.

View out the window.

As we approached Vegas I kept an eye out for Lake Mead, then realized I should be able to see the Outdoor Demo area and the dark office building I rode to in April. I actually videotaped Boulder Canyon, the site for Outdoor Demo, but condensation on the inside of the plane window made the video unusable.

We flew through some pretty stormy looking clouds before landing smoothly in sunny and clear Las Vegas.

After some adventures getting to the hotel (tip: with an aluminum frame I worry a lot less about being on a totally full shuttle), I called the Missus to tell her about the room. It reminded me of both the place I stayed in when I did some work in London, and, more significantly to the Missus, it reminded me of the hotel we stayed in on our honeymoon.

At some point in the conversation I figured it was getting pretty windy. I could hear the pebbles that cover most of the Vegas buildings' roofs, the light tan colored stone. I peeked out the window to see if I could see anything.

I could, but it had nothing to do with pebbles.

It was pouring!

The storm we flew through followed us to Vegas, letting loose over the area with a vengeance. The TV even broke into its regular programming for an Emergency Broadcast System announcement (for strong winds, up to 60 mph, and damaging hail).

I interrupted the call with the Missus to take some pictures.

Water pouring across the parking lot.

Where'd the Stratosphere go?

There it is.

With that excitement over I did some mundane things. I used the iron (we have a better one at home) to smooth out my clothing, I ate the rest of my plane snacks, I watched Casino Royale, and, other than some calls and texts with various folks I'll see tomorrow, I stayed to myself. I'd see enough people tomorrow.

With that I went to sleep. Outdoor Demo tomorrow!