Backbone Race Report: Interbike Sunday Update

It's 5:40 a.m. on Sunday the 21st. I'm sitting at the Southwest terminal here in C-Bus with my coffee, waiting for that 7 o'clock flight to Lost Wages. Nick and Stefano from KENDA shared the flight with me. Pete O'Brien from Amino Vital is to pick me up at McCarren Airport there, then fly to the Cactus Cup race, where he is planning to race the industry cup. It's a different year for us this year at the show. Having had the trip underwritten by the folks at Amino Vital, we are going this year as guests..and not as slave labor. I'm not sure what to do, because my past several visits have been spent building the Kenda and Kenlite booths, and setting up everyone's tents at Outdoor Demo. This year....I guess we finally get to go and sell ourselves to the sponsors during normal business hours..not between midnight and 3a.m. at the Hoffbrau. I wonder if Tom Wehe will get The Clap again this year? Ahhhhh such fun we have. With my Starbucks in hand (nowhere NEAR as good as Luck Brothers Coffee) I anxiously await the flight West, and wonder when I'll get to live close enough to drive there again.

It's 10:40p.m., and I'm back in my spacious and luxuriant room here at Excalibur. Landing at Vegas' McCarran
airport at 8a.m., I phoned POB and he rolled in to get me...but NOT before I saw the famously arrogant Lou Ferigno (former ctor who played The Hulk). I also saw a TON of future strippers who are NOW hopefull actresses arriving by the second here in the city of sin.

I rolled with POB to the NEW and not at all improved Cactus Cup in the mountains above Vegas. Christophe Sauser would win the Pro men's race,

Christophe Sauser's 19.5 lb Stumpjumper after the race

and Tinker Juarez and I chatted about his face plant that took out his Stan's aluminum rotor.

It was ugly! Terrible, and absolutely shameful that they took the once-greatest-race in North America and soiled it's name with the crappiest turnout ever recorded in history. POB raced it today, and did well, but admitted it was way too easy. After the "race" we drove to get another Amino Vital person from TI, and hit ODD. we set up the expo area and waited for the margarita machine to arrive an hour late. Yay, it's only windy and 100 degrees! I saw Mr. Darter who looked great, still glowing from his DH race win in CA, and Backbone alum James Cross helping at Niner Bikes. Both the boys were doing great, and I'm sure I'll see more of them tomorrow. We returned to check in to our upgraded suites at Excalibur (where all Renaissance Fair dorks go to die) and hang out. Vegas Bob met us with his STILL DIRTY TOMAC CARBIDE from the XC race in Big Bear...we dropped our stuff, cleaned up (NOT together..although Lyd isn't here, so maybe tomorrow) and hit Dick's Last Resort for some bad music and underage drinking. It's late, I'm exhausted, and I get to meet up with mountain biking legend Joel Smith of Tomac Bikes tomorrow morning to help him bring his amazing bikes into the convention center. See ya'll tomorrow!