NAMES
Just got home from...that place in Vegas. You know. That big hotel thingy where they put on the bike trade show. Every year about this time.
I know it. I know what it is called. The name is right on the tip of my tongue.
Years ago I even went to the one in Anaheim. At night they closed down Disneyland to the general public and reserved the whole park for just us bikers. That year it was the best!
Phelan and Sher at the show...
This year was pretty fun, too. I was just there... just can’t remember the name. Katerina Hanusova came straight to the show from the Czech Republic where she just got married. One doesn’t often see genuine emotion in Las Vegas.
Anyway, I ran into a lot of friends that I haven’t seen in a while.
Saw Lisa Sher. She stopped DH racing last year. I thought she was gonna show up at Mammoth and win the National title. She told me she’s getting out of LA and moving to Vancouver. She looks good.
Ran into Mr Dirt, Bob Barnett. He is a crazy genius with access to too many machine tools. In the magazines I see his brake levers on all the top pros’ motos. With his hair cut shorter than before I almost didn’t recognize him.
Shared a cab from the Airport to the hotel with mountain bike icon Jacquie Phelan. I don’t see as much of Jacquie as I used to since I’ve been living on the Central Coast. When I was living in Marin I used to see Jacquie ridng her bike with her banjo slung over back all around town. She’s working now with some people in Portland trying to get kids to ride bikes more.
Spent three days at the show signing autographs at the Clif Bar booth. And the Santa Cruz booth. And at the Mavic, Sugoi, Vetta, Six Six One booths. I smashed a Pinata at Fox Shox. Sampled some very fancy hors d’oeurves at a very fancy Red Bull party.
Saw way too many people whom I knew. People who I rode with. Or worked with. People who helped me out with parts, or accommodations, media. Without helmet and eyewear some were just hard to put a name to. Maybe if I could have seen them with their bike it would have helped to remember.
Even with names printed on their credentialed pass dangling on a string beneath their chin didn’t help. Was this the Michael Lenkauskas from the “All Sport Bike Shop” that lent me a tube before a race? Or did I give him a tube during a ride at CrankWorx? Am I thanking him or is he thanking me?
So many nice people. I do feel bad about forgetting a name, or a ride. Or a clean shaved face. The only consolation is that more than a few times while I was handing out posters with my Luna Teammates guys who hadn’t slept in three days greeted me with, “Hey Shonny, how about an autograph?”
That’s Interbike.
I know it. I know what it is called. The name is right on the tip of my tongue.
Years ago I even went to the one in Anaheim. At night they closed down Disneyland to the general public and reserved the whole park for just us bikers. That year it was the best!
Phelan and Sher at the show...
This year was pretty fun, too. I was just there... just can’t remember the name. Katerina Hanusova came straight to the show from the Czech Republic where she just got married. One doesn’t often see genuine emotion in Las Vegas.
Anyway, I ran into a lot of friends that I haven’t seen in a while.
Saw Lisa Sher. She stopped DH racing last year. I thought she was gonna show up at Mammoth and win the National title. She told me she’s getting out of LA and moving to Vancouver. She looks good.
Ran into Mr Dirt, Bob Barnett. He is a crazy genius with access to too many machine tools. In the magazines I see his brake levers on all the top pros’ motos. With his hair cut shorter than before I almost didn’t recognize him.
Shared a cab from the Airport to the hotel with mountain bike icon Jacquie Phelan. I don’t see as much of Jacquie as I used to since I’ve been living on the Central Coast. When I was living in Marin I used to see Jacquie ridng her bike with her banjo slung over back all around town. She’s working now with some people in Portland trying to get kids to ride bikes more.
Spent three days at the show signing autographs at the Clif Bar booth. And the Santa Cruz booth. And at the Mavic, Sugoi, Vetta, Six Six One booths. I smashed a Pinata at Fox Shox. Sampled some very fancy hors d’oeurves at a very fancy Red Bull party.
Saw way too many people whom I knew. People who I rode with. Or worked with. People who helped me out with parts, or accommodations, media. Without helmet and eyewear some were just hard to put a name to. Maybe if I could have seen them with their bike it would have helped to remember.
Even with names printed on their credentialed pass dangling on a string beneath their chin didn’t help. Was this the Michael Lenkauskas from the “All Sport Bike Shop” that lent me a tube before a race? Or did I give him a tube during a ride at CrankWorx? Am I thanking him or is he thanking me?
So many nice people. I do feel bad about forgetting a name, or a ride. Or a clean shaved face. The only consolation is that more than a few times while I was handing out posters with my Luna Teammates guys who hadn’t slept in three days greeted me with, “Hey Shonny, how about an autograph?”
That’s Interbike.
Subscribe to Marla's RSS Feed
4 Comments:
Ok how could you forget to mention that you met the guys from Go Clipless? HaHa!
http://www.goclipless.com/2005/09/the_women_of_mo.html
Had the pleasure of meeting Jackie Phelan when she was on the way to a clinic at the Maine Winter Sports Center this summer. I couldn't go to the clinic, but she stopped by our shop and she took pictures and I admired her leopard print tights and listened to her idea to avoid the real world as long as I could.
-Silvia
Hey, thanks for the poetry.
"oh, the places you'll go!"
belongs in a literary magazine with people fawning over it and stuff.
really
you could be confused for worse than Shonny......
Post a Comment
<< Home