Although we won’t be attending the open air demo, we’ll be prowling the floor of the Sands Convention Center later this week, to bring our readers as much of the cool new gear as we can. Alex and his assistant are going to take on road cycling and commuting, plus whatever catches their eye, and I’m going to try to cover mountain biking as well as see what the new exhibitors have to offer. Between us, we’ll see complete bikes for every type of riding interest, components of all sorts, and electronics for everything from recording your speed and heart rate to capturing your latest adventure in hi-def digital format. We’ll check out shoes, helmets, gloves, and clothing for riding as well as after the ride, including recovery. Accessories include lights, hydration, more cowbell (they do sell them there), and things we didn’t know we needed until someone else thought them up – that would cover StemCAPtain, among other brands.
We can’t promise much reporting from the show, but there should be a thread on Twospoke.com offering photos just as soon as we can upload them. Check back for more info on that Wednesday, mid-morning. The rest of this week is going to be very heavy on cycling news, but we haven’t forgotten that it’s still National Preparedness Month, so you’ll see multiple articles each day. It goes without saying that after the show,you can expect plenty of cycling content too.
– Brian
Postscript:
This year marks my return to Interbike after a two year absence. On a very personal level, even just attending the show is a very emotional experience for me. My first Interbike was the 2007 show. While seeing so much cycling-related goodness in one place was overwhelming, the fact that my dad drove out from Southern California to meet me in Las Vegas made the trip that much more special. He was very proud of my involvement in the cycling industry, and that I was working to promote cycling. When he was pushing me down the road on my first two wheeler some time around the age of five, I doubt he had any idea that cycling would be a life-long passion for me. But here we were, sharing some good food and beverage, while he listened to me animatedly describe bikes, gear, and related technology that he probably didn’t completely understand. As always, he listened patiently. That’s just one of many skills I have yet to master as well as he did. After the last day of the show, we had breakfast and parted ways. Sadly, that was the last time I saw my father alive. In January of 2008, my dad had a heart attack. By the time I arrived at the hospital, he was in a coma which he never recovered from. I had lost my role model, mentor, and best friend. So each visit to Interbike is a reminder of our good times together, as well as my mission to get more people to see cycling as a sport, hobby, fitness outlet, or serious mode of transportation. I think my dad would be proud.