Cool Bike

I had very little time to explore the two major bicycle shows I attended in September, which both good and bad. Good as I was too pressed for time in very busy booths (good for the buzz and orders), bad as I didn't get much of a chance to go out and see what other companies were showing.

One booth that I always make a point of stopping by is the 10x20 space occupied by New Paltz, NY-based Vicious Cycles. A true craftsman who works with steel and titanium and wrapped in gorgeous paint, Carl Schlemowitz always has some tasty offerings on display. This year was no exception. Among his offerings... the Thunderwing.
What is this wide-tired contraption? It's a winter bike. And while I have no use for a snow-oriented bike here in sunny San Diego County, I certainly appreciate the craftsmanship and finish work.
And while fat-tired extreme-terrain bikes are nothing new (and likely good on the beach - hmm...), they're still fun to look at and even more fun to ride.

Las Vegas

"A bloody nose, empty pockets, a rented car with a trunk full of guns
It ain't true that the sun don't rise in Vegas,
I've seen it once"

Checkout Time In Vegas by Drive-By Truckers

Okay, so there was no bloody nose involved or guns. Almost on the bloody nose, but that was purely dryness-induced from spending three full days at Interbike's Outdoor Demo in hot and windy Boulder City from Sunday through Tuesday.

But overall the show and experience were very good - not great like Eurobike, but much better than any previous Interbike with my last employer. And with this being my thirteenth trip to Interbike, there are very few surprises anymore. Because of that, I didn't really go out of my way to do much in the way of exploring or shooting photos of anything other than bicycles and bicycle accessories.

"Ooh, Las Vegas, ain't no place for a poor boy like me
Ooh, Las Vegas, ain't no place for a poor boy like me
Every time I hit your crystal city
You know you're gonna make a wreck out of me"

-Ooh, Las Vegas by Graham Parsons

Cool Vegas find - Bauman Rare Books

Most of you know that I loath pretty much everything associated with Las Vegas and am always looking forward to returning home. However, one bright spot this year was discovering Bauman Rare Books on the walk back to my room at the fancy-pants hotel casino where I stayed during my trip to Interbike.

Bauman Rare Books is located in the Shoppppeeeseses at the Palazzo. Most of their neighbors are selling hyper-expensive jewelery or evening wear. This place had infinitely more soul.

Check out a few of my favorite finds below, click on the image to blow it up so that you can read the card that explains why the particular book is so valuable.

First edition of first cookbook printed in Mexico, $8000
I wonder if there are reicipies for Volcano Tacos and Cinnamon Crispas?

Walt Whitman, Leaves Of Grass (1855), limited first edition, one of 795 copies, $175,000

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tender Is The Night (1934), signed first edition, $70,000
I liked this one for the dust jacket artwork, it'd make a great poster.

And a couple for the kids:

Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are (1963), signed first edition w/ small sketch of "wild thing", $28,000

Charles Schultz, Happiness Is A Warm Puppy (1962), first edition, $1,500

The staff was very accomodating and was opening the display cases so that some of my coworkers could leaf through the rare books. I'm looking forward to seeing what they have to offer next year.

Thanks for the treat, Gregg

Homewood bike?

You south suburbanite readers, all both of you, know that 183rd Street is the major east-west thoroughfare thru Homewood, so I was a bit surprised to see a new brand with this name at the show.
Unfortunately the guys manning the booth were busy talking to some shop kids, so I didn't get the scoop on where they're based. Nothing came up in a brief web search either.

Long bike

for you and nine of your friends. From Santana. A double quint? Decabike?

Lunch, Vegas style at the Sands

mediocre turkey meat - check

deluxe garnish consisting of one piece of lettuce - check
one slice of unidentifiable cheese - check
two packs of French's mustard - check
watered-down Coke - check

All that for $12.75 from the fine folks at the Sands Convention Center. At least they take credit cards now.

After two days of crummy sandwiches, I switched to the chicken caesar salad. Three cups of lettuce, about a half a cup of chicken, a dash of parmesan and pouches of croutons (unsold croissants?) and dressing - $8.25

On my way home

I'm about ten minutes from experiencing my favorite part of being in Las Vegas - when I click my seatbelt for the flight back home.

Nice that The flight from here to San Diego is now only 75 min or so, too bad it's on US Scareways. Blech, what a wretched airline.

Had a fantastic Interbike, the bike industry has a lot of very, very good people in it.

And pleasant to find free WiFi at the airport here.