Vegas and the Offy; the Rory Sutherland diary

Making people happy (Image credit: Rory Sutherland)

The two subjects most talked about right now: Interbike in Las Vegas and the off season. That is pretty much all that was said during September. Even though we were racing the Tour of Missouri, the chats with other riders on the bike was always the same: What are you doing in the off season? Are you going to Interbike? This question was directly followed asking one where they are staying and what parties they will be attending.

It was my first Interbike. Wow! What a show! I get it now! I've seen the expo, noticed how important it is for selling product, and now I'm totally over Las Vegas. Chapeau dealers. I cannot imagine standing on your feet from 8AM until 5PM, talking about bike stuff, trying to tell consumers or bike shop reps why your product is better than the competitors, cleaning up, going out all night, and then doing it all again the next day. Chapeau! I am but a bike rider.

My mental capacity and patience is unfortunately not too long at all. After fifteen minutes of a one hour photo signing session, I was ready to be out. Vegas is a huge unorganized mess. I am sure most of those reading will have been there, so you already love or hate the place. I am somewhere in between... It's fun for a day or maybe, just maybe, two days, but four days... too much. ANYWAY, a lot of faces were put to names and e-mails, so there were a lot of positive things that came out of the experience. Catching up with friends/sponsors on a social level was also awesome fun.