25Seven

Interbike September 2009: A Brief Tour of Las Vegas

Here’s an eight photo tour of Interbike without one single bike image.

I’m experimenting by posting the photos from Flickr.  Each image is an individual post.  Not a very slick system but it’ll work for today.  I just wanted to get these images up so I could get back to Seven Cycles specific posts.

Anyway, for those that missed the underside—and backside—of the Interbike and Vegas experience, enjoy.

All Aboard

All Aboard
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Stationary Transformation: All aboard the transformation train. Las Vegas: Not quite the transformation for which one might hope.

Consume

Consume
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Consume Your Costume: This kind of imagery gets you ready for the Vegas experience. Purchase and consume; even if it’s not edible.

Trumped - By Bankruptcy

Trumped - By Bankruptcy
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Ghost of Trump: Arriving at one of the Vegasesque icons: The bankrupted Trump International. 

I love how someone went through the trouble of removing all the letters but didn’t bother going any farther. Funny part is, the hotel is still in business—I know because that’s where I stayed.

The Stripped

The Stripped
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Stripped: Stepping out of the hotel, this is the scene—not 50-feet off the strip. The Stalled Out Strip. So much construction in slow motion.  It all looked shut down or on permanent hold.  At least they’re working on obscuring the mountains.

This is art

This is art
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Pink Elephants: Enjoy the artistic beauty found everywhere in Vegas. I also saw many white elephants but they weren’t paintings on walls. I think it’d be great to be an artist in Vegas. No matter how bad the ‘art’, it’ll still look good next to every other object around.

Change Mantra

Change Mantra
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

I'm trying: With all the ladies wearing “CHANGE” vests, you’d think that self reflective patrons might take that request to heart and change their lives. Oh well. I guess I misinterpreted the statement; I thought it was a suggestion but it turns out it’s a prediction—about what you’ll have left in a few hours.

Like being at the beach

Like being at the beach
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Parking Lot Palm Trees. They look unhappy to be in Las Vegas. It’s like being at the beach—without the sand, water, or smiling faces. And, the palms stand watch over all the exhausted, broke, broken, and drunken losers; I think the palms start feeling the same way.

Double Vision

Double vision
Originally uploaded by Tautological Hinterland

Reallucinate: When it’s finally time to go home, everything looks like this: blurred, doubled, confused depth of field. It’s all a reallucination but it still feels good because at least I’m heading home.

Interbike, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, & the Seven Rex

Yeah, I decided I’m going to Interbike for Seven Cycles.  Maybe not for the reasons one might think—bikes and the bike business; while I know there’s some of that happening in Vegas next week—that whole Interbike Tradeshow—the main reason I’m going to the LV is to bid on Samson, the complete Tyrannosaurus Rex Skeleton, in what is “possibly the most impressive natural history auction ever”.  

You see, the week after Interbike is an auction, in Las Vegas, of some amazing fossils including Samson:

“The rare 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex known as "Samson" is one of the three most complete examples of its species to have been discovered.

“In life, "Samson" measured approximately forty feet in length… [and] could have bitten through the leg bone of any contemporary dinosaur.

“Her skeleton is beautifully prepared and mounted utilizing the most modern techniques, which allow for new discoveries and enhanced aesthetic qualities.”

That last sentence is a bit creepy.  Still, an amazing skeleton.

I want to buy the T-Rex mainly because the first bike we built at Seven was called the Rex—it means “king” in Latin.  That bike is still around today.  Mainly used for propping up my tired ass—see the photo?  It’s a steel mountain bike.

The auctioneers expect the Rex to go for somewhere between $2,000,000 and $8,000,000.  Maybe I can find some Vegas odds.