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.

I also like the piece called “Fish Aspiration and Mass Mortality”.  In this case “aspiration” means, “a fish preying upon another fish” and “mass mortality” is pretty much what it sounds like—lots of fish dying at once.  That’d be great on my office wall.  Somehow reminds me of the bike industry at times.  As if I need a reminder.

I’m getting a bit morbid.  I think I’ll check out the details of the T-Rex head again—amazing!  I’ll get back to posting about Seven and Bicycles soon.  In fact, the story of the Rex—Seven’s first bike—is kind of interesting.

[Via Wired]