National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation - 612 Style

Here's my one and only disclaimer - this was another epic adventure. With that being said, hit the bathroom, grab a bevie, and sit down, cuz this may take a while....

Last Tuesday, Hollywood n' I jumped on a jet, headed for Interbike 2007 in sunny Las Vegas. Not only was there bikes, beer, and lots of sun...but 612 was out in full force. HED. Wheels hooked us up with a room at the Amerisuites along with the rest of the crew, directly across the street from Hard Rock, the center of Sin City on so many levels. We landed just before midnight, so we kept it pretty low key, grabbin Timmer and hitting the Hard Rock for a night cap with Wheels, before calling it a night.

The next morning, we hit the ground running. We nabbed Wheels early and headed to the Wynn for some wining and dining with our buds at Javelin. The sun was hot, the wine splendid, and the bikes were stunning, glistening in the desert sun, begging me to fall in love with yet another bike....seriously, I'm addicted.....I need to stop buying bikes! The guys at Javelin loved all the pics we brought out of the local racers and their bikes (there's talk of some of them appearing in the next catalog!). They treated us to an amazing lunch of tasty dishes and bottles of wine...before sending us off to the madness they call Interbike.

When we arrived, I ducked into a restroom and converted into my alter ego....

Kristy Kreme, HED. Booth Bunny

I volunteered to help out at the HED. booth Wed. and Thurs. to try and say thanks to Steve and Annie for the fab accommodations. I've never had so many strangers come up and ask to take my picture - it was quite flattering - especially since I was probably the only "booth babe" that didn't have collagen lips and store-bought melons. Hwood and Wheels cruised the show and had some fun, picking me up later to ditch the show and hit the Hard Rock pool before the night's events began. The pool was quiet and we sipped on a couple cans of overpriced Coronas. None the less, we were with Hwood, so we definitely had a blast.....

Water slide at the Hard Rock

Later that night was the Sinclair party at the Mirage - a loud, annoyingly expensive industry party that we ditched within an hour, heading (of course) back to the Hard Rock for some cocktails and fun. We missed the CX race with the Minneapolis mafia - we will NOT make the same mistake next year! Jay, Timmer, Knutson, Wheels and I hung out for a bit, but had to cut it short before sun up to make sure Jay and Timmer got some rest for their upcoming race.

On Thursday morning, we hit the show early so Jay could get to a couple meetings and I could get some booth hours in early before returning to the pool for some more sun. We were out of there in no time, grabbing some lunch at the Pink Taco and meeting Wheels pool side in the early afternoon. The once quite pool was starting to liven up as the travelers started to check into their hotel rooms. The shade was a little cooler, so between trips down the water slide, we soaked in the hot tub. Timmer and Matt joined us once they escaped the show - getting prepped for the evening ..... The Industry Crit at the Mandalay Bay!

After our soak, we all separated (except for Matt n Wheels who stayed to work on the ladies)....Jay and Timmer rested and warmed up for their race. They were racing the Crit along with Ellis and Dean-o as Team HED. Timmer and Jay rode their bikes there to warm up so I caught a cab with Wheels and Matt from the HR. Not only did Timmer get a call-up, but they got to race against pro cyclist MARIO CIPOLLINI! Jay, as always, proved once again that he's the master of guerilla marketing, scoring THIS shot when Cipo got called up....
Jay rode his tail off, redlining for 3 or 4 laps to bring up Ellis and regroup the team. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to finish, blowing apart after the hard effort. He did it right, though, getting Ellis up front to help Timmer, who sat in the top three for almost the entire race. Cipo couldn't deny it, either, as you can see......there was no better wheel on the course to ride!

Timmer won a sweet prime, but with 3 laps to go, picked up a staple with his front wheel. I know he could have easily been in contention for the win, but he made it out without any bumps n' bruises, unlike Dirk who was taken out by a camera lens at the start of the last lap, creating a pile of bodies and broken bikes. Hey Dirk, where'd your saddle go?
Our boys on the other hand, made it out safe n' sound. Just after the race, we got together with Cipollini for some good times.
The pro-race was immediately after, so we hung out in the VIP tent as part of the HED mafia and heckled n' hawed. After the races were over, we all headed back to the Rock for some late night grub. Jay n' I turned in early since he was pretty pooped out from the race...as for the rest of the crew, well that stays in Vegas.
Friday morning came quik, so we left early to get one last run at Interbike. When it comes down to it, there really wasn't too much to get excited for at the show (except for maybe the new HED. Ardennes! Man, I can wait to ride those!). Jay n I didn't stay long so we could get one last dip in the pool before we took the late flight home. The day was so hot that we never left the shade. Heck - Wheels could barely leave Vegas all together! Me, I was ready to go home and relax w/ my honey.

We hit the airport and made it through the bumpy ride home unscathed at 1:00am on Saturday, with just enough time to nap before the next adventure.

Vegas is a completely different world on so many levels....but it was a blast in so many ways! See ya next year, Interbike!
Kristy Kreme