The end of Summer camp

Vegas, baby. Wow. What a week. It's hard to know where to begin, really. I've been to Vegas enough times to know that there is absolutely no way that I'd go there intentionally for a vacation. It's not a destination spot for me. I went to do some networking for the demo next year, and to help Chipps a little, and to see my friends. The friends thing was definitely the most significant part.

Amid the roaming of the aisles and the schmoozing, I had a chance to catch up with some friends and reacquaint myself with others. Sideways was the first to arrive after me. If anyone ever has any doubts about that guy, I'd go a very long way to make sure they knew just how great he is. I could list many, many examples to prove it just from this week alone.

My roommate was in town along with some of the guys from his shop. It's funny that we both had to go all the way to Las Vegas to see each other. Just a testament to the type of schedule I have these days, I suppose. My Maverick friend Ray was also in town, as was Chrissy. It was like a mini-Boulderite party at the Maverick bash, the details of which I think I will keep to myself. ;~)

Mike D. My interaction with him was very limited up to last week. I figured that he'd be in town, so I wanted to take the opportunity to meet up with another of the Cheeky crowd. I had a really good time chatting with Mike. What a top guy. He's going to make a great father.

Michael and Jessica "Spot" were there, of course. Again, two very quality individuals that I feel very fortunate to know.

The Surly guys, Hurl, Donna from Kryptonite, Pat (of course), and everyone else I got to see made it a worthwhile week.

Good grief, I have some absolutely fantastic friends. I can only hope that I can be half as great as they are. I'm only sorry that more people weren't there.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Chippendale. The first time seeing him since his "decision". It was impossible to hold back the flood of emotion that I sort of expected would hit me. I'd say that with the exception of one very brief moment though (sorry Tim), I was able to keep my internal battle completely under wraps. I suppose it's safe to let the cat out of the bag now. In many ways, it was like nothing had happened and we were up to our usual tricks. We spent a lot of time together and had the same type of fun that we always had. The obvious difference this time was that we weren't "together", which I was reminded of at the end of every day. I think this is the toughest breakup I've ever had to deal with. I feel like enough time has passed that it should be getting easier, and instead it's almost harder. Someone told me that maybe if he were an asshole that it would be easier to deal with. He isn't an asshole. Everyone loves him, and it's not hard to see why. This sucks...still.

I think there's a skunk in the front garden somewhere. The smell is wafting up into my room. Ew!

So yeah...Vegas was a great time. I'm not a big fan of that place since the whole thing is based on a fantasy world that is based on the concept of separating people from their money. Still, it's worth going to Interbike just to see nice people.

I spent my first day at home vegging on the couch and watching TV. I finally got myself out the door and took the singlespeed for a ride. Again tomorrow, and again the next day, and hopefully the next. I have two weeks here and I intend to maximize the ride time as much as I possibly can.

Here's a shout out to all the UK posse that I didn't get to see this week. You're all still in my thoughts and I can't wait to catch up with you as well.