A Bike and Tears...in Vegas?

Last Wednesday, September 23^rd I boarded my trusty Boeing 737 captained by a lovely and comedic Southwest Airlines pilot, and one and a half hours later the miracle of flight took us, passengers and crew, what was once a two-week wagon ride over unforgiving and dangerous terrain, from Denver to Las Vegas. Dressed to impress—blazer, designer jeans, leather shoes, and all—I gathered my belongings, which included my bag and terribly cumbersome bike box, and hailed a $30 cab ride to the Venetian Hotel. The Venetian was not only the home of Interbike, the convention for which I was bailing on two days of work at CCF, AIC, and BOTPT, but it would serve as my inhabitance for two days and nights. Upon arrival I quickly phoned my KC Crew and met up with Bill Marshall of KCCX, Jeph Blanchard of J.Steadman Marketing and Creative Services, and John Rhein of Renaissance Cycling. After a welcoming handshake from Bill, an introduction to John whom I had never met, and a very awkward hug from a significantly larger man (Jeph), I was settled into an incredible suite graciously provided by said KC Crew. Regardless of what came of the following two days, I knew instantly I was surrounded by some of the most honest, hard working, fun-loving, and giving group of guys in the cycling community. In a place of sleepless nights, empty dreams, and where friendships change with the roll of a dice, I could rest peacefully knowing my leg-shaven, spandex-clad, vagabond cycling friends provided me with some solace.

Instead of continuing to dictate the outcome of each event that transpired, like how thankful I am to have been granted admission to the event because of another gracious friend, Steve Owens of Colorado Premier Training, or how cool it was to walk around with Bill and shake hands with 10,000 of his friends in the industry including Ashley of Outlaw Earth, I’d like to share a specific story that occurred on Thursday night after I raced the USA Crit Finals.

After finishing the exciting, energetic, and electric criterium, which also happened to be my final race of the season, the KC Crew and I returned to the hotel, where I unfortunately failed to rally the troops for what I’d hoped to be an adventurous and wild night on the town. Eagerly committed to fulfill my social agenda, I would finally convince John to descend the ear-popping thirty floors where we would avoid the horde of gabbling lights in the casino and find a little nook occupied by Sin City Brewery. After a couple beers and an awesome conversation about cycling and life that transcended any age barrier that may exist, John retired to our habitation around 2:00 am. In my mind I had this brilliant plan that I was going to take a gander through the casino, spend a couple quarters on some slot machines, be satisfied with losing money, and fall asleep content. Instead, the bartender sparked up a conversation. After some friendly dialogue, she uncovered that I resided in Fort Collins and promptly began to glow with excitement sharing her dream of moving to Fort Collins to manage a bar called Sliders. Conversation progressed for another 20 minutes or so--mostly surface chat about the incredible lifestyle in Fort Collins—when BOOM, she dropped it on me…my husband was killed in a motorcycle accident three months ago. A couple beers deep and SMACK, I still felt the slap across my face. Sharing that kind of news only meant one thing—whether or not you believe in a divine faith, this conversation was meant to occur. For another hour and a half we shared perspectives on life, death, relationships, love, moving forward, and finally ended our conversation at 3:30 am with buckets of tears covering the bar. If you would have asked me before my travels, what will you do while in Vegas, I never would have said, I’m going to Vegas to share a wonderful life experience and build a relationship, if only for a night, with a bartender at Sin City Brewery. Regardless, the kink in my plans sent me home thinking how blessed I am to have cycling as a passion because it positions me with opportunities and experiences where I’m able to build and maintain incredible relationships.

With a smile,

-Phil