Interbike 2009 Musings
The tribe is back
Words by Ed Snyder.
Date: 2009-09-21
So the tribe gathers once again. Drawn to the shining city in the desert.
My thoughts turn to why we do this, why we bother... why we make the trek, like so many cycling lemmings to the cliff's edge.
The answers are a contradiction unto themselves. Some are universal and understood. Many are personal, quiet and ultimately unseen. The deeper currents that drive us.
Someone is always pushing the limit at Interbike || photo: Ed Snyder
We come to see new ideas sprung to life in metal and carbon. To see old friends and tell lies about the season almost past. To pay tribute to those who formed our sport and satisfy our own little urge for hero worship. Others still to mark the passing of time, sands through our own hourglass and even the lives of those who left us this year. To buy. To sell. Anyone and anything... To find a sponsor. To keep the bills from stacking up. To drink enough to sedate a horse... twice.
We thought this was appropriate heading in to a week of hearing "It's lighter and stiffer... over and over again.
The reasons are as diverse as the hordes that descend on the "the show" every year. Yet as different as they are, the similarities are unmistakeable. As they begin to gather and form; in the airports and rest stops and the hotel lobbies, all their differences merge and coalesce. Soon they are one mass, anticpating the same starting gun. Once it sounds, the clock is ticking and it won't stop for a week; for anyone. Lose the pace and you are off the back faster than a shelled rider at a major tour.
To keep up at Interbike it is all about being committed and staying the course. Paul Bas knows a little something about that...
Make no mistake: it's a wild ride and it's on again. The tribe is back. The lights are on. We are primed and ready as anyone ever is. It's game time. Pull the pin.
Wish you were here? Fear the 38 temps? Either way, head on over to the boards and send us to do your bidding.
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