Photos and Story by Dave Lieberman

The following takes place between 2:30am and 7am. A groggy reporter, a cold cup of coffee and a full tank of gas. In Los Angeles that usually means your heading to Vegas! For a cyclist and on a Tuesday, that means it’s for Interbike, and their Outdoor Demo at that!

I headed out at 2:30 to try and time my arrival to Bootleg Canyon at least 30 minutes before the Lake Mead ride. This is a 26 mile jaunt out and back around Lake Mead. The greatest part about the ride, is you can reserve a demo bike to use on the ride. Colnago, Cannondale, Look just to name a few. With a major accident closing down I-15, I thought this would not happen. But the accident was just pass the 95 to Bootleg Canyon, but 15 minutes of precious time wasted had passed. When I arrived, it was a mad dash to the vendors, only to find out many have given my size out. The good guys at Kuoto, set me up on a KOM, but the ride had started. I played catch-up and just enjoyed a gentle pace out and back, instead of the 30+ mph the lead group set.

The Outdoor Demo is becoming the big event at Interbike now. The first time I went there were about 8 tents and a smattering of bikes. It has now grown to about 80 tents, and you couldn’t test all the bikes, road and mtb, in a month! Besides using one on the 26 mile Lake Mead ride, there is a 2 mile stretch of pavement and hill climb to try out the numerous road bikes. Off road, there are 4 small 15-20 minute courses, and eve a downhill course for the dirt riders. Odd thing is, if you test more than 7 or 8 bikes, you will have one hell of a work out. Now the killer part. All the newest components are there, and you can even try them out! New stuff from Shimano, Campy and SRAM. Now you will know exactly how they feel. I especially liked testing the top-of-the-lines from Colnago and Look. Mountain bikes from all the majors, and even some small companies.

Roast in the sun for a few more hours, then maybe down a brew with the mechanics and staff. This is really becoming the new cool!

Dave Lieberman
Bicycle.net