Minus Ten Review - 39

I rode on a group ride down the Las Vegas Strip

Ten years ago on the blog I was recounting my trip to Interbike. This one was perhaps the pinnacle of all the trips I ever had there in terms of the impact and fun I had.

Interbike was still somewhat relevant then, so the posts we were doing about the show were making an impact and were bringing us a lot of attention at "Twenty Nine Inches". It was also a big collaborative effort with cycling blog/industry luminaries like Arleigh Greenwald and Richard Masoner, who along with Tim Grahl, I shacked up with at a rented house in Las Vegas. It was weird to be in a house that seemed to not have changed since 1972.

This was a most memorable week for a lot of reasons, but one main memory was when I met Sonya Looney. Back ten years ago, no one had heard of her. I was interested in meeting her since she was having a relationship with my old coworker, Jeff Kerkove. Our initial meeting was something pretty funny, and I don't think I've told the story here before. Maybe I have........ Heck, after 13 years of blogging, it's hard to keep track of everything. But here goes.......

I met Jeff on the show floor and after a bit I asked him about Sonya. He said she was helping in a women's clothing company's booth not far from the Ergon booth Jeff was working in. So, I went in search of this booth, which was in a section of the show floor that was deserted at the time, and found Sonya there. Now this was just after the opening of the show for that particular day. So, this would have been 9:00am or 10:00am, something like that.

Sonya was happy to meet me, but immediately she asked if I could watch over the booth so she could use the restroom. I was a bit shocked, and I said yes. But before I could get the word out of my mouth she was sprinting for the waste can in a booth next door to us and barfed in it! Then she trotted off toward the restroom, giving me an embarrassed glance as she went by. Moments passed and I was glad that no one came by to ask any questions about the wares in the booth!

Eventually Sonya came back, apologetic and embarrassed for what had happened, Apparently, she had been out with the Ergon crew the evening before and had too much to drink! Hey! It was Vegas, and you know what......I've been hungover and sick the morning after plenty of times. Who was I to judge? So we had a laugh and we got on really well.

 Jeff and Sonya went their separate ways eventually, but I am very glad I got to know her the few times I saw her at different Interbike shows. Obviously she has made quite a name for herself and is immensely popular these days. It's great to see, and I am very happy for her.