Tuesday was our first full day in Las Vegas and we had to set up our booth space in order to be ready to go for Wednesday show opening.

My dad flew in from Florida and arrived at the Sands Conventions Center to help us set up, which ended up being a huge help. We’d never actually assembled the entire structure and my dad is quite the handy man.

Jen Tilley also arrived that morning and she was there to help out as well. At one point during the construction process, Tilley was holding on to one end of the rigging and as we tried to lay it on it’s side she ended up hanging on to the metal piping with her feet dangling about 3 inches off the ground. It was pretty funny, I wish I had a picture of it. She’s pretty lanky and thin so it was just too heavy for her to keep on the ground. We all got a good laugh out of that.

After we set everything up it was time to pick up Leigh “Machete” Valletti and Mandy Lozano from the airport. Emile Abraham came in around the same time so we all crammed into the quad cab and made plans to shower and get ready to go out.

We headed out to dinner with a whole mess of us which at this point included Leigh, me and my best friend Vinnie, Dave, Mark, Emile and his cousin, and my Dad. We went to the Bellagio for dinner and then the “kids” decided to head out. Pops was pretty beat and turned in early and Dave and Mark decided to head home to rest up for the show.

I still can’t remember where exactly we all went (Pure in Caesar’s Palace maybe???)but I do remember several bottles of vodka being involved as well as Vinnie dancing with a curtain in the VIP.

At around 7AM we headed to the Venetian for breakfast. I was so tired I kept falling asleep at the table with my head doing that annoying bobbing thing. Leigh and I walked in the door of the condo at 8 AM with Dave just shaking his head in disbelief. We caught a couple hours of sleep and then high tailed it over to the show…

The initial drive to Las Vegas was equivalent to a “sprinter’s stage” in one of the various Grand Tours so I won’t get into too much detail. A bunch of stuff happened at a fast pace and at the end we shifted into hyper drive and crossed the finish line.

Mark managed to talk his friend Laura’s boyfriend into letting us borrow his mammoth Chevy quad cab for the trip. It was heavenly, if not environmentally friendly. The Vanderkitten trailer was hitched to the back and we got on the road.

Lots of nature breaks were taken due to liquids consumed, one of which happened in a shady area of Bakersfield(they all seemed shady actually. My apologies to the residents of Bakersfield, CA.). Dave exits our rig and before heading into the gas station says “Great, I’m fucked. I’m wearing flip flops and a tee shirt with a kitty on it” which we all found hilarious due to liquids consumed. You get the point. Or maybe you had to be there…

Fellow Vanderkitten Jackie Baker hitched a ride and made the trip a riot; she’s a hell of a lot of fun. Loud, obnoxious and crass in all my favorite ways. Any girl that can embarrass me is one I want to hang out with. Plus she points a big heavy mountain bike downhill, on purpose, and makes it to the bottom alive. Badass. I’m a priss on a road bike and I’m scared of heights. Not so badass.

11 hours later we made it through the desert to our condo on the strip, passing all the notable landmarks along the way, such as the World’s tallest thermometer. Someone should really build one that’s just an inch taller. Really…

Like moths to the flame, or in this case the ridiculously bright light from the Luxor Hotel and Casino, we are drawn to Las Vegas. The countdown is on people! Vanderkitten is dotting the Is and crossing the Ts in preparation for the big debut.

As a 2 time attender I thought I had a vague idea about what it would take to get ready to be on the other side of the proverbial booth but I now clearly see that I hadn’t the foggiest! The details I won’t bore you with, but believe me Dave and Mark(and myself somewhat) put a ginormous amount of work into getting ready so I have to give them their due praise. Thanks guys!

I’m stoked to see my dad on Tuesday. Pops is flying in to hang out at the show, watch some racing (and buy me a beer!), meet the extended VK family and soak in the sensory overload (and beer) that is InterBike. Of course I’m looking forward to hanging out with friends (especially my bestie, Vinnie, who I haven’t seen in 9 months) and making a few new ones, so if you’re in the area come by the Vanderkitten booth and shoot the breeze with us! And bring beer.

I’ll be back with IB/VK stories to amuse,delight and most likely severely embarrass someone (me) after the show!

Till whenever,

Lizzer!