{"id":37336,"date":"2026-05-13T11:44:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hopcycling.pl\/?p=37336"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:44:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T11:44:58","slug":"my-gangusy-z-ulic-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hopcycling.pl\/en\/my-gangusy-z-ulic-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"We gangsters from the streets of Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 – Maciek, why didn't you take the Best Bike in the World with you?<\/em>?<\/strong> \u2013 my Achilles tendons asked in a weak voice.
 – I don't know Achilles tendon, I really don't know<\/strong><\/em> \u2013 I replied in a voice full of sincerity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I also don't know why I flew to Vegas without my wallet, documents, or credit cards.
And why I flew on Monday instead of extending my stay for the weekend. Although I know that. The flight departed at 9 a.m. with two transfers, because I was supposed to land from the bikepacking airport the evening before. holidays in Gambia and Senegal<\/a>which I have never been to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here I am, at the Luxor Hotel. One of the few "big" hotels I've never had the opportunity to visit. Maybe it's because it's practically at the end of the famous Strip, or maybe because I've never been a fan of pyramids. I've had a bad association with pyramids since I fell into a product sales network after high school. The hotel is a huge, black pyramid, from whose tip a huge beam of light shoots into space. Supposedly, it's the most powerful human light in the world. Anyone who's been to Vegas is no surprise. On our previous visit, we stayed in a large castle adjacent to the pyramid, where knights fight on horseback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It's 9 p.m., and I'm standing at the check-in machine after an Uber ride of less than 3 miles that cost over $20. I have a small backpack, a wallet, a camera, a phone, and not much else\u2014from when I started bikepacking<\/em>I have no idea what to take with me on trips. After all, I don't really need anything. For nearly 20 hours of traveling, I was sure I'd forgotten something important, but I couldn't think of what. It reminds me when the machine asks for my credit card. I always take two wallets with me on trips: one for critical needs \u2013 with my passport, a stack of dollars, and some important documents. The other for everyday use \u2013 driver's license, credit cards, etc. This time, something went wrong, and it turns out I only had my passport and a few dollars. I'm in the States without a credit card. If you've been to the States in the last 50 years, in most cases, not much has changed when it comes to how they handle billing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The machine, of course, rejects all my virtual cards I have on my phone. I go to the human receptionist. The accommodation was paid for in advance, of course, but the big hotels still withhold deposits \u2013 Luxor charges $75 per night. Since I'm staying five nights, they'll withhold nearly $400. Because, you know, the longer you stay, the more you can break things\u2026 or something like that. As a goodbye gift, the hotel adds $51 per night as a "resort fee." It's a wonderful country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few people waiting in front of me at the hotel reception desk. Next to them is another line, similar in length, but for "premium" guests. I'm writing about a hotel with nearly 4,500 rooms. FOUR AND A FIFTY THOUSAND. I know it's hard to imagine, so let's put it in perspective: if every resident of M\u0119cika\u0142 got five rooms, there would still be more vacancies than the total number of rooms in the Luxor Hotel in Lublin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I wait for an hour because the lines are staffed by three people (sometimes they disappear). It doesn't help that "premium" customers have priority. A friend on the phone tells me his debit card worked. I hadn't actually tried. I get out of the line and remember that my debit card is new and I haven't added it to my phone yet. Fifteen minutes later, my payment is also declined. A woman comes over to tell me it won't work and that I should try with a human. I return to the line, but this time there are many more people ahead of me. I wait longer than for a pancake at Manekin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I confront the receptionist. I tell her I don't have physical cards, and she tells me it can't be done that way. The situation is somewhat similar to the day we arrived at the South Africa's border with Lesotho<\/a> And we said, "We don't have visas because Poles can't get them, please let us in." I then understood why each customer is served for several minutes. After every serious question, the receptionist has to pass it on to the manager and ask for a decision. I'm also almost certain the manager has PTSD, which is why she's hiding somewhere in the back. I'm almost certain she could be a humanoid robot. Driverless taxis drive around the hotel, and most of the people around are here for a conference at one of the world's largest IT companies. Of course, I get permission and successfully call the terminal. Good for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2013 Excuse me, is this elevator up?
\u2013 no, sideways<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Very late in the evening I go to my room, which must have been in its prime a dozen or so years ago. It's number 26128, so you can guess how long it takes me to get there. I mean, even before that, I almost fall over. elevator<\/s> inclinator. The pyramid is completely different than I imagined \u2013 the center is empty, and the rooms are on its "walls." The elevator is also there, which means it travels at a 43-degree angle. Here, the joke about the elevator traveling sideways doesn't surprise anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My room has a secret passageway \u2013 a door that leads to another door \u2013 a well-known trick. So I accidentally walk through that door into a stranger's room. I say hello, excuse me, and leave. At bedtime, I use Google to check if it's safe to drink tap water. Google says it's safe if you like chlorine and are a masochist. I once did an amateur triathlon \u2013 it's common knowledge that I like chlorine and am a masochist. So, I'm drinking hotel tap water for the rest of my trip, and to this day, I haven't developed any kidney stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I'm also pretty sure that in most Vegas hotels, people allergic to dust mites die the first time they step on the carpets. Hotels here generally have a certain bathtub-overdose vibe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How much dignity can you give up for free socks?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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You know that moment in your career when you're "not a director yet," but "no longer an engineer"? To put it in cycling terms, it's that moment when you're no longer in the front group, but you're riding away alone from the grupetto. That's me, and if you don't believe me, here's a photo from one of my meetings. If you work in HR and are here because you're checking who I am after receiving my CV, forget what I wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Large IT conferences are divided into three stages, or four if you include queuing. These include:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Expo.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n


No one says it out loud, everyone confirms it. Except perhaps for those invited to private events, where I still don't know what's going on, but I suspect contracts are being signed for millions. People go to conferences to spend a few hours in a large hall with exhibitors \u2013 most of them companies you might also see in Formula 1 cars. The expo is a bit like a slave market, but we're selling ourselves. All it takes is leaving your contact information to get free socks, a T-shirt, a rag, a stuffed animal, a keychain, a rubber ball, or even a chance to win a PlayStation. As a professional, I return to Poland with a backpack (new, of course) full of everything. It even has a portable blender that charges via USB and two hats. Throughout the year, I'll be contacted by companies from all over the world, offering to buy a solution that's free for a week and then costs \u00a31.5 million. It does the same thing as other solutions, but it's newer and better, and the graphs are more colorful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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