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Las vegas rides

 
   
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cl60guy

Jul 5, 12 13:29

Post #1 of 6 (382 views)
Las vegas rides Quote | Reply
I know there have been lots of threads in the past about riding in the las vegas area, but I just had a few questions for the locals. This time I am staying at the Rio, wondering what the best route across the west part of the city is to get to red rock. I'll be out at first light in the am. Also, I was thinking of doing a long ride from one of the trail access areas near the three sisters and heading out north shore towards valley of fire park. I've never ridden north shore before, is it relatively safe, or am I going to get run off the road by trucks hauling boats. I've got my bike set up to carry a ridiculous 100oz of fluid while I'm down here, but is there anywhere out that way to stop for more? Any other suggestions for long rides are appreciated as well. Cheers,


slug

Jul 5, 12 13:50

Post #2 of 6 (368 views)
Re: Las vegas rides [cl60guy] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
Riding from the Rio to Red Rock won't be a pretty ride until you get to Charleston/215 section ... then you'll be in for a nice ride. The scenic loop is great.

Northshore is a great ride ... take your camera if you are not from the SW region. You can stop down in Calville Bay marina for refueling ... it is a bit of climb back out.

Just as a heads up, the River Mountain Loop trail is about a 34 mile loop that takes you down near Lake Mead. You can take a short ride off the trail to head up into Boulder City for some refueling (if you are going clockwise around the loop). Going counterclockwise, there is the bait shop near the entrance of Lake Las Vegas.

Start your ride early ... we are in the hot part of summer ... even frozen water bottles don't stay frozen for long during a ride.

Best,

John


lvnvcdn

Jul 5, 12 13:57

Post #3 of 6 (365 views)
Re: Las vegas rides [cl60guy] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
If you are leaving first light, then traffic should be limited on the weekend along Flamingo. Desert Inn may be your best road out to the west, but maybe a Westsider could chime in here on that one. Go west to Hualapai, then north to Charleston, then head west to RR. YOu can hop on the RR loop or stay on Charleston (Rte 159) until it hits Rte 160 and climb Mt. Potosi. Not sure how far you are looking at going.

Yes, there are boats along NorthShore, this weekend may be bad because of the holiday. There is a small space on the shoulder side of the rumble strip to ride on if you want. If you want a water break, take the road down into Calville Bay (4 miles down, 4 miles up), it is 11-12 miles from the lakeshore/northshore intersection to the Calville bay turnoff, and there is a store at the marina to load up.

If you are looking for some hill climbing, you can drive out to the Mt. CHarleston turnoff and go 17 miles straight up. You can also circle back on SR157 and make a loop out of it.

You could also start at the M casino, at the very south part of town and head south on LV Blvd to Jean, go west to Goodsprings and down into Sandy Valley. Not too much traffic along these roads.

Hope this helps.


viewtherace

Jul 5, 12 14:10

Post #4 of 6 (351 views)
Re: Las vegas rides [lvnvcdn] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
I filmed the Red Rock Canyon Half Marathon while I was out there earlier this year. Beautiful area but the hills are deceiving due to the high mountains all around. A lot of tough hills.

http://viewtherace.com/...canyon-half-marathon


bufordt

Jul 6, 12 9:52

Post #5 of 6 (280 views)
Re: Las vegas rides [cl60guy] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
For a longer ride around Red Rock Canyon I would drive down to Blue Diamond Road and park at Target (BD and Valley View). Blue Diamond has pretty good bike lanes and the total ride from Target around the RR loop and back is around 50 miles and you gain about 2300ft in elevation. Here it is mapped on mapmyride.com. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/110392127

I don't much care for going south on LV Blvd because it has rumble strips on the edge of the road, and although there isn't a ton of traffic the traffic that is there is usually going 70mph.


cl60guy

Jul 6, 12 11:51

Post #6 of 6 (252 views)
Re: Las vegas rides [bufordt] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
Thanks for the suggestions, I was wondering if blue diamond had decent bike lanes/shoulders as I was thinking of doing a couple loops up charleston/RR and then back down blue diamond before heading back up to charleston for another lap. The river mountain loop is awesome as well, I've done it a few times (including this morning with a lap of lake las vegas thrown in). Looks like it goes the whole way around now. I usually go clockwise because descending out of boulder city in that runoff ditch makes my hands cramp up on the brakes, but its a great climb. Plus coming down from the railroad pass casino with the wind at your back is more pleasant way to end your ride than with the three sisters!