Vegas rides

Triathlon Forum
1

I am going to Vegas a couple times in the next few months anyone have any good rides out there? I was at 70.3 worlds this year I remember the course, but what else is there?

2

If you want to get some climbing in. Go to the west end of town and go up to red rock canyon. Lots of climbing and some sweet descents

3
  1. Ride the roads at Lake Mead. Try the River Mountain loop. You are familiar with the 70.3 course, which is probably the easiest stretch, but head further out past where your turned around, or go the other direction to Boulder Beach. Park at Lake Las Vegas and ride from there.
  2. Ride out W Charleston to do the Red Rock loop and continue out to Blue Diamond and to Route 160, turn right and up a 10 mile climb. There will be plenty of people out riding.
  3. Ride south on Las Vegas Blvd to Jean and then west to Goodsprings. If you want close to 100 miles, go out to Sandy Valley and come back.
    Be forewarned, Vegas is the spring has one constant–wind.
4

Just a ways out of town - McGhie’s Blue Diamond outpost. Great road and mountain rides. Wild burros. Great scenery. They’ll hook you up with routes and you can park there. Store manager Chris is a real character too.

5

Good call … Great mtn bike rides out there in addition to road … And if the OP is looking for mtn bike rides … Be sure to look into Bootleg Canyon.

6

Hi LV folks,

I’m trying to figure out 2 century rides to do on a business trip I will have to Las Vegas in March. Do one you local experts mind telling me how the following look?

I’ve tried to put some climbing into each but it’s difficult to tell if I have succeeded from Google maps.

The first is a simple out and back on Northshore road from Lake Las Vegas to the Valley of Fire State park
http://goo.gl/maps/NqoHI

The second is a loop up Mt Charleston. The part on the Oran Grayson freeway looks like it might not be too pleasant but the frontage road only goes part of the way. Would the dirt roads beside the freeway be easy to ride on a road bike? It also a little short, is there a good way to add on mileage short of driving over the red rocks?
http://goo.gl/maps/8b1MT

Are there better long rides I should look at doing?

I appreciate the help.

Thanks,
Matthew

7

I’d give you two suggestions.
The first would be to ride out at Lake Mead. You could park at one of the hotels at Lake Las Vegas the head out to the lake and go south and then the long climb into Boulder City. You could then ride the River Mountain Loop trail back to the lake and that would be around 40 miles, then head north up towards Valley of Fire and turn around whenever. You can get ford and drinks at Calville Bay marina, four miles downhill, then four miles up out. The other option is just head straight back from Boulder City along the lake and retrace your initial route.
Second, I would ride out Charleston Blvd and ride the Red Rock Loop, then out past Blue Diamond, and turn right on Route 160. Once you get to 50 miles, turn around and retrace including a second Red Rock loop. The climb up 160 is about 10 miles. After the top, you can descend a little, and turn right and do another out and back up a canyon I can’t remember.
Both Lake Mead and Red Rock require entrance fees. Good luck and have fun.

8

I can’t really comment on your first ride, but I’ve done parts of the second several times. I’d recommend going all the way up to the Mt Charleston ski area using Lee Canyon Rd. Check out the Mt Charlston hillclimb for some more info. Once you get to Kyle Canyon rd the shoulder on 95 is not bad at all. Lot of folks just ride that all the way to Indian Springs.

The ride ironmanfgo suggested is probably more popular than either of the ones you selected. I like that entire ride – maybe except the shoulder to Mt Potosi.

9

I can’t speak to the first route, as I live on the west side of town. For the second route, I have completed the loop and it requires WATER. This is impossible to come by, except at the ski resort at the intersection of 156 and 158, and then again at the Mt. Charleston resort, at the west end of 157.

Plan accordingly, as the hill climbs on either road up Mt. Charleston around 18-20 miles. Good luck!

10

Thanks for the advice guys. I will follow it.

Ironmanfgo do these 2 routes match your suggestions? Its a little bit hard to figure out as google doesn’t always use the same road names.

http://goo.gl/5pE1yL

http://goo.gl/4A86Th

Thanks,
Matthew

11

Looks good. When you ride around the lake, don’t ride on the bike trail. There’s lots of little hills and twists and turns. Just stay on the road. Once you start climbing out of the park up to Boulder City, get on the River Mountain Loop at the visitor center and go up to BC.

The second ride after you cross the summit, descend around 3 miles, and Lovell Canyon is a right turn. I think the out and back is 15 miles or so. I’ve never ridden past that down the mountain into Pahrump. Of course there is a winery and a house of ill repute.