Las Vegas Riding

[Rontele]

Ok, Mrs. Rontele is being sent down to Sin City for work [insert joke here] over New Year's. Since we'll have a free place to stay, I figure I would pop for a flight to come down and join her. Since she'll be working most of the days and I am not a gambler, I figured I could get some riding in. I am aware that Bootleg Canyon is close (?) to the strip, but am more of an all-mountain rider vs. shuttler.

Additionally:

1) Are there shops down there that rent bikes?
2) I presume I will need to rent a car for the day(s) to get to and from the trailhead?
3) Where should I ride?

[joetron]

Plenty of normal riding to be done at Bootleg, D. I think there is a shop in Boulder City that rents decent bikes.
Yep, rent a car. Its about 30min from the strip.

[TeleHoar]

I did a ride around Red Rocks Canyon. I remember it was ridable from Vegas. Cool ride and I found some petroglyph rocks out there, off the trail, miles into the ride. The ride ended at the visitor center and I asked if they knew about the glyphs. They said they are all over out there.

Enjoy!

[gravitylover]

If I remember right St George UT is only about 90 minutes.

[brettf]

x2 on Bootleg in Boulder City D. Also depending on what you & the little lady are up for, but the Hoover Dam is pretty cool and is a short drive from Vegas (through Boulder City). The new bridge they are building that spans the canyon is worth seeing.

[brannen]

all mtn cycles rents bikes

[Steven S. Dallas]

[insert joke here]

Shotgun Willie's have an exchange program or something?

[uncle crud]

I've ridden Red Rocks and Bootleg and I would head straight for Bootleg and use Red Rocks only for a change of scenery. Bootleg may cause you to wish you had armor though, it's pretty rocky there -- falling is like falling on a huge cheese grater in lots of places.

[Rontele]

Shotgun Willie's have an exchange program or something?

Yes. Its like a study abroad program.

[Parvo]

+++ for Bootleg. I used to go to Vegas for work a couple times a month and always brought my bike to ride there.

As a side note, I recently heard Brent, the dude pretty much responsible for those trails, passed away a while back. He was my age. Anyway, as a tribute to Brent, ride the living shit outta Bootleg.

edit: if you need to borrow my Vans, PM me.

[Danno]

If I remember right St George UT is only about 90 minutes.

It's a little farther than that, probably closer to 2 hours I think.

[RootSkier]

Since she'll be working most of the days and I am not a gambler

Think of all the lunch buffets you'll miss if you go riding?!?

[crashtestdummy]

It's a little farther than that, probably closer to 2 hours I think.

City to city it's around 120 miles. Time is relative to mph.

[jetski]

Another hell yes for Bootleg. Easy gravel road climb up to the gnar or climb up Girl Scout trail. Super fun riding. Another vote for not falling. Holy shit is that place sharp. Beyond sharp. The cheese grater comparison is bang on although I have seen graters that are dull in comparison. After eating it there I enjoy pounding into the soft rocks in the Canadian Rockies. Bootleg has a cool website with maps and combined with google earth you get a great idea where all the trails are. I would also suggest some sort of armour. I didn't have it and I felt fairly exposed on the black diamond stuff. But I'm a big sissy xc rider. Have fun.

[Catch22]

Haven't ridden down there myself yet but some friends that go down regularly are always talking about Cowboy Trails, some info here:
http://www.mountainbikebill.com/NVCowboyTrails.htm

[Tye 1on]

And, they just announced that the fireworks will be once again be shootin off the rooftops of the Strip hotels! link

[mtbcat]

mt charleston recomended by DFT.
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well i was out in vegas for a few days of mostly debuachery (backgammon tournment, gambling and drinking) but always try to squeze in some riding while out there of course. i've hit bootleg many times before, plus been riding plenty of techno lately, so decided for more of an exploration/workout ride. i did some internet research and found there was a decent long singletrack trail up by mt charelston fairly high up on the mountain.

so sat i cruise out there, initially have trouble finding it, but find 2 local XC dudes that point me in the right direction (you could see the trail they were riding, total snoozer). the directions i had were good, but the starting elevation was off. trail was pretty darn good. went from about 6000 to 8400, a nice granny gear climb that was pure up, then pure down. ran into just 2 guys shuttling it down. good desert singletrack low that turned into alpine/pine tree higher up. a good workout on the up to purge body of booze and a nice flowy down (no real techno, but high speed sections, some loose turns). a pretty good find, i'd hit it again for sure.