Riding in Las Vegas
In April of 2007, I went to Las Vegas. As weather in New Jersey at the time was in the 30’s and snowing, I was looking forward to the high 80’s forecast all week in Las Vegas. The weather did not disappoint and neither did the riding.
I rented a 47cm Cannondale from McGhie’s bike shop on Fort Apache Road. They were the only bike shop in Las Vegas that had a bike small enough (my own Cannondale is 44cm) for me to ride. Their website rental page was easy to use and when I called to make sure I had done it right, they had all of my information to confirm. Their rental price for 5 days was $135. It was a brand new bike, very nice and came with two water bottle cages, a bike pump and bag with tools and tube and a helmet. Their store is big, bright and well stocked with higher end gear; their salesmen (especially Steve) were friendly and informative. McGhie’s has another bike shop close to a mountain biking trail head. I saw their riders (in purple) out on the road to and from Red Rock every morning and their van out loaded with mountain bikes several times. I can highly recommend their store for everything from gear to rentals to local information on rides for road and mountain bikes.
I brought my own pedals and shoes and they put them on for me. I also brought my measurements from my bike so they could match them on the new bike. There are many definitions of setback, etc. but it is really more important that you tell them how you measured so they can do the same. Two measurements are really important, how high your saddle is and how far away it is from your handlebars. I wouldn’t expect the fit to be the same unless you have the same bike and all of the same sized components, etc. but I ride a 44cm at home and rode a 47cm while I was there. I didn’t find this distracting nor did it feel awkward. My seat was the right height and my reach was as close as they could get it.
There are two other bike shops that I found while out and about, both on West Charleston Boulevard that leads to Red Rock Canyon. One, the ProCyclery is on the 7000 block and the other Las Vegas Cyclery on the 7900 block (and right next door to an indoor climbing wall) of Charleston. Their location is much more convenient if you are staying on the Strip, especially if you are on the North end of the Strip, as I was but neither had a bike small enough for me. (If you rent a car, go where they have the best bike for you or the best price because all will be easy to get to by car.)
I stayed at the Riviera Hotel and Casino right across the street from Circus Circus on the North end of the Strip by West Sahara Avenue. The Strip and the Downtown area of Las Vegas are not particularly cycling friendly simply due to the volume of traffic but the traffic does not move very quickly on the Strip and if you are even moderately fast, you can keep up with traffic in between traffic lights. The length of the traffic lights is at least a minute, if not two minutes, per light which is long for someone from the East Coast but it helps you when you are on the bike. In fact, the police in Las Vegas are bicycle cops. Once you get off the Strip a little ways, the traffic between lights can speed up to 45mph quickly and is less tolerant. Even so, I would not classify the traffic in Las Vegas as being anywhere near as aggressive as I often find the East Coast traffic as being. And once you get out of town even more, there are generally bike lanes. There are several streets in town that have bike lanes, you just have to find them; Twain has a nice bike lane almost the entire road. Getting from the Strip to the other side of the 15 freeway was a little challenging. I can’t say I found the best way to do it but I would advise going early in the morning. There aren’t any signs saying that bicycles are prohibited on the overpasses and you aren’t on the highway but it feels like you are and can be a little unnerving.
One other problem you might have is where your room is in relation to outside doors of wherever you are staying. I didn’t have to walk across the casino floor with my bike at the Riviera but most casinos make you walk through the casino to get anywhere. I would ask your hotel when you make your reservation about your bike and see if they have another door for you to come and go from. Be careful of broken glass. It seems that because it is popular, although apparently illegal to drink in public, everyone does it, even first thing in the morning. All the beer bottles that don’t make it into an appropriate receptacle end up on the sides of the roads. While I found Las Vegas to be amazingly clean, I found broken glass almost everywhere I rode. I didn’t have a flat and count myself as lucky.
If you don’t want to rent a car in Las Vegas, even with your bike, you can still get around quite well and inexpensively by taking the public bus; one way rides are $1.25. On the front of every Las Vegas bus is a two-bike bike rack. There are directions on how to use the rack on the CAT website and detailed routes and schedules for all areas of town. Once you figure out how to use the rack, it will only take you about 10 seconds to load or unload your bike. I used the bus to take me out to Red Rock Casino) and avoided almost an hour bike ride each way from my hotel. To do that I took Las Vegas Blvd. North towards the Strasosphere and caught the CAT Bus 206 to Red Rock Casino. The bus ride from Las Vegas Blvd takes about 40 minutes but it is worth it to have fresh legs to ride out to Red Rock Canyon. If I didn’t need to be near the Strip, I would stay at the Red Rock Casino and Hotel because of its proximity to great riding and two bike shops.
McGhie’s bike shop has a ride that goes out to Red Rock every Thursday morning, leaving the shop at 6:00 a.m. Everyone meets in the parking lot at 5:50 a.m. They post the average speed for the ride at 17-18 m.p.h. This seemed fast to me as my climbing speed is still improving but there are several descents that can easily go over 30 m.p.h. As I didn’t ride with them, I don’t know if their average speed takes these fast descents into account. They also have a Tuesday night “Crit” around the lake off Fort Apache Road. If you drive/ride down Rainbow Road, you will eventually come upon Lake Drive North or South, if you go down either road east, you will come around the lake. They race around the lake starting at 5:30 p.m. All levels welcome but call the shop to confirm the location and time before you head out. Las Vegas Valley Bicycle Club posts several rides on their website. If you have a rental car, you could make it to their rides quite easily, I would imagine.
I keep talking about Red Rock and truthfully, this is the riding Mecca of Las Vegas. You will know it as soon as you get out there as you will see many, many riders along Charleston Road (159). Most wave to each other from across the road. There are several nice rides of many lengths; you can ride as long as you want. My favorite loop ended up being the one-way loop around Red Rock Canyon Park. Turn right off of 159 to go to the Visitor Center (which is a nice but small building that is worth stopping in if briefly for a quick view of local flora and fauna, and a bathroom). Bear right to do the 13-mile loop that has grades averaging 8% over the first half; anywhere from 4% to 10% grade. The scenery is amazing, the traffic is one way and the top is 4,771 feet of elevation. Then you get to ride down! There are a couple quick climbs after the top but it is mostly all downhill and fast. The road surface is very good with only a couple marked “Dips” that really don’t warrant the warning. As the traffic is only one-way, bikes have plenty of room on the road.
Past Black Mountain there is a mountain pass that is significant; but climbable. I saw several bicyclists working their way to the top. The other very challenging climb about an hour outside of Las Vegas is worth the drive even if your legs aren’t up to it. Mt. Charleston is 11,418 feet of elevation and easily 20 degrees cooler than the valley floor. There was still snow in patches at the beginning of April. There are skiing runs and a hotel, if you want to ski or just stay in the mountains (www.skilasvegas.com). It was amazing to me how little traffic there was outside of the city; compared to New Jersey, it was heaven. And having grown up in Montana, I can say that the cars you do encounter tend to be much more tolerant. Ironically, in Northwest Montana the people that drive the pick-up trucks, in particular, are not tolerant nor do they give you your space.
The weather was warm but very dry. I felt that I couldn’t quench my thirst for several days. Electrolytes helped a lot so bring your favorite pill, powder or tablet. I wore shorts and short-sleeved jerseys except in the morning. The mornings were cool at 70 degrees so I needed a light jacket until I warmed up a bit but most people wouldn’t need that. I saw everything from full tights to tank tops. I think it just depends on your tolerances and preferences. Bring sunscreen. I wore light clothes and a visor when walking around but needed a light jacket for the air conditioned buildings.
So, even though riding in and around the Strip can be exhilarating in not always a good way, I thoroughly enjoyed riding in Las Vegas.
