Posts
13
Joined
12/30/2014
Location
Oceanside, CA, USA
I’m gonna be in town 2nd week of April and will have a chance to ride if there’s anything close that’s worth checking out. Are any of the trails in/around Vegas good enough to bring my bike from San Diego considering I’ll only have one half-day to ride?
Also wondering about e-bike vs analog. Could be too hot (for me anyway) to ride the analog. Are there spots that are fun AND that allow e-bikes?
Prefer enduro-style riding, but don’t mind climbing. Not really into true xc riding.
Thanks for the info!
Bootleg Canyon
I've ridden in vegas several times over the last 25 years, maybe 15 times. Out of those 15, a handful have been pleasurable mountain bike experiences and the rest humbling or downright brutal. That can partially be attributed to going to bootleg, or racing at bootleg. Bootleg is for sure an acquired taste and in my experience, only becomes fun when you've been there before and know what to expect (lowering expectations). It also helps to have a crew so that you are reveling in the shit show of trail sketchiness and conditions together, and not just bumbling around humbled solo.
I digress... for solo fun (that can still be plenty humbling) I would check out the stuff near redrock. Cowboy trail system has plenty of mixtures of cheese grater rock riding, with some actual desert flow in between the crux moves. Flow in this case is relative, and it's generally just enough to get your confidence up before the next multi-move crux rock situation. The stuff in this area is slightly higher elevation (~4,500ish) so it tends to be a bit cooler... but it's vegas, so you know, it's always hot.
I think it's worth riding in this area at least once... even bootleg. I do not know if ebikes are allowed in the cowboy/blue-diamond trail system, but vegas is a town of lawlessness, so honestly, riding an ebike where you're not supposed to will be the least shady thing that happens within 100 miles of the place.
I’ve been fortunate to ride many fantastic and famous places and I absolutely love Bootleg.
It does have its own character and the rocks can be viscous if you fall, but if you like tech riding, it is absolutely worth a visit.
I've ridden Bootleg once, and my experience was exactly what you described @ebruner
I love tech riding and jank, but the whole time I felt like I was putzing around, looking for the good stuff that I always hear people talking about. I think my preference would be to check out the stuff closer to Vegas proper. So, I'll check the weather closer to the date and decide if I bring my e-bike, my analog, or leave them both at home and spend my downtime at the pool.
Thanks for the info!
If you like tech/jank, just visit Bootleg again and ride Ginger laps!
If you want to ride somewhere where the ground is trying to kill you, another vote for bootleg.
So gnar. So sick.
I haven't ridden there yet, but I have a friend who lives there and rides the western trails on the road to Blue Diamond and Pahrump. I'm going to make him show me Brohemian Rhapsody, just because it's funny. The trail looks cool, though:
Post a reply to: Any Vegas area riders?