We have carefully selected our routes for this desert excursion. From the lonely desert climbs to the cycling-friendly urban jungle called Las Vegas, we have gone out of our way to find good routes. You'll love the scenery, the variety, and the sheer challenge. There's over 40,000 feet of climbing on this trip, so you are guaranteed to get a massive workout!
Our itinerary is as follows. Please note that we reserve the right to make last-minute adjustments to our route should the need arise.
16 May 2005: Arrive in Las vegas by car or plane. Check-in with Event Headquarters (your room is included in the trail fee), and receive your ride packet. Parking will be available at our motel. Taxis are available for the short ride from the airport. There are plenty of cheap flights in and out of Las Vegas. Shop early and save money. You can often get a roundtrip flight for $200-$250.
17 May 2005: Las Vegas to Mesquite NV. Leave our hotel right on The Strip, traverse the town via safe side streets, and then exit to the northeast past the air base and the motor speedway. We'll use some of Old US 91, I-15, and other old desert highways.
18 May 2005: Mesquite NV to St. George UT. We'll bypass the freeway by using an old but maintained section of US 91, clipping the corner of Arizona, climbing a long desert mountain pass, dropping down into St. George, and then doing a loop to the north that includes more sections of old US 91, through Hurricane, and back to St. george.
19 May 2005: St. george UT to Mesquite NV. Even though we end up back in Mesquite (and stay at a different motel), we'll be using different roads wherever possible. Immediately after leaving St. George we begin climbing to the northwest, reaching our picnic brunch at 6600 feet elevation. We then come roaring back down, climb the back side of the pass we climbed the day prior, and then freefall into Mesquite.
20 May 2005: Mesquite to Las Vegas NV. If you haven't already figured it out, I love to use the "old" road. We grab another section of US 91, hop on the freeway for a short section, and then ride through the incredibly scenic area surrounding Lake Mead. We spend the night in Las Vegas, utilizing it as the hub of our figure-8 adventure.
22 May 2005: Las Vegas to Amargosa Valley NV. It's simply amazing how big Las Vegas has become (over 1.3 million people in the metro area). We have carved out a safe urban route that cuts diagonally to the northwest. Las Vegas has made itself very bike friendly. Most major arterial streets have a bus-and-bike only lane. We head out of town on US 95, and then cut over to the state line where we will sleep less than 100 feet from California.
22 May 2005: Amargosa Valley NV to Baker CA. This promises to be a very fast section. We come close to death Valley, but instead skirt to the east through Shoshone. When we ran this tour in 2000, we covered the 95 miles by 11:30 a.m. It is gorgeous desert scenery, and is relatively flat. If there's a tailwind, we'll be screaming.
23 May 2005: Baker CA to Primm NV. Sure, you could take I-15 straight over to the Nevada state line, but that would be too easy! Instead, we head southeast on Kelbaker Road, and tackle the 22-mile climb to Kelso Summit. We drop to Kelso, and then turn left to Cima...and begin climbing again for about 20 more miles! This time we enter the largest Joshua Tree forest in the world. We drop back down to Ivanpah Road, make a short spur over to Nipton for a cold drink in the shade, climb back up to I-15, and then drop down to the state line where we stay at one of the Primm Resort properties.
24 May 2005: Primm to Las Vages NV. The final leg has us on I-15 for the 12 miles to Jean, and then we exit onto a well-maintained section of the former US 91. We take this to the outskirts of Las Vegas, and then head east to Lake Mead where we will have a picnic lunch. from there we cut back across town to our headquarters hotel. We'll be done early in the afternoon, allowing time for an early departure, or hanging out at the pool, casino, shops, or restaurants.
Total mileage for the adventure is about 830 miles.
