Was working in Las Vegas last week/weekend (not Interbike, unfortunately) and had some time on Friday morning. Started looking for a place to ride. Since I had my work bike with me (rigid singlespeed Surly Ogre that shuttles me around racetracks), I decided to find a place that was rigid singlespeed friendly, A little internet research pointed to Bear's Best trails in Summerlin. Looked like it might be a good place for my ride. I started at Las Vegas Cyclery which is just across the 215 from the trailhead since I needed something. Asked the guy who helped me if he knew anything about the trails - he got me a map and explained how to find the trailhead and some of the route options. I should have paid better attention. Asked him where to park, he said I could leave my car there. Very helpful! About a mile from the shop if the turnoff onto a paved road blocked to vehicular traffic. As I turned off the main road there was a crew from Ibis there that had just finished a ride. I stopped to admire the Ripley one guy was riding, and inquired as to when they would build a 29er Tranny. "We're working on a lot of new bikes," came the vague, if slightly encouraging response. I continued on onto the gravel road. Note above where I said I should have paid better attention? I missed the turnoff and went too far down this gravel road, climbed a couple of very steep hills and realized I was not where I was supposed to be. Looked at the map, corrected my error and found the trailhead after wasting a lot of time. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from what I'd seen so far. But when I finally hit the singletrack, I was a happy, happy boy. And, yeah, I was thinking this was great for my rigid singlespeed. (Sorry about the rotated photos). Well, maybe not so much... There is a lot to be said for having a full squish on these trails, as some of the step-ups and downs are a little tough on a rigid, at least with my sad skills. And some more BB clearance would have been helpful as well - my pedals took a beating. But the singelespeed was great, as there is very little elevation change. Some short hills is pretty much it. Overall, it was a nice little challnge and I made it through some things I thought I wouldn't. The views are pretty cool, too - some great views of the Vegas skyline and also Red Rocks: Obligatory bike-on-trail photo: Had to cut the ride shorter than I wanted due to time, getting a little lost and also being concerned about hydration having only brought a single bottle with me. Hit a dirt road (but not the one that I thought I was on and I think I accidentally trespassed on private land) back to the pavement. But I would definitely go back, either with the rigid for the challenge, or the full squish to see how much fun it would be to rip a little more on these trails. A fun ride if you're in Vegas. Here's my route. Again, the first part I missed a turn, and the ending I was not on the road I thought I was. But the twisty stuff in between was a hoot. http://www.geoladders.com/show_route.php?route=71091
Nice picts and RR! A lot of peeps park at RC Willey at 3850 South Town Center Drive and ride up from there. A lot of those trails are on Strava under explore. Mt. Bike Las Vegas Bike Forum (http://mountainbikelasvegas.com) has a lot of fun night rides at Bear's Best and some of those guys on that forum spent a lot of time building-up those trails some years ago. If you are on a single speed or hardtail, check-out Cottonwood Valley and park at the Late Night Trailhead (http://www.birdandhike.com/Hike/Red_Rocks/Trailheads/LateNite/_LateNte.htm). You have many options from this point with some smoother singletrack (not as much chunk) on either side of 160 (Pahrump Valley Road). http://www.lasvegasoutdooradventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Cottonwood-Valley-Trail-Map.jpg Enjoy!
Bears Best is a work in progress and the locals are hoping that BLM will make the trails built out there legal. Not that they are illegal now but they are not part of a authorized trail systems. Dean
