By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com
It’s the middle of January and around 11 a.m. or so on a Saturday and it’s pure sunshine as my bicycle odometer says it’s 67 degrees outside Las Vegas .
I’m pedaling the meandering paved trail amid beautiful scenery along the River Mountains Loop Trail.
This marvelous trail, which is mostly quiet with the exception of a few other bicyclists on this 2 1/2-hour bike ride, is like a rolling landscape buffet spread out in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (near Hoover Dam and the Arizona border), the non-gambling quaint city of Boulder City and the sprawling Second City of suburban Henderson.
If the Las Vegas area tourism agency known as the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) ever decided to spend money on promoting stuff outside the Strip and highlighted our amazing natural resources like this 36-mile loop trail, my bike ride would be joined by hundreds of other cyclists.
So, come close, I’m going to let you in on a little secret — the River Mountains Loop Trail is one of the most beautiful, stunning and unique paved bicycle trails in our country. You think I’m kidding? I have bicycled all over this nation and I have scene some terrific trails to write home about, but pound-for-pound and mile-for-mile, there is not a more inspiring, kick-ass trial than the one we have in our backyard in metro Las Vegas.
I confess — I’m in love with this trail, just like I love the other three places to ride in metro Las Vegas. The Mount Rushmore of bicycle places right here in Vegas is obvious: Red Rock Canyon, Mount Charleston, Valley of Fire and yes, River Mountains Loop Trail. I lived in metro Denver, Seattle and New York and in a place called Florida and no big metro area has this Big Four of Bike Rides so close to a major city region.
And yet, metro Las Vegas is not known around the country for being gorgeous scenic bicycle mecca. Hey, that’s fine with me — less people on the road ans trails to deal with. But there sure big money to be made in the ecotourism business once the LVCVA buys in to help promote our underrated natural resources.
Let me tell you about this River Mountains Loop Trail. It’s a roller-coaster trail that has steep clumbs, hairpin turns and also straight-aways offering sweeping views of the hilly, mountainous and high desert in the Lake Mead/Henderson/Boulder City/Southeast Valley area of metro Vegas.
I love this ride because it’s like 10 mini-bike rides in one. Here are just a few of delicious visual pedaling morsels — the hilly terrain overlooking Lake Mead, the twisting trail turns outside Lake Las Vegas, the sloping gently back-and-forth ride in Henderson with a view of the Strip and snow-topped Mount Charleston to the northwest.
The shades of brown are everywhere — chocolate to beige; chestnut to caramel; mocha to coffee to cinnamon. In late March, the beaver tail cactus along the trail will sprout bright pink blooms, offering tiny colorful flashes of brightness in this mosaic of countless browns. Can’t wait.\
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