On Bicycling: Cool, Cloudy Red Rock Scenic Drive Bike Ride Is Two Rides In One
By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
It’s that time of year in Las Vegas when some people where short-sleeved shirts, while others are bundled in winter coats.
Such was the case at the Red Rock scenic drive overlook Saturday around 11 a.m., when I pulled into the small parking lot to take my break after bicycling from my Summerlin apartment at 3,200 feet to the Red Rock overlook at 4,771 feet after 11 miles of uphill pedaling.
The Red Rock scenic drive of nearly 13 miles and the overlook have become a tourist attraction. There are shuttle buses of all sizes following the meandering road that snakes its way through the foothills of the Spring Mountains. There are also tourists on scooters and electric bicycles and in go-cart-like vehicles.
When its breezy, cool and cloudy with temperatures in the low 50s, it turns out to be two bicycle rides in one. Today I wore bike shorts, with a tight short-sleeve shirt and two long-sleeve shirts underneath a big bike jersey. But in the jersey pockets, I stuffed a windbreaker, a neck warmer and a skull cap. I took them out when I reached the overlook.
And the weather conditions at the overlook had me putting on the gear for the Red Rock loop’s descent to Nevada state road 159.
The overlook is nature’s town common of Red Rock, where tourists from literally around the globe hobnob with locals like me. I have also met some of my closest friends in Las Vegas right here at the overlook, which today offered a vista of clouds sliding by the mountain foothills you see from state route 159.
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