Bicycling Red Rock Canyon/Strip/Downtown On The 52-Miler In Las Vegas

 

It's about 6:45 AM and I'm bicycling on State Road 160 outside Las Vegas heading east for the Strip. It's a 52-mile bicycle ride that stretches from the Red Rock high desert to the Raiders, A's and F1 venues in the Strip corridor to downtown and then back through Summerlin and Red Rock Canyon to the homestead.

Just a reminder -- Nevada state law requires drivers to move over a lane when passing a bicyclist if there's a second passing traffic lane. Case in point: Take a look at this video

I bicycled over to Allegiant Stadium, where the CBS Sports crew was setting up its broadcaster platform in a parking lot on the stadium's north side.

 

I biked on the Hacienda Avenue bridge spanning Interstate 15 and crossed the Strip to get a view of the A's stadium construction site.

Then, it was a short ride to check out the Formual 1 race setup along Koval Lane east of the Strip. It's rather baffling how a local government (Clark County government) can allow four months of road and business disruptions caused by the installment and dissembling of the 3.8-mile track in the Strip corridor. Here's a video look.   

But that's Las Vegas for you. The Strip hotels and corporate overlords call the shots on public policy, not the elected officials.

I wanted to see the RTC Maryland Parkway project where the public transportation agency is taking the right lane of the three lanes going in each direction and converting it into a designated bus and bike lane.

The construction is a mess on about half of Maryland Parkway, but the section toward downtown is finished. Click here for video showing the completed section.

Let's take another look: 

The cool, overcast weather made it great to bike. It's all uphill from downtown back to Summerlin and the Red Rock Visitors Center, but the cooler temps helped me spin the road bike up Alta Drive and along State Route 159.

Stay tuned for more Las Vegas bicycle and Bicycle Man coverage.

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This Bicycle Stories report powered by Las Vegas Cyclery in Summerlin at the 215 beltway and Town Center Blvd.