Blue Diamond

Route: Blue Diamond to Red Rocks scenic loop and return
Distance: approximately 30 miles
Date: 06 July 04
Starting elevation: ~3400 ft
Highest elevation: 4777 ft
Weather: mid 90s to lower 100s, winds 5-10 mph variable, mostly from the S/SW

I did this ride two years previously, at the same time of the year, and you can read the trip report here.

This time out, it was not as hot as the last time—I was really struck at how much easier the ride was with the temps in the mid-90s rather than the lower 100s. It’s still not a two water bottle ride: I did the entire thing on 96 oz of water (four 24-oz water bottles) in contrast to last time, where I had drained my 70 oz camelbak just from the Visitors’ Center to the viewpoint half-way along the loop road. However, my eyes did not dry out in the same fashion as they did
before. The desert in general also looked greener – this descriptor of course being relative.

We got to the bike rental place at 7:45. A number of cyclists had gathered outside. I listened to the conversation, and it appeared that they were locals who had already ridden out to Red Rocks, starting from the city (making it a much longer ride) and were now heading home. It appeared that the bike shop is a literal watering hole and shade stop for people doing this ride.

We also saw many more bikes in general this time – probably only the crazies and ignorant tourists are out there when the temps are over 100, but normal people might ride when it’s in the mid-90s. Still, the majority of the bikes were heading back while we were heading out, and we saw far fewer riders as the morning progressed. By 11:00, when we finished up, we did see one set of riders heading out. To my mind, that ride is enough of a stress test in the morning coolth – I wouldn’t want to do it in the mid-day sun.

Also, I wanted to note that we have had an excellent experience with Bike Outpost. The staff has been friendly and helpful. I got a wonderful Specialized Dolce Elite – a special women’s frame and women’s seat, too. It just purred up the hills like no one’s business, and fit pretty well. I highly recommend this shop for renting a bike while out in the Vegas area.

Even though the heat was intense, I really do enjoy desert scenery. It is beautiful out there. Since we go out to Las Vegas fairly often to see relatives, we’ve talked about going out and doing this ride at Thanksgiving. It’ll be not so hot, and maybe we’ll have greater stamina to do either a longer ride, or try a little singletrack.

Ride summary:

Route: Blue Diamond to Red Rocks scenic loop and return
Date: 6 Jul 2002
Distance: approximately 30 miles
Starting elevation: ~3400 ft
Highest elevation: 4777 ft
Weather: upper 90s to lower 100s, winds 20-25 mph from the S/SW

Ride description:

Originally I was going to do this ride with a longer extension with my erstwhile STP riding partner, Aaron Hastings, but since he bowed out of doing STP, I did the ride just with my husband David.

We brought with us all our bike clothes, including helmet and
camelbaks. I filled the camelbaks with ice water before leaving my in-laws’ house. I had a classic (70 oz) and my husband had the MULE (100 oz).

We drove out to Blue Diamond, which was about 20 minutes from my
in-laws’ house in Las Vegas, and rented a couple of bikes ($40/day) from the affable owner of the Blue Diamond Bike Outpost – Trek 1200s in reasonable shape. We will go there again. But next time I’m taking my own seat with me – the hatchet I had to sit on for the ride was not designed for my tush, that’s for sure. I still felt a little sore 3 hours after completing the ride.

We wanted to get there when the shop opened at 7:00, but it was about 8:00 by the time we actually set out on the road. Already the heat had risen considerably. When I went to fetch the papers that morning at 6:00 it might have been about 80 degrees, but now it was in the upper 90s.

The ride out to the Red Rocks Visitor Center was about 8 miles, more or less steady but low-key uphill. My husband mostly rode a hybrid back then, and he took off like a rocket on the road bike.

We’ve hiked at Red Rocks with the kids before, so we had some
familiarity with the area. We stopped at the Center to refill our water bladders, and then set out on the loop.

It was a fairly steep climb out of the Visitor Center, and at about mile 4 from the Center my husband called a time-out by the side of the road. He was getting shaky, probably due to the high temps. I encouraged him to take in a lot of water, and I took in some deep drafts, too. We mutually promised to not be afraid to call for breaks, considering the high temperatures.

When we reached the summit, we looked out over the beautiful valley below. At this point we had drunk down all the water out of the Camelbaks, and there was only the still-unmelted ice in the bladders left.

Then it was mostly a series of winding decents back into the valley floor, with some rollers. A problem for me on the descents was it was so dry that it was very uncomfortable for my eyes. I’d rub them, trying to get them moistened up, and then they’d immediately dry. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to ride it with contact lenses and no eye protection.

At the end of the loop, we decided to ride two miles back to the
Visitor Center and refill the bladders, rather than ride it back to Blue Diamond with a low water supply.

The headwind back to Blue Diamond was pretty strong, but it was mostly downhill back into town.

I very much enjoyed this ride. I like desert scenery, and the Red Rocks area is very pretty. It was hot, and it would have been better if we had set out as early as we originally had planned. We saw plenty of riders out early in the morning, but by the time were heading back to Blue Diamond, we were the only cyclists left out on the road.

I would recommend this ride to anyone coming out to Las Vegas. If you’ve been spending most of your time say, at a convention, and you really need a nice ride and reconnect with nature, it would be well worth your while to drive your rental car out to Blue Diamond and rent a bike from the Outpost. I’d just be sure to also have a hydration pack with you – this is not a two water-bottle ride, in my opinion.