Southwest - Vegas/Grand Canyon Trip in May

Hey folks,

Heading to Vegas for a friend's bachelor party Cinco de Mayo weekend (real original, I know). Never been, so I've been told to expect a $hit show. That being said, I want to fly out several days early and check out the Grand Canyon, etc. The plan is to rent a mountain bike, either in Vegas and find a ride around there, or closer to the Grand Canyon.

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Ride on,
Derek

Check out Red Rock Canyon. A 13 mile one way loop; first 4.5 miles are essentially a long climb. Also, go visit the Hoover Dam either by car or mini tour bus/van expect
to take a half day due to travel + touring time.

Red Rock Canyon gets pretty hot temps in May. Here's a ride video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBtvVsTME84

...video may have edited out the first 4-5 miles of climbing though.

Vegas is a great place and can be warm in May. Personally, I grew up in the SW and love it here. The Red Rocks loop is a real classic of SW vibrant colors.

http://mcghies.com/

The link is for a LBS that rents all types of bikes. They have a location at Blue Diamond, NV called the Outpost. You can pick up your rental bike at the outpost and have more of a 30 mile loop. You will want to arrange the bike rental in advance so the bike is at the outpost. Blue DiamondCottonwood Canyon is more of a Mountain Bike destination.

There is a new loop at Lake Mead called the River Mountain Loop.

http://www.rivermountainstrail.com/

It is @45 miles just for the loop. But you can ride to the new bridge over Hoover Dam for just a 8-10 spur. There is also a good bike shop in Boulder City.

http://allmountaincyclery.com/

Again Boulder City is more of a Mountain Bike destination, but tons of road riders stream through there everyday. Maybe you like mountain biking, if so, congrats, Bootleg Canyon is a world class riding area.

Awesome! Thanks for the feeback guys.