Riding out at Cottonwood

 Wednesday, drove out to Vegas for the last segment of the Mancation. After arriving decided to give the bike some TLC as it has been riding hard and put away wet. Good thing, as it turns out that both sets of brake pads were shot, dented rim needed to be addressed, replaced the back tire, re-adjust the derailleur, washed her up and threw on some fresh lube. Good as new.

Thursday, I headed out of Vegas to a place called Cottonwood. The area has two sections, North and South, and decided on the North section since it had more elevation gain and section dropping off the mountain called 'The Hurl'...couldn't resist.

In a previous life I lived in Vegas for a long stretch, and never knew this area had a dedicated trail system specifically maintained by the MTB community. After just a short way into the ride it was obvious that these trails were build by bikers for bikers. This place was a BLAST!!!! Not one straight section on the trails, lots of area to get some nice speed and nothing overly technical. There is a double track that bisects the trails, so even the beginners can bail on anything that would present a challenge. Well designed and thought out.

I love this place, and anyone who wants to rip up some trails while in Vegas, and has already done Bootleg, should give these trails a try. Hopefully, I will have some time to check out the southern trail loops. The maps indicate that there is a 35mile loop that connects the North and the South, and has been added to my MTB bucket list.

Hope you enjoy the video. (BTW, all the video shot at the casinos was confiscated, and makes for a great story over a beer.)