Blown Away in Bootleg Canyon

Sometimes watching the weather is a good thing. I knew that a cold front was moving into the Vegas area and it was bringing wind with it. I didn't know what time it would arrive, so despite the late night, Mom and I got organized pretty quickly in the morning. I wanted to ride in Bootleg Canyon, outside of Boulder City. I'd seen the signs for mountain biking every year while in town for Silverman. I'd also heard that the riding in Bootleg was great. This time, I had the right bike and time to play. Once we got to the parking lot, I spent a few minutes chatting with some local riders, getting some information in addtion to my map. It was good info to - spot on as to terrain and trail conditions.

I rode for about two hours - started on the southern side, on some of the easier trails. And they were easier, but still plenty technical, with rock gardens, steep climbs, flowly decents. Awsome riding. It was a blast. After riding the easier trails, I headed west on the out and back trail called "Mother." This was another great trail - about 3/4 handlebar width, cut into the mountain slope, with a cliff falling away on one side and the mountain rising up on the other. This trail meandered all the way to the end of the park, switching back down and up the little canyons, crossing rock outcroppings - all with some decent consequences "butt pucker moments" as Nick would say.

Just after I turned around, the wind picked up. Big time. I was very happy that it was blowing me against the mountain, not off the cliff. It would have been a long walk otherwise! I managed to get back to parking lot in one peice - albet very well sand blasted. I still had some time left to ride, so I tried another trail heading into the canyon. I thought it was very protected from the wind as I climbed. Then I turned around to decend back to the car. Um, no - not protected at all! The decent took me as long as the climb! But despite the wind, Bootleg was a blast. I am already looking forward to riding there again - I maybe was able to ride a third of the cross country trails.