Beyond the bright lights and glamour of Las Vegas, you’ll discover some of America’s finest motorcycling, as ABR reader Mark Davies found out.
Following a four-day work conference in Sin City, Mark found himself with a Friday off and no plans. So he did what many of us bikers would do, he hired a KTM 1290 Super Adventure S and set off in search of tarmac and trail.
Nevada’s finest
Leaving the city behind, he’s soon navigating empty, sweeping ribbons of asphalt that lead towards Nevada’s Valley of Fire State Park, which lies to the north-east of Las Vegas. And, when the blacktop stops, Mark continues, taking on some gravel trails that pass between towering craggy peaks.
While watching Mark’s video, I’m struck by how quickly the scenery changes in the Silver State. A morning riding under the desert sun is soon forgotten as he ascends up Mount Charlestown, the snow growing deeper and deeper along the roadside. With the road topping out at almost 8,000ft we’re hoping those KTM grips were heated.
After coming down the mountain on the way back to Vegas, the road snakes its way through the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, with a spectacular sunset on the horizon.
It was at this point in the video I started to feel some serious pangs of jealousy. Those warm sunset colours had me wanting to leave my desk and jump on my bike to make the most of the few hours of winter sun we get at this time of year.
A few tougher gravel trails later and Mark arrives back in reality, surrounded by cars on a six-lane highway down the Las Vegas strip after 300 miles on the road.
Hats off to Mark for fitting in a ‘micro-adventure’ during a work conference in just eight hours. Nevada looks like the perfect place for a short American road trip, and as we reported earlier this year it’s now easier than ever before to get motorcycling near Las Vegas.
Check out his full video below. A word of warning though, you will need to go riding after…
Here at ABR we love to see what you’ve been up to. If you have a video or story you think we’d be interested in drop me an email at ollie@adventurebikerider.com.
