Before I began this western adventure I had read about the River Mountains Loop trail in Bicycling magazine. It's a 35 mile paved trail that makes a loop SE of Las Vegas, in Henderson and Boulder City. I started at the bike shop (and fishing and boating at the same store) at River Mountains, I guess that's where it is. There's a map here http://www.rivermountainsbikeshop.com/trail-talk/ They are at milepost 10 on the map, and all sections are open, the map being out of date about closed sections.
It was a different kind of bike trail, very twisty in places and short steep hills and longer but still significant grades in other places. No trees; I didn't see any except palm trees in a couple of places. I saw only about 10 people in the whole ride. Weather was 70's and I only had to deal with a mild headwind for a few miles.
I find it remarkable that it exists; it seems an unlikely trail in an unlikely state. Maybe it's some pork via Sen Harry Reid. Who knows; not much info on it on the Web.
The below shot gives a pretty good perspective of a steep section. This is approaching Henderson.
This is the only desert industry I saw. The stacks of white things looked like concrete castings.
First time I've been on a trail with a flash flood warning. Parts of the trail functions as a flash flood drainage ditch, especially the part that goes though Boulder City.
Here's a section of the drainage ditch in Boulder City. That's Lake Mead in the background.
Crackle, crackle! The trail is near the Hoover dam and there are several places where high voltage wires cross or parallel the trail.
Why did the road runner cross the road? There is one there, on the left shoulder of the trail. He seemed to be hunting grasshoppers.
The other wildlife I saw was some stubby rodent that went running across the trail.
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