Red Rock Canyon Ride…

Now that Iʻve thanked everyone, let me state for the record that Iʻm still happy despite…
1. Itʻs uphill from LV. Itʻs uphill the entire way more or less. I think the total elevation gain is about 2900 ft from downtown LV to the highest point on the scenic loop (13 miles) inside the park. Iʻm not a hill person. I live, work, and play at sea level in Honolulu. This was…um…well letʻs just say there were a couple of points inside the park where I walked up shorter steeper grades. Most of you should have no trouble if you ever do this ride. I was not the only person who walked a bit though, so I donʻt feel so bad. I almost didnʻt ride the scenic loop because I really didnʻt think I could do any more climbing, but the very polite folks at the information desk at the visitor center said that if Iʻd ridden up from LV I should be able to make it. They were right.
2. It was cold. The average temperature for Nov 11-16 is about 67F. Last year the Weather Underground says it was about average, the year before it was 10F warmer. I was hoping….but to no avail. It was about 53F when I left, didnʻt warm up much, and Iʻve no idea what it was inside the park 2900ft higher. Suffice to say it was cold for a Honolulu resident.
None of that mattered. It was a great ride. I stopped a lot for images and to chat with other folks.
The route I took was great. I went from downtown LV out on the “Downtown to Red Rock Bike Trail” which runs pretty much the entire distance seem well thought out. For the most part youʻve got your own bike lane on the road with everyone else (it follows Alta all the way till you are out of town) but thereʻs enough signage to remind everyone about cyclists and I have to hand it to the local folks, they were nothing but respectful to riders. The only trouble I had was on the scenic loop inside the park. The loop in one-way the entire distance and really about two lanes wide. Most drivers went over the to the left side of the road when they passed cyclists. Since there was no traffic in the opposite direction this was fine. Some drivers (not many, but enough to note) did not. They drove as if there could be oncoming traffic at any moment and thus they passed pretty close to me and others. On the whole it was fine