Eastside Bike Tour

Eastside Las Vegas Bike Tour

My current and most exciting photography project is working with the Nevada Preservation Foundation by assisting them in building their stock imaging library for mid-century Modern architectural classics that peper the landscapes of communities names Rancho Nevada Estates to Bonanza Village to Berkley Square to the Gateway District to West Huntridge to

What a beauty of a MCM
What a beauty of a MCM

Winchester Cultural Center.   What this has done is opened my eyes to the true DNA of Las Vegas heritage.  I have lived in the south Summerlin (southwest) side for the past 10 years and I really do enjoy my little zip code of 89147.  Everything I want and need is nearby and I think at a core level it geographically reminds me of my days growing up in Saratoga in the 60’s and 70’s that was the southwest end of the San Francisco Bay area.  Surrounding foothills and a similar transportation pattern.

Today I thought I would head out on the Flamingo Arroyo trail and connect with the Wetlands Park.  Clark County manages the trail systems and their website is not 100% helpful but it does get you going in the right direction. This eastern most segment of the Trail has been open since 2008 and was the first stretch of the Flamingo Arroyo Trail. The trail spans 2.5 miles between Vegas Valley and the Sunrise Trailhead that is located on the northern boundary of the County Wetlands Park. To get to the trailhead go east on Vegas Valley Drive then turn south on Hollywood and follow the road for about 2.5 miles.  This was my starting point today.   I opted to park at the very start of the trailhead but probably most people park in a cul de sac at  the Pecos-McLeod trailhead.

Don't forget your sunburn. This stuff smelled so good you wanted to eat it.
Don’t forget your sunburn. This stuff smelled so good you wanted to eat it.

I am not always a quick study but in my 10 years in Las Vegas I have learned as most seasoned desert rats do that sunscreen is a must on this type of adventure.  You start in the morning and it is pleasantly cool but, it won’t be long before the Vitamin D is scorching your face and arms.  LOL.   Next step is to click the Garmin for the GPS route.  Also, to double check all my cameras have their GPS features enabled.  What I really like about these urban interface adventures on my bike is that I am always smiling when I ride and thus it is very easy to engage people you meet along the way.  I am a huge fan of electronics but I know for this type of trip I leave the ear buds at home as that creates a barrier to meeting people.

The Eastside bike tour begins!
The Eastside bike tour begins!

The bike path is immediately ordained with pleasant-enough artwork instead of plane cement walls.  Kudos to Clark County for the dedicated gang-related graffiti removal.   But, also, you come across strategic homeless camps.  There is a huge sub-culture of homeless camps in the storm channels and live mostly out of the public eye. Read More

The weather is perfect today and I would recommend that these urban interface bike rides are best done on an urban or mountain bike that can adapt to the different surfaces and broken glass and other debris.  It was very interesting observing how you can transcend decent middle-class communities to true barrios in minutes.  Lots of texture which is what I really enjoy.

It seems I missed my most direct method of getting to the Wetlands park via the Flamingo Arroyo trail and ending up riding a different bike trail all the way to Tropicana and opted to just head due east on Trop and end up at Wetlands that way.  I was not wearing a helmet so I get nervous driving around cars but you just try and pay extra attention.

Ono grinds brah!
Ono grinds brah!

As I rode through the Wetlands Park Nature Preserve, I crossed the Las Vegas Wash bridge and headed for a picnic area to eat my lunch.  I always appreciate how the County has made the extra effort to incorporate some design into their parks and the modern overhangs are literally and figuratively cool.

After lunch and grabbing some pix, I head towards the Flamigo Arroyo Trail from it’s southeastern furthest point that I had inadvertantly got lost before.  Heading northwest I got lost again but hey, the detour was interesting and some extra calories burned is ok by me.

Cool bike bro!
Cool bike bro!

I rode by this guy and said “cool bike bro” and he greets me as well.  Then, I thought, shit, that is a pretty cool photo waiting to happen.  So, I sat down and we talked about bikes, life, his medical marijuana requirements and just chill stuff.  I snapped a couple of pix, sent them to my phone and then texted him the photos. He was stoked.  I like those little connections like that.  Anonymous collides with the Universe.

My GPS tells me I am about 18 miles into my bike ride and my chronic bronchitis is acting up and time to figure out where the hell I am.  A few more detours and I get back on track and back to basecamp.  I don’t think I have ever ridden 22 miles on this mountain bike and have not ridden my road bike in a year.  So, I was stoked but that is what a perfect day like this does.  No hurries, no worries, and just enjoying the present state of being.  I probably would not do this loop again but I saw a great side of Vegas I have neglected.  Viva East Side Bro-hams!

RB Profile

ABOUT ROBERT BAKER

I have been shooting for $$ since 2000 opening my shop with a Nikon D1.  I am primarily interested in shooting adventure lifestyle and travel with a host of my  day-to-day clients being within the industrial sector.

Many of my editorial stock photos have been published in all major news outlets, with my primary focus is distributing my images on a client-by-client basis to ensure their branding is unique and compelling.

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