Wizards 50th Birthday

I'm changing the 50-mile attempt day to Wednesday for better weather. Tomorrow will be sunny and 78. Wednesday will be cloudy and 72. Much more comfortable riding conditions, although it will be a little windier.

Quote: Wizard

I'm changing the 50-mile attempt day to Wednesday for better weather. Tomorrow will be sunny and 78. Wednesday will be cloudy and 72. Much more comfortable riding conditions, although it will be a little windier.

Good luck... though my $25 (about $500 Canadian right now) doesn't wish it too hard :)

Quote: Wizard

I'm changing the 50-mile attempt day to Wednesday for better weather. Tomorrow will be sunny and 78. Wednesday will be cloudy and 72. Much more comfortable riding conditions, although it will be a little windier.

Good Luck Wiz, whish I could ride along side on a normal bike. Missed it by 4 days, Will be in flying into Vegas Sunday 15 March.

Quote: TheCesspit

Good luck... though my $25 (about $500 Canadian right now) doesn't wish it too hard :)

When did the CA dollar drop to .79
US? Last time I paid attention it was
about even.

Thanks for the kind wishes.

Maybe this wasn't a brilliant idea, but I did a big ride today -- 23.6 miles, which isn't that noteworthy, but I set a new record, by far, for elevation gain at 2,456 feet. My previous record, I think, was 1759 feet on this Red Rock loop ride on Feb 4 . Today's ride was also tracked by Strava and can be found titled hill climbing ride. It doesn't look that far on the map, but I rode the bike trail hill between Cheyenne and Lake Mead three times. Besides the elevation gain, some other statistics of the ride: average slope 3.94%. Slope of the bike trail hill 6.14%.

Also, you may remember the discussion about how I tracked the 40-mile Henderson ride on my Garmin watch and tried, unsuccessfully, I thought, to upload to Strava. Surprisingly, I was successful! You can find that ride, with the car ride portion cut out, at Henderson ride. I'm surprised to see that one was 1,727 feet of elevation gain. It didn't seem that bad, but maybe it was just because it was spread over 40 miles. Nothing in Vegas is very flat, as everything leads down to Lake Mead.

Quote: terapined

Good Luck Wiz, whish I could ride along side on a normal bike. Missed it by 4 days, Will be in flying into Vegas Sunday 15 March.

Thanks! You know, I'm feeling pretty wiped out from the big ride today that maybe I should put off the 50-mile attempt. From training for the marathon, you're supposed to take it easy a solid week before the big day, and here I am shooting my whole wad two days before.

If you're serious, perhaps I could postpone it until you get here. I will insist that you be able to maintain a 9 MPH pace. You won't have to do the full 50 miles, if that is an issue. Please let me know.

Quote: Evenbob

When did the CA dollar drop to .79 US?

The dollar is zooming right now, but the US=CAD haven't been at parity for two years. The USD = .73% euro over the summer and is now at .85 % euro. Euros is basically at a 12 year low, and many analysts like Sameer Samana of Wells Fargo says that parity between the dollar and euro is likely "a matter of when not if" .

At these exchange rates the Wizard should pop down to Guadalajara and check out the casino. You can get a nice hotel room for about $70.
http://www.ejecutivoexpress.com.mx/index.html
http://www.twinlionsjalisco.com/

Canadian Oil market has had the bottom drop out as well, which means less need for the money here to buy black gold.

Quote: Wizard

If you're serious, perhaps I could postpone it until you get here. I will insist that you be able to maintain a 9 MPH pace. You won't have to do the full 50 miles, if that is an issue. Please let me know.

Uh oh, what have I gotten myself into :-)
Hmm, I don't have to do the whole 50 miles, kind of interested.
How are you doing this? Is the plan 5 large 10 mile laps or something similar?
Reading all your posts , it sounds like your closest casino is Rampart? I just checked, great vp.
How close do you live to a casino?
Will your circuit go by the closest casino.
Have a good bike I can ride? I can keep up a 9mph pace , I'm 56 but commute by bike so in decent shape but its just a 6 mile one way ride twice a day. 50 miles, that's pretty long.
What is your time frame for this? 8am to 3pm? By the way I am generally an early riser in Vegas due to my east coast body clock.
Its kind of a short trip, best days for me are Mon, Tues or Wed. I fly in Sunday am and fly out Thur afternoon.
How far from downtown are you?
Do I need to rent a car?
Westcliff express which I am familiar with, stops at Rampart and Suncoast. That might work.

Quote: terapined

How are you doing this? Is the plan 5 large 10 mile laps or something similar?

Here is a map of the route.



Where the route turns about 45 degrees to the right towards the top is the M casino. Here is the plan:

1. Start at the M casino.
2. Head south on Las Vegas Blvd., which at that point is pretty much a frontage road to I-15. There should be little traffic and no lights or stop signs.
3. About 16 miles down we'll get to the "town" of Jean, which is just the Gold Strike casino, gas station, and vacant prison.
4. Keep going another 5 miles until the paved part of Las Vegas Blvd. ends and turn around.
5. Retrace route back to the M.
6. Make the 45-degree turn and head up the St. Rose Parkway bike trail to Eastern Avenue about 4 miles.
7. Turn around and head back to the M.

If you wish, you can skip the part from Jean to the end of LV Blvd as well as the final stretch on the bike path. This will lower your miles to about 32. You will have to wait for me a little over an hour in Jean, but there is a pretty big casino there where I'm sure you can kill time. I might have a quick lunch there on the way back too.

When we get back to the M you can decide if you can push on the last 8 miles or wish to wait for me.

Quote:

Reading all your posts , it sounds like your closest casino is Rampart? I just checked, great vp.
How close do you live to a casino?
Will your circuit go by the closest casino.

I'm not doing it close to where I live because it has too many street crossings and is too hilly. As mentioned, the route will start, stop, and pass through the M and pass through the Gold Strike twice.

Quote:

What is your time frame for this? 8am to 3pm? By the way I am generally an early riser in Vegas due to my east coast body clock.
Its kind of a short trip, best days for me are Mon, Tues or Wed. I fly in Sunday am and fly out Thur afternoon.
How far from downtown are you?
Do I need to rent a car?
Westcliff express which I am familiar with, stops at Rampart and Suncoast. That might work.

I'll make you a deal, if you come along, I'll pick you up downtown and drive you back. It would be a major epic to take the bus system from downtown to the M.

As far as time, I'd like to start early. It will be about 82 next week, which is hotter than I would prefer. I wouldn't mind picking you up early, like 6:00 AM, and we have a big breakfast at the M before starting.

As far as the day, I'd prefer the day with the coolest and cloudiest weather. Otherwise, I'm flexible.

Not only would I appreciate your company but if you help to record it with my GoPro I'll give you a little stipend.

This will truly be a good story for your trip!

GoogleMaps link.

I'm leaning towards yes. M to Gold Strike, relax, play some vp, recharge for an hour or however long it takes you, then back to the M.
I can handle 16 miles, relax, 16 miles. I'm good with early, 6am is 9am body clock, easy.
Exactly what kind of bike will I be riding?
Choices? Pictures?
What specific day are you thinking of?
I ride with a mini-disc Walkman, cant do miles without music.
Big breakfast at the M to start? I'm thinking a moderate meal may be best :-)