Saturday was time for another desert ride with our Canadian friend, Jordan. I told him he couldn’t visit Vegas without riding out to Goodsprings to check out the Pioneer Saloon. Built in 1913, the place is full of character and history. There’s also one of my favorite canyon trails featuring winding singletrack, narrow canyons, and fun hill climbs on the way. It is a must-do if we are riding out there on the bikes.
We got a very late start on Saturday afternoon. This tends to happen when you get in at 4 AM from last night’s shenanigans. The Pioneer Saloon is a solid day ride when starting in the morning, but we weren’t going to let that stop us. We had jackets and headlights so we went for it. Mike, Jordan and I left my house around 1:30 PM.
After a quick stop for fuel, we took the interstate to eat up some miles and get to the mountain range near Sloan and Goodsprings.
Following some old GPS tracks, I had from a previous ride, we hit dirt near Sloan and rode under the railroad tracks.
We ended up making our own trail down an interesting wash.
The wash got worse. Imagine that! So we rode up and out of it and looked for a trail that would connect to our GPS tracks.
There was no trail and the desert would eventually claim Jordan’s rear tube with a pinch flat. After realizing all 3 of us left our patch kits at home, I gave him my spare rear tube. During the install, my 9-year-old Slime pump starting vibrating so badly it was ready to come apart. Time for a new one! Good thing Mike and Jordan both had a hand pump.
Moto Tire Changing Essentials
Realizing that wash and riding across the desert with no trail were bad ideas, we decided to head back via the smoothest part of the mountain to get back to the trail.
We finally got back on track and took some double track in the direction we needed to be heading. We stopped at a couple things to see in the desert.
Here’s where there will be a big gap in my photos because we were trying to cover some ground quickly. The sun was getting behind the clouds and the mountain and the temperature was dropping fast! Then at that point, Jordan got another rear flat! All we had left was my 21″ spare front tube. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again being in a pinch. We installed that 21″ tube into his 18″ rear tire and carefully proceeded to the canyon towards the Pioneer. We couldn’t afford to get another flat at this point!
We made it through the fun stuff and were rewarded with an awesome sunset at an overlook just before we rode down and out of the canyon to the powerline road.
Without any more issues, we made it to the highway and slabbed it to the Pioneer Saloon after dark! Cold, tired and hungry, we were very happy to be here.
We ordered a couple beers and some burgers while warming up next to the pot-bellied stove in the bar. The food was great and those beers went down all too easy. Jordan checked out the saloon relics and stories on the walls. This is always a great ride destination and he agreed. Reluctant to leave and ride home in that cold weather, we finally geared back up and took highway the whole way home. Along the chilly 50 miles ride back, we stopped at Terrible’s largest Chevron in the world. For real though. It really is the largest Chevron in the world with 96 fuel pumps and a 50,000 sq ft gas station.
Our GPS Tracks
Disclaimer: These tracks are for motorcycles only. Side by sides will not fit through many of the places we went. Also always stay on approved trails and out of closed areas. Some of these areas had some closed signs and we didn’t know it until it was too late. Many of the signs are knocked down. Always tread lightly!
2 Responses
ranall barr
Quite the coincidence. Ran into Jordan Wednesday at Bootleg canyon. Thursday we rode blue diamond to pioneer saloon to sandy valley to rocky gap. He was telling me about all the flats he got riding with you.
Pete
No way. He told me about the rides he did with you too. Did he tell you about my blog or did you just stumble upon it? Crazy coincidence if you did. I’m surprised we’ve never crossed paths or ridden together. I’m always in Boulder City and have many friends that live there. I also ride Bootleg from time to time. You don’t happen to know the Martins, do you?