My 1st Nomad trip to Las Vegas

[MarkG]

Went to Las Vegas for an International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) at the end of February. The night before we left the wife suggested I take the Nomad and she would take the car. She had ulterior motives, she wanted to shop and I was going to get in the way. Her excuse was I could have some fun. After a stunned fraction of a second, I thought that was an outstanding idea.

The summary; five days, 700 miles (300,150,250), 38 mpg average, 65 mph (70 -- 72 indicated).

At 4am I left Chandler. Why so early? Rush hour traffic in Phoenix is really slow if you don't get out of town before 5am. The temperature was in the mid-40s, not much traffic, and a pleasant run to Wickenburg. Stopped for gas, then went across the street to the Denny's for a light breakfast and hot chocolate.

Highway 93 from Wickenburg to Kingman is considered to be one of the deadliest. Accidents, rollovers, cars passing unsafely, and everything else happens frequently. My advice is to stay at the speed limit, even if it is boring and straight in places, and use your bright light during the daytime. There is always an impatient moron that will pull out to pass with no room to do it.

Stopped in Kingman for another gas break. From there to Hoover Dam is long, mostly straight, and for me kind of boring. Rather than push it, I let the Nomad coast along about 65 and just sat back and enjoyed the ride. When I stopped at the Dam, the wife finally caught up to me.


The obligatory sign to prove I was there.


Wife's van parked next to me.


Norma, my lovely wife, who allowed me to buy the Nomad and suggested I take it instead of riding in the car. She is a non-rider, with some knee problems amongst other things, and has no intention of ever riding two-up. I will never kid her about what she is missing, she is kind enough to let me ride.


Looking down at Hoover dam.

Next stop was the Lake Mead visitor center. Wanted to ask about the road around the lake rather than going through Las Vegas to Mesquite. There shouldn't be too much traffic going through there in June. It may take a little longer, however it won't be nearly as hectic as the Interstate through LV.

Guess the expo was alright. Didn't see anything that impressed me with new technologies. You can tell I was really interested after being allowed to bring the bike. The wife got a reduced rate at the Rio for a couple of nights. Nice eye candy, if I was just a little younger and not married. Definitely easy on the eyes. Give me a break, I'm older and married, not dead. The normal rates are pricey, most of us probably couldn't afford to stay there, it was nice to do it once.

Traffic is totally insane in LV. A taxi driver changed lanes while stopped at a light. I was in the way and had to back up. A woman with a cellphone & minivan passed using the bike lane and immediately piled on the brakes. The wife saw both from the car and freaked. How did I know to swerve, how did I ...? Easy, I expected it. She didn't realize that my head was moving all the time, the last thing I wanted was a surprise. To keep her fear down, I did not tell her how glad I was to get the bike parked at the hotel and get away from the nut jobs.

Starting back, I went around the north end of Lake Mead for a bit. The temperature was in the 80s and I went to the mesh jacket for comfort. The road is posted at 50 mph with nice gentle curves and pretty good scenery. I wouldn't go on it if there was serious rain in the forecast. A lot of the washes go across the road and once they start flowing we would be stopped until the water quit running. I think it will be a good alternative when going to Mesquite and back.






I will be nice. The two HDs were trailered out of 3.5 feet of snow in Idaho for their vacation. They were desperate to ride. So this time we can't make any jokes about how the bikes got there. Mine is still nicer.





Headed toward Laughlin via Searchlight. Road construction puts the traffic from four lanes down to two in several places. It was a nice day for riding, other than a lot of traffic. No surprise, even with my detour around the lake, I beat the wife to Laughlin by a couple of hours. (Look at what I found on sale, were her first words.)

We stayed at Harrah's and their buffet is really quite good. Service was exceptional. It was a nice room and pricing wasn't too bad for this time of the year.

Having been away from riding for a few years I forgot the significance of wind. After listening to the weather forecast, I should have taken an extra day to come back. Instead it was only 50 miles from Laughlin to where I turned south toward Wickenburg. There was a wind warning with gusts between 35 to 45 mph. Okay, I should have known better.

The Nomad handled the wind just fine. Even though the best I was able to do was 45 mph in 3rd & 4th from Laughlin to Kingman. I, on the other hand, got beat up with buffeting from the crosswind. Once I turned south I was okay. The rest of the trip was pretty much uneventful.

Overall, I had a real good time. The first major trip for the Nomad and myself was a success. I was not nearly as tired coming off the bike as I am from riding the same route in the cage. I am definitely looking forward to the Mesquite run and my longer vacation later in the summer.

Conclusion: The Nomad was happy, it got to do what it does best. My wife was happy, she got to shop without my interference. I am happy, I got to ride. If I timed it right, this is my 50th post. I believe I have joined the ranks of the addicted. Looking forward to meeting all of you on the road. :)

Welcome to the ranks of the addicted, and congrats on the second star. Sounds like you thoroughly enjoyed the trip,that's what makes riding so cool. Nice pics,your wife is lovely and seems like a very nice lady indeed. I saw a new Nomad the other day at the dealership, the red and black is beautiful,

[vroc13091]

Nice write up. Felt like I was ridding along with you. Great pictures. I hope to be able to fill in Nevada on my states traveled map when I go to Oregon in July.

Thanks markg. Nice write up. I appreciate it. I'll be on all those same roads next month when I go to Laughlin. Thanks for the warning on 93. Sounds like a hwy 6 or 40 in Utah. I'm definitly planning on going by the lake rather than through Vegas.

[cactusjack]

Thanks Mark, for the excellent write-up and for further validating my personal vow of avoiding Vegas when riding to Mesquite.

[beezer]

Sounds like a great trip and a great wife

[ringadingh]

It looks like its a great trip to take, Mark. I'll have to try to make it down that way someday and see the sights. Hoover Dam looks very impressive.

[ou365]

Thanks for a nice write up mark. Bike looks great. Can't wait to take a good long ride....it's coming!!

Hey, I finally took the time to read this and it kinda reminds me how much I miss about Arizona. Now for my money lots of Nevada is just as desolate, but I don't have nearly the same feelings about that place.

Nice photos Mark. Very nice.

[cactusjack]

It looks like its a great trip to take, Mark. I'll have to try to make it down that way someday and see the sights. Hoover Dam looks very impressive.

Before 9/11, the Hoover Dam Tour used to take you all the way down outside of the powerhouses on the outlet side of the dam. You'd be standing above where the water exited after turning the generators. I remember the tourguide saying if you look up toward the top of the dam and draw a line between those two points (pointing at some outcroppings), that's the water level behind the dam. Talk about feeling puny! That dam was holding back 600 feet of water! Inside, it is spotlessly clean, too. Like a hospital. Because it is one of the greatest engineering achievements in the world, there is a lot of ornate art-deco design elements. It really is an amazing structure.

They don't take you down into the dam that far anymore. The closest you get is the mezzanine above the generators. Still a worthwhile visit, though.