Birthday Riding at Bootleg Canyon

I posted up that I'd be in Vegas this past weekend and was hoping to get a few riders to come out, but plans fell through. Oh well. I brought my bike anyways, but had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to do any riding.

Thursday or Friday night, I ended up on mtbr and found out that the SNMBA (South Nevada Mountain Biking Association) was having an XC group ride out at Bootleg. Hell, even if it is XC, it's still riding... and hopefully I could convince a few to shuttle a couple of the DH runs with me.



A real life pirate! He actually had a "Captain Hook" sticker on his bike! He has both brake levers on one side.


First run at Bootleg was an XC loop. Climbed IMBA/Mother, blasted down POW, and climbed out via Par None.


POW is tons of fun. You can catch some real speed through this trail and there are a lot of steep, long, g-outs.

Second run, I convinced a few guys to shuttle to the top and we did Boyscout, then onto Caldera, then finished off with Girlscout. For an XC run, Boyscout is pretty techy.

Our trusty shuttle driver. I like that girls shuttle free





This is a pretty steep (felt like straight up and down) g-out that was pretty rocky. Of course pictures and video don't do it justice.






Off camber rocky section


More off camber rock.


Too bad this was on a climb instead of a descent.


We got back to the gazebo and waiting for the other group to return. They had opted to climb up Girlscout and then did a longer loop of Caldera. By the time everyone came back, they were all spent from all the pedaling they did and the couple guys I had initially convinced to ride some DH were bailing. Boo. I stayed after everyone left and figured I'd try to to hook up with some guys on the next shuttle or go at it alone (I know, not a good idea).

Luckily there were some cool cats on the next shuttle and I was able to get a "tour" of Snakeback to Reaper. Rob was a really awesome "guide" as he took the time to let me know just enough of what was coming up that I could prep myself for it, but didn't over-elaborate it so that I would have time to freak out about stuff. We did Reaper relatively slow (well, as slow as you can on a steep DH trail) just so I could get a feel for it. I had somehow convinced another XC guy to do the DH run and since he was walking most of it, he offered to take pictures with my camera :) Rob's buddy Tim had to bail before Reaper because his rear derailleur ripped off, got caught in the spokes, and broke in half on Snakeback. He was going to just run chainless until he endo'd at another feature and broke his rear brake lever. Bummer.

Top of the mountain


The start of the trail... or is it?


Yup, looks like it! The best way to tackle this is the right line and finish it off with a small drop.


The first waterfall. I pussied out on this last year. I wasn't about to pussy out on it this year.


A different view of the same feature.


Can you find the trail?? This off camber rock section is definitely more treacherous than the XC version as the penalty for failure is a lot steeper.


This is a lot steeper than it looks. A couple of the guys walk it.


This is to show how steep this section is. It ends off with a roller, which could be a drop depending on your speed. I dropped it this first round, but landed pretty front heavy.




Snakeback then splits off to either Sidewinder or Reaper. This is the start of Reaper. Can you find the trail?


It goes like this:


The initial chute is definitely a lot steeper than this picture looks. You catch mad speed coming down this!!


After I scoped it out, XC guy asks if I'm going to do it. I give him the thumbs up!


This shot is from less than halfway down the chute taken by XC guy looking up at me and Rob (cool DH cat) standing where we left the bikes at the start of the trail.


Rolling in


Rob dropping in first



Followed by myself



Big ass going fast!



I was pretty stoked that I had done Snakeback/Reaper without any dabs and no pussying out on any features, so we decided to do one more run straight through and fast! Tim was cool about waiting for us to do another run. Rob and I were the only 2 on the last shuttle of the day.

Awesome, awesome time at Bootleg and I can't wait to get back out there again for the Pirate Bash !!

P.S. I realize that I typed "steep" quite a bit in this RR. :lol!:

P.P.S. Is it cool if Rob jumps onto the site? His email is: robroy67@hotmail.com. He's done every DH trail at Bootleg and can be a good "guide" for the more difficult DH trails. He's ridden in UT and plans on riding in CA. I think he'd be a good addition to the crew.

Awesome pics. THe only time I've ever done Bootleg was a few years ago, and I was way underbiked with a Reign and a Pike fork. I remember hiking to the top after the shuttle to ride the race course. We were sitting on the box, looking at the first rock garden going "oh crap, what did we get ourselves into?" LOL. I want a redo. I might have to convince the wife we need to go to Vegas to see the pirate show, but not the one at Treasure Island.

Nice proper report. Also looking forward to the pirate bash in Dec.

92se-r wrote: I might have to convince the wife we need to go to Vegas to see the pirate show, but not the one at Treasure Island.

Is it the one with Donkeys in it?

Great report and pics. Getting anxious for the 3rd, is it here yet?.