ALC 2016 Southern Utah kickoff (11/14/2015)

Date: Saturday, November 14
Meet time: 10:30 a.m. MST
Ride-out time: 11:00 a.m. MST
Meeting place: Starbucks, 1091 N. Bluff St. (map)
City: St. George, Utah
Rain policy: Rain cancels; make-up date is Nov. 15
Pace: 2 - medium pace (10-12 mph)
Terrain: 2 - rolling hills
Miles: 32

Southern Utah has some of the West's most amazing road cycling, and the ALC 2016 southern Utah training rides will take you to some of the most scenic and amazing places. Our season kicks off today with a red rock excursion past Snow Canyon into Ivins, a gentle climb into the community of Kayenta, and to our rest stop on tribal land of the Shivwits Band of Paiutes.

Next, we'll ride through Santa Clara and past some volcanic lava fields before reaching downtown St. George, where we'll ride past the temple before our final spectacular climb of the day to the top of Red Hills Parkway and breathtaking views of the hills before our final grand descent back to our meeting point.

If you're not up for the full 32 miles, there are plenty of ways to make the ride shorter. And all paces are welcome; we'll make sure nobody gets left behind. You don't have to be registered for ALC 2016 to ride ... although we might try to persuade you to think about ALC 2017 if you're not.

Ride With GPS reports about 1,670 feet of climbing for this ride. We meet at a Starbucks, and there's plenty of other food and drink nearby. I've made the meet time purposely late so that: (1) you'll have plenty of time to drive here in the morning if you wish, and (2) we'll hopefully avoid the worst of the autumn morning chill. We're less than two hours of driving time from the Spaghetti Bowl interchange in Las Vegas!

Important note for Nevada riders: St. George is on Mountain Standard Time, one hour ahead of Las Vegas.

Join us and find out how our rides are different! We obey traffic laws and stop signs, we ride single-file, we don't paceline, we never-ever-EVER pass others on the right, we help one another, and we make sure everyone has a GREAT ride. Everyone gets a detailed route sheet, and you're free to ride at your own pace or with others, whatever you wish.

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Blue Diamond out and back (11/7/2015)

Date: Saturday, November 7
Meet time: 9:00 a.m.
Ride-out time: 9:30 a.m.
Meeting place: Vista Commons, Charleston Blvd. at Desert Foothills Drive (map)
City: Las Vegas, Nevada
Rain policy: Rain cancels; make-up date is Nov. 8
Pace: All paces welcome
Terrain: 2 - rolling hills
Miles: 25

The first official ALC Las Vegas training ride of the 2016 season is here! And we begin with one of the valley's most popular and scenic cycling routes: Red Rock Canyon Road. Because the season is still young (even if some of us are not), we're doing only part of it today -- the part out to Blue Diamond and back.

From our start in Summerlin, we begin climbing right away, but it's mostly gentle and not steep at all. Before you know it, you've climbed about 700 feet to the canyon overlook, and from there it's mostly downhill all the way into our rest stop in Blue Diamond.

Our route back is exactly the way we went out, so it's just about impossible to get lost. And if you're not feeling like the whole 25 miles yet, you can turn around at any point. The ride to the canyon overlook and back is a robust 13 miles. And all paces are welcome; we'll make sure nobody gets left behind. You don't have to be registered for ALC 2016 to ride ... although we might try to persuade you to think about ALC 2017 if you're not.

Ride With GPS reports about 1,360 feet of climbing for this ride. We meet in a big shopping center, so you'll be near every type of food and drink you might want. Park and meet in back of Albertsons. DO NOT park in any of the 2-hour signed customer parking zones, or your vehicle might be towed.

Join us and find out how our rides are different! We obey traffic laws and stop signs, we ride single-file, we don't paceline, we never-ever-EVER pass others on the right, we help one another, and we make sure everyone has a GREAT ride. Everyone gets a detailed route sheet, and you're free to ride at your own pace or with others, whatever you wish.

Click here to RSVP now
Please RSVP so I can plan appropriately.

ALC 2016 Las Vegas unofficial kickoff ride (10/17/2015)

Date: Saturday, October 17
Meet time: 9:00 a.m.
Ride-out time: 9:30 a.m.
Meeting place: Fiesta Henderson, 777 West Lake Mead Parkway (map)
City: Henderson, Nevada
Rain policy: Rain cancels; make-up date is Oct. 18
Pace: All paces welcome
Terrain: 2 - rolling hills
Miles: 25

The ALC 2016 training season is underway across California, so it's time to have a kickoff ride in the Las Vegas Valley as well! Just like the official rides, this route is about 25 miles with not a lot of climbing. And all paces are welcome; we'll make sure nobody gets left behind on this route that combines paved paths with on-road riding. You don't have to be registered for ALC 2016 to ride ... although we might try to persuade you if you're not.

From our starting point near the 215/515 junction, we'll ride the Union Pacific Railroad Trail very gently upward to the end of the paved section, and then we'll cut over to the River Mountains Trail for the long, gradual descent back into the valley, with a toilet and water stop along the way. We'll continue our descent into the Lake Las Vegas area (with a couple of short hills on the trail, but it's OK to walk them), and we'll take another brief water and toilet stop at Terrazza Park before heading back on the new section of Galleria Drive before our last little gentle climb of about 200 feet back to the Fiesta.

Ride With GPS reports about 1,170 feet of climbing for this ride. Toilets, water, and a Starbucks (of course) are available inside the Fiesta. Park and meet in the rear parking lot partway up the hill on Fiesta Henderson Blvd., near the train tracks.

Join us and find out how our rides are different! We obey traffic laws and stop signs, we ride single-file, we don't paceline, we never-ever-EVER pass others on the right, we help one another, and we make sure everyone has a GREAT ride. Everyone gets a detailed route sheet, and you're free to ride at your own pace or with others, whatever you wish.

Click here to RSVP now
Please RSVP so I can plan appropriately.