Don't be a jackass at Red Rock Canyon

[Troutluck]

Just to be clear, I don't wish an accident on anyone -- squids, doraggers, scooter trash, whatever. But the jackasses who use the 13-mile protected one-way loop around Red Rock Canyon in Las Vegas need to be discouraged from using this as their personal playground.

This is a scenic route that has a lot of cyclists, hikers, and sightseers. There are many trailheads and a lot of foot traffic. While cycling this a.m. (the pedaling variety), my wife and I came upon the ruins of this 1000RR, which was still hot to the touch. I looked around for a body and called 9-1-1 just in case (you never know, right?). I would swear this bike was part of a pack that came in right ahead of me. They looked like trouble and certainly didn't do much for motorcycling's image by horsing around.

On the flipside, if you ever get the chance to ride this loop, do so. Around sunset it's a perfect second-gear cruise with lots of spots to stop and soak up the best of the desert scenery. Just look out for squidbike parts in the road.

(I did get a shot of the plate, BTW. No doubt the owner will report it "stolen" later today. Looked like a pretty good lowside until the tank caught some of the landscaping and it tumbled a good way. Hope the rider made it off. No blood anywhere, but lots of bike parts strewn around.)

[crazydrummerdude]

Creepy.

[R80RTJohnny]

Sad. The bike did not deserve this.

[Oldhway]

My wife and I were married in Red Rock Canyon. To some Native Americans it is sacred ground.

This sort of thing sucks.

[rvb1019]

This pic reminds me of a video that has been floating around for a while. It does a great job of reminding riders of the danger in our sport.

It's called Morning Fall (http://http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6602808096580267256&ei=-PmgSNqIKIToqgLeuYG_Bw&q=Morning+Fall%5C&vt=lf).

[jdmetzger]

Regarding "Morning Fall"... wow.

This reminds me. I was searching for something on youtube and managed to run into a video that was shot not far from me. It was someone's "first ride" after getting their new GSXR 1000 and riding home - purchased as a first bike with only the safety class (offered by the dealership) under his belt. No problems in that short video, and, and he made it home. That was May of 2008. I looked at his other videos. What do I find just posted a day or two ago but a video showing crash damaged riding gear. He was mostly unharmed but "high-sided after a car in front slammed on their brakes and I grabbed too much front brake". I was thinking that is NOT a starter bike, and one safety course is really not what I would call adequate training - it's a good start, though. Granted, he could have done the same thing on a 650. I'm glad he was wearing gear.

Things can pop up out of nowhere. I've had two deer instances (none terribly close, but close enough) as well as issues with other drivers. I've also had an issue of a road crew working around a corner spreading gravel without any signage. That was a major close call. Things like that teach me to slow down a bit if I want to keep riding into old age. I'm still not nearly the slowest guy out there, but I think I'm doing OK. There is no 100% safe on a bike, but I try to mitigate the dangers as much as possible.

[ultracyclist]

Wow X 2.