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Hurts so good

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Special to The Times

Las Vegas means gambling. And as somebody who regularly travels the desert as a writer, naturalist and occasional vagabond, I’ve come to realize that my entire existence is a bit of a gamble.

But the last time I hit the Strip, after three solid weeks in the backcountry, handing over my hard-earned cash to an overweight blackjack dealer with a bad toupee just didn’t feel like living dangerously. After all, this was Caesars Palace. Where were the lions and gladiators? Mountain biking began to preoccupy my mind -- as it often does when my most primal synapses start demanding real excitement -- and I started ticking off the hours until sunrise, when I would set off to ride Bootleg Canyon.

The next morning, I took off for the barren mountains above nearby Boulder City, between Las Vegas and Lake Mead’s Hoover Dam, a place that’s become a compulsive stop on my Mojave excursions. With nearly 20 trails covering more than 40 miles, Bootleg Canyon features some of the best technical riding anywhere -- steep single-track through rock every bit as daunting as Moab’s slick rock.

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The course’s trailmaster, Brent Thomson, who built and maintains the 5-year-old, city-owned trail system, said he “knew that some lame trails would not turn heads. So I tried to make every inch the very best, in areas where you wouldn’t want to go if you were weak or lazy.”

Bootleg is best known for downhill racing. Routes called Elevator Shaft and Kevorkian give you a pretty good idea of what to expect. But nearly a dozen cross-country, single-track trails test the skills and nerves of even the best riders. At Bootleg, both kinds of riding inspire disbelief:

“You’re jumping off that?”

“You’re traversing what?”

Riders shake heads, shrug shoulders and hit the trails, destined to meet at the bottom. By connecting the loops -- Caldera, Mother and Lake View -- with Boy Scout, West Leg and East Leg trails, epic rides of any duration await in a “Mad Max” desert bikescape of jagged mountains above Las Vegas’ sordid skyline.

What makes the course so compelling is its unrelenting undulation. Roller coaster-like single-tracks called G-Outs travel down and up -- instead of along -- steep ravines. Like Upper Lake View Loop. After climbing above Lake Mead, I start dropping and popping through G-Outs. Downshifting, I lean back and feather the brakes while diving down a ravine; up the other side, I lean forward and pedal with all I’ve got. I’m traversing a ribbon of single-track about a foot wide with a blind turn ahead. Below lies the prospect of impending pain.

I drop off a 2-foot rock step, and, as I struggle to regain my balance, my back tire drifts too close to the left edge. The trail crumbles underneath as stones cascade down. I overcorrect slightly, and my right handlebar scrapes a jutting block of granite. It’s just enough to break my rhythm and my line, and I eat it big-time, tumbling headfirst down the ravine. Luckily, an abrasive slope of scree stops my fall after about 15 feet. With my limbs scraped and my left shoulder throbbing, I stagger back up for some more.

It will not be my last crash. After 10 hours of riding over three days, I return to my truck at dusk on Sunday, bruised, bloody and spent. In other words, I feel great.

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Two days earlier, I ran into Jayson, a muscular twentysomething bartender who seems to be riding the trails every time I’ve been here. He was standing near his bike at the trail head, wincing and cradling his swollen right wrist after a crash. As I helped him lift the bike into his pickup, he suggested a Monday ride -- if the wrist wasn’t broken.

It was.

Bootleg is a pretty bold bet, but I decide not to push my luck on another ride. The motion is seconded by the souvenir fire in my shoulder.

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(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

ON COURSE / Get a kick out of Bootleg

Directions: From L.A., take I-15 North to 146 East, at the outskirts of Las Vegas. Go east to 515 South, then merge onto 93 South into downtown Boulder City. Make a left onto Yucca Street and follow the signs 1.5 miles to the parking area. Trail access is free, but downhill riders pay for a shuttle.

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