Coming Up 7s: Vegas HW On Tap For May 2008

Here’s one thing you can bet on: Viva Las Vegas Hell Week will roll out of Sin City starting 15th May 2008.  

Far and away our hardest tour ever, this third staging of VLVHW (the others being in 2000 and 2005) promises plenty of challenges: long desert grades, stark scenery, heat, and wind.

Oh yeah: And hanging on to your wallet, if you decide to indulge yourself of some gambling pleasures on any of the 7 nights (out of 9) that we spend in casinos.

The route is a Figure 8. The first leg heads north and east to Mesquite on Day 1, St. George UT on Day 2, and back to Mesquite on Day 3. On Day 4 we’ll ride near Lake Mead and sleep in Las Vegas.

The second leg finds us wrapping around to the west side of LV and climbing up to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, where we’ll ride the loop road, and then descend back to the edge of LV. We’ll then head southwest to Primm on the state line. Day 6 will take us to historic Nipton CA, followed by Cima, Kelso (home of the famous train depot, now park headquarters for the Mojave National Preserve), and then Baker for our motel. On Day 7 we’ll proceed north through Shoshone and Death Valley Junction, before turning back east to Pahrump. Our final day will bring us back to Las Vegas on the 22nd.

The route is slightly over 800 miles in length, with over 40,000 feet of climbing along the way. We’ll be in four states, and see the desert southwest at its finest. Our route includes the brilliant reds of the St. George UT area, the joshua tree forest near Cima, the juxtaposition of water and the desert, and views that go on forever.

More info is available here. Online registration will be available in September 2007.