Participants in the Viva Bike Vegas event gather Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010, on the Hoover Dam bypass bridge before turning around to finish their 115-mile ride.
Friday, April 1, 2011 | 2:05 a.m.
The Strip isn’t just for cars and buses; runners get to use the famous stretch of road each year for the marathon and this year, cyclists will get their turn to ride by the glittering lights.
The Regional Transportation Commission’s annual Viva Bike Vegas event will begin and end at Town Square on Oct. 15, and three routes will begin with a trip north on Las Vegas Boulevard to downtown.
Last year’s event drew nearly 2,000 riders, many of them drawn by the chance to ride on the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge shortly before it opened to vehicle traffic.
This year is the first the event will be at Town Square and the first time the routes include any of the Strip. In past years, the event has started at the RTC’s offices next to the County Government Center downtown.
Courses includes a 17-mile route, which will travel up Las Vegas Boulevard to downtown before turning back and traveling down the west side of the resort corridor to return to Town Square.
A 60-mile course will break off downtown and go west to ride the Red Rock Canyon Loop before riders head to the finish line.
A 103-mile century ride will also go to Red Rock and then loop around the southern part of the valley, around Boulder City and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, before returning to Town Square.
Registration for all three rides is $85 during the early registration period, which begins Friday and runs until May 14. After that and until Aug. 13, registration is $100. From Aug. 14 to Sept. 25, the cost is $125, and from Sept. 26 to the day before the race, entry is $150.
The different registration periods are similar to past years, but this year the RTC is charging the same amount for all three rides instead of more for the longer rides.
Proceeds from the fourth annual event will benefit the Nevada Cancer Institute, the Greater Las Vegas Chapter of the After-School All-Stars and Nevada Child Seekers.
More information and registration is available on the event’s website, www.vivabikevegas.com.
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