[perfectbreakfast]

I hear there is a dirt service road that runs alongside it from CA to Las Vegas. I'm wondering if it goes straight through and is bikeable. I hear you can ride on the 15 itself from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. Can anyone confirm that?

 

[Hippienflipflops]

uhhhh you can ride I15 from vegas to salt lake if that is the last thing you want to do...in your life...ever...

 

[perfectbreakfast]

No way! Thats what the highway patrol told me...

...to do when I called them. They like to see bicyclists die. Any alternate route ideas?

 

[mass_biker]

I-15 = sketchy

The only time I've ever ridden on a freeway is when I visit my in-laws in SoCal. They live in north county SD and to get to the other side of Lake Henshaw, cyclists can (legally) ride on the shoulder of I-15. It's a stretch of less than a mile and a great way to cut out a 20+ mile detour up and over Bandy Canyon, but it is easily the most terrifying mile of cycling I have ever done, and this is from someone who commutes in/around downtown Boston year round, home to some of the most ornery drivers anywhere. The shoulder of I-15 is full of garbage and road debris. I-15 is something like a zillion lanes wide at this point and cars hurtle by you at Mach 2. You're praying that people pay attention.

Luckily, this stretch of "bikeable" I-15 will be replaced by a combination pedestrian/bicycle footbridge that spans Lake Hodges so folks can make the connection from Poway/Rancho Bernardo to Escondido and points north (i.e. it makes accessing the rides up to and around Palomar Mtn. that much more possible).

Snoop around for alternate routes...contact local area bike clubs for suggestions.

M_B.

 

[Fixed]

Nascar

I-15 is something like a zillion lanes wide at this point and cars hurtle by you at Mach 2. You're praying that people pay attention.

I've driven that road to Vegas. Even driving a Suburban at the time, I felt like I was in a NASCAR race. Left lane is 85 mph (no exaggeration), and right lane is 50. Nothing in between. So, you either tailgate (er, "draft") in the left lane at 85, or every moron from L.A. going to Vegas will take the slightest opportunity to pass you on the right and shove their way in front of you. What does this have to do with being on a bike? Well, sometimes, more like frequently, people also pass on the shoulder or force others over onto the shoulder at 85 mph. Not good.

Also, in this area of the country, and I've ridden through it quite a few times, it's usually hot, dry, windy, dusty, but also with very long stretches between services, and hills can be literally 20 miles long with several thousand feet of continuous climbing. Winds can be "normal" at 40 mph.

Check out Google satellite images on alternatives, but definitely do not ride the freeway itself.

 

[MB1]

I've done a relay race from Vegas that used back roads that pretty much tracked I-15. Services were few and far between and some of the roads were dirt/sand but do-able on a road bike.

Google Maps is your friend for this one.

 

[perfectbreakfast]

Wow thank you guys for the valuble info

that changes my plans