If you are under the age of 21, convincing your parents to let you go to Las Vegas for a BMX video premiere may sound a bit difficult, but if you show them this article, it could definitely help your chances. If you are over 21, then shame on you for even questioning if you are going. Either way, here’s a BMXer’s travel guide to Sin City to ensure you will have an amazing trip and memories that will last a lifetime.
When And Why You Should Go
Every year in mid-September, Las Vegas, Nevada, hosts the world’s largest bicycle trade show, Interbike. For the cycling and BMX worlds it is a chance to see the newest products and mingle with everyone in the industry. But more importantly, for BMX riders, it means party time! The annual NORA Cup awards, BMX’s biggest party, is held during the week of Interbike and this year the festivities are going down on Thursday, September 24, at the House of Blues inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
If you aren’t familiar with it yet, NORA Cup is kind of like the Grammys of BMX. It is where the pros vote for their favorite riders of the year, and this year NORA Cup will be kicked off by an all-ages world premiere of Fit’s new DVD “Stay Fit.” If the video premiere and NORA Cup isn’t reason enough to go to Las Vegas for a few days, maybe the dozens of amazing cement skateparks will help sweeten the deal for you. Or how about the incredible street spots, ditches, and pools? Let the planning begin…
A outrageous crowd shot from Nora Cup 2008. Photo by Fudger.
The Basic Travel Plans
If you plan on driving, get familiar with Google maps. Go ahead and print out some directions from the Web and take them with you just to make things easier once you are on the road. You’ll want to print directions to a few of the skateparks and the House of Blues. If you are flying, check for the best prices on airfare through kayak.com, a site that searches most of the airlines’ sites as well as a handful of the most popular travel agent sites. However, Kayak doesn’t search for Jet Blue or Southwest and since both airlines typically have cheap flights through Las Vegas, after looking at kayak.com, go ahead and check southwest.com and jetblue.com.
If you fly, once you are in town you can rent a car or van from the airport. You can use kayak.com again to search for good rates on rental vehicles. Las Vegas is next to impossible to get around if you don’t have a car, unless you just want to stick to the main strip and not venture off to any riding spots or skateparks. In that case, take a cab from the airport to your hotel and skip the rental car. The airport isn’t far from the strip, so a cab fare should be pretty cheap. Also, thanks to this recession we are in some hotels that are going for as little as $30 a night, so finding a cheap hotel has never been easier. Once again you can hit up kayak.com to compare rates and book a room.
Kayak.com is a great resource for booking travel at the best prices.
The Party And Premiere
You’ll want to plan your trip around the “Stay Fit” video premiere and NORA Cup, which are on Thursday, September 24. Both will be held at the House Of Blues at the Mandalay Bay Casino and are open to anyone and everyone at no cost. However, the premiere is open to all ages, but the party is only for those 21 and older. Sorry kids, we need some adult time. The doors open for the premiere at 7:30pm, but get there early to make sure you aren’t waiting in the huge line. The video starts at 8:00pm and will feature full sections from the entire Fit team-it’s definitely going to be an awesome video and you don’t want to miss it. The NORA Cup starts as soon as the video is finished. Again, make sure you are there early, the line gets super long.
Once inside the party you can expect to mingle with just about anyone any everyone in the BMX industry from pro riders to company owners to media gurus like us. Every year for more than a decade the party has gotten better, and we expect this one to top the last. We will have special guest presenters, plenty of entertainment, and free drinks throughout the night. But as much fun as the party is, I can’t stress this enough…waiting in a line for two hours isn’t fun, so get there early!
Last year at NORA Cup Stephen Murray presented Corey Bohan with his fourth Cup.
BMX In Las Vegas
Since the video premiere and party will only take up one night, and Interbike isn’t open to the public, we wanted to give you some options of what you can do when you are in town to make the most out of your trip. If you get in town Thursday morning you can have all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to ride before heading home.
As you know, we can’t give up specific street spots, ditches, or pools, but if you are down to do a little searching or can make friends with a local (possibly at a skatepark), Las Vegas has plenty to offer. And of course, Google Maps can also help you out with this if you know what you are doing and what you are looking for. But as always, respect the spots and treat them like they are your own. Think how bad it would suck to have one of your favorite session spots shut down because some goon from out of town messed it up or got in trouble there.
It’s kind of a shame, but for as many skateparks are there are in the Las Vegas area (several dozen), there isn’t a good BMX-specific shop. However, The Bike Shop or The Bike King will be able to take care of your basic needs while on your trip so don’t hesitate to stop by if you blow a tire or break a chain.
The Bike Shop
2578 Wigwam Pkwy.
Henderson, NV 89074
(702) 897-1618
The Bike King
7645 S. Rainbow Blvd. #100
Las Vegas, NV 89139
(702) 438-4113
Now on to the good stuff… The parks! Again, Las Vegas has dozens of parks around the city, but not all of them are good enough for us to point out so below is a list of some of the most popular and best parks in the area. Use Google Maps to help you plan which ones you will hit while in town. You can also Google to find out more about each park and maybe even some photos or videos of the place. (Tip: Search the name of the park plus the city in Google; so type in “Anthem Skatepark Las Vegas”)
Anthem
Reunion Ave & McCullough Hills Pkwy
Henderson, NV 89052
This skatepark is by far the most popular in the area and was on our list of the top ten best skateparks in the country last year. (Cement, free, unsupervised, no helmet or waiver required, open from 6am until midnight)
Anthem Skatepark. Photo snaked from a skate site via Google Images.
YMCA
3521 N. Durango Las Vegas, NV 89129
This is one of the most well-known parks in the area and as long as you like transitions, there is something for everyone. (Cement, free, unsupervised, no helmet or waiver required, open from 7am until 11pm)
Pro Park
Ronemus Dr. and Grigsby Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89128
Pro park is a big one with lots of large quarters and vert walls, but also has a good variety of ledges and rails. (Cement, free, unsupervised, no helmet or waiver required, not sure of the hours, but if it is daylight, it is open)
Hollywood
1650 S. Hollywood Las Vegas, Nevada 89142
This park has a bit of everything; from small ledges, to big hand rails, to a full pipe. (Cement, $3/all day, supervised, waiver and helmet required, hours vary so call ahead 702-455-0566)
Skate City
4915 Steptoe St. Las Vegas, NV 89122
Skate City is where people go when they need a break from the sun, or from the cement. It’s a small indoor park with really fun wooden ramps and a good box jump and vert wall. (Wood, $10/all day, supervised, waiver and helmet required, hours and BMX sessions vary so call 702-433-5544 or check skatecity.info before going there)
Off The Bike
Of course there is plenty more to Las Vegas than BMX, so if you are into tourist activities and sightseeing, you’ll have more than enough options to keep you occupied. But this is a BMX site, so we will just briefly list some of the things you may want to consider.
- Rent a scooter and drive to the Hoover Dam.
- Take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon.
- Get an overview of the city while on a wild ride atop the 866-foot-tall Stratosphere.
- Go to one of the many shows on the strip. (Magicians, bands and musicals, plays, etc.)
- Venture through a shark reef at Mandalay Bay.
- Go indoor skydiving.
- Shop at scores of shops and malls inside the hotels and casinos.
- And of course if you are over 21, you can try to win millions at the casinos.
With a skyline that looks like this, how could you not find something fun to do?
Have fun, and see you there!
- Fat, Ride BMX
