Biking at Bootleg

Saturday, Oct. 15, 2005 | 9:49 a.m.

Epic rides

Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City is among elite company on the International Mountain Bicycling Association's list of the best 30 trails in the world. Some of the other trails are:

Bull Mountain Epic (Dahlonega, Ga.)

Cortina Epic (Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy)

Eagle Ridge Expedition (Vancouver, British Columbia)

Kingdom Trails (East Burke, Vt.)

Mansfield Epic (Alliston, Ontario)

The Southern Traverse (Harrisonburg, Va.)

Telegraph Trails (Durango, Colo.)

Brent Thomson named the hairiest downhill trail at world-renowned Bootleg Canyon Mountain Bike Park after his late border collie, a breed known for its agility, grace and speed.

"Ginger" demands all of those from daring riders.

Fitting, since the trail's namesake "was like a circus dog, trained to do all kinds of tricks," Thomson said.

As a tribute to her -- and maybe as a not-so-subtle warning to cyclists -- Thomson buried Ginger just off one of the trail's turns four years ago. A headstone marks the spot.

It's one of the trails that inspired the International Mountain Bicycling Association to list Bootleg as one of the world's 30 epic rides.

The park does indeed have some "gnarly" trails, said Thomas Miller, a daredevil unicyclist and Colorado bike shop owner who was among the thousands of retailers, distributors and exhibiters from around the world who converged on Boulder City two weeks ago for the Interbike DirtDemo, the industry's biggest domestic event.

It was the third consecutive year that the annual event has been at Boulder City's 35 miles of world-class mountain bike trails. Organizers paid the city $8,000 for use of Bootleg and have a contract to return each year through 2008.

Many of this year's attendees said they were envious of Southern Nevadans who have Bootleg's 15 cross-country trails and nine downhill runs in their back yard.

The scenery at the park is dramatic. Boulder Valley greets riders from the south face, and Las Vegas and Lake Mead from the north. The two dozen trails range from novice to expert levels, with names such as "Armageddon" and "Reaper."

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., neighbors Steve Farrell and Bill Bauman came to Boulder City for a weekend of riding earlier in the summer. Their visit was inspired by a mountain bike magazine article about Bootleg.

But Bootleg was a little too "epic" for Bauman.

"He said, 'I don't want to go on these trails anymore,' " Farrell said. "That Ginger trail, there were parts where you thought it ended, but you knew it didn't.

"One slip, one missed reflex, one wrong snap decision and you could break arms, ribs, collarbones, necks," he said. "It's all volcanic rock, so if you fall you'd shred yourself."

Thomson said broken wrists -- from head-over-handlebar tumbles -- have been the most common, and most severe, injury reported at Bootleg.

To try to avoid being held liable for injuries, Boulder City, which owns the land, and Thomson decided not to charge entry fees to the park years ago.

The park has been a labor of love for Thomson, a 53-year-old artist who moved from Canada to Las Vegas 25 years ago. He painted the 5-by-15-foot depiction of a pristine Boulder Valley -- minus homes and streets -- that hangs in the George Federal Building in downtown Las Vegas.

He carved his first trail in the Bootleg terrain almost 15 years ago, then he turned the hobby into a vocation after a quadruple-bypass heart operation in 1993.

Thomson is credited with creating the "giddy-up," a series of inclines that include declines to produce momentum for the next climb, instead of one long uphill struggle.

In November 2001, Boulder City contracted with Thomson to build and maintain the trail system, and the deal is reviewed by the city every spring.

In May, as Boulder City was struggling with its budget, Councilwoman Andrea Anderson was looking to cut Thompson's $48,000 contract, of which he said about $22,000 goes toward expenses.

She backed off when she encountered a groundswell of praise for Bootleg and the various ways the influx of mountain bikers from around the world patronize Boulder City businesses.

Ray Thurston owns and runs Mel's Diner, a homey establishment among scattered motels and fast-food restaurants on Boulder Highway. He said mountain bikers are regulars and beamed after having served breakfast to 16 of them last week.

"They told me they enjoyed it and that this would be their place," Thurston, 61, said. "If anything else, they're helping my business. How can I complain about that?"

Boulder City Manager Vicki Mayes said the arrangement with Thomson also benefits taxpayers directly because if the city had to maintain the park, it would cost more than $48,000. But city officials want Thomson to write a business plan on how to generate additional revenue to offset expenses, especially as the city deals with tight budgets in the future, Mayes said.

"We would like to get to the point where there are enough revenues to offset expenses," Mayes said.

Bootleg Canyon generated $19,960 in revenue in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the city. The money comes from events such as Interbike, as well as rentals of the trails for mountain bike testing or racing. Officials project the revenue will grow to at least $24,000 this year.

Thomson said visitors occasionally leave a buck or two in a donation box at a gazebo in the front of the park.

There's one exception: a Strip hotel bellman who always leaves a $20 bill when he leaves the park, Thomson said.

"He understands."

One way Thomson is trying to bring in more revenue is by selling advertising on a new trail map, and then selling the map to mountain bikers.

Thomson says he spends much of what Boulder City pays him on supplies -- for the bathroom and shower at the park, for example, and on advertising.

He said he tried attracting some sponsors for the park during the Interbike DirtDemo, but said all he wound up with was the flu.

"The Gathering," an event intended to give mountain bikers a chance a congregate at the canyon in November, had to be canceled because of lack of sponsorship, Thomson said Monday.

But one way or another, the park should thrive because its reputation continues to spread, advocates say.

Farrell said Bootleg had won him over.

"Let's just say it made a 42-year-old man feel like he's 20 or 23," he said. "I felt alive.

"And thank God I didn't crash."

Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or at miech@lasvegassun.com.