Harleys, Skydiving, and Desert Sun – Traversing Vegas, Baby! 🌞🏍️
Motorcycles, Las Vegas, skydiving, and four 40-year-old men… what could go wrong? Fortunately for us, nothing went wrong. But these were the ingredients for one incredible vacation. ✈️😎
Beyond all the glitz and glamor that precedes it, Las Vegas nestles perfectly in a geological bowl created by its surrounding mountains. Along with the Red Rock Canyon National Park to the west, the Mojave Desert in which Las Vegas resides provides some truly exceptional scenery, dry weather, blue skies, and distant views of snow-capped mountains. For someone from the Northeast, this is paradise. Throw in Nevada’s exceptional tarmac, and you have a recipe for endless bliss for riders. 🏜️🌄
I arrived at Las Vegas airport with seasonally comfortable low 80s temperatures in March 2016 to meet three other buddies for a weekend of testosterone-charged activities including fully automatic machine gun shooting, drinking, eating, riding, and skydiving (but not all at the same time)! 🍻🍔🎯
We centered our trip around a 12,000-foot leap of faith from an airplane – a first-time event for all of us. Since the dive was approximately 90 miles from our Vegas-strip hotel and we were all licensed motorcyclists, there was only one logical way to get there… Harleys we reserved at the local EagleRiders location. 🏍️
Preferring something more nimble than cushioned, I selected a 2015 Harley Davidson Sportster 883 – which proved to be a reasonable choice for the day’s adventures. The 90-mile ride from Las Vegas to Mesquite, NV took us along I-15 on a mildly windy, sunny, and chilly desert morning. Thankfully, I brought my favorite riding fleece, SIDI boots, and Held Two-in-One gloves, which helped keep me warm enough in the right places. 🌬️🧥
Even interstate highway riding in Nevada is starkly different than in the Northeast. As opposed to congestion at all hours of the day in the Northeast, I don’t think we passed 30 cars in our 90-mile traverse on I-15. As straight and uninspiring as the ride may have been, it was scenic and peaceful. Still an awesome beginning to a day! 🚗🌄
Upon arriving at Skydive Mesquite in Mesquite, NV, we met a cluster of adventurers whose energetic vibes felt familiar. They diligently and meticulously packed their equipment, geared up for safety, double-checked each other’s diligence, and worked as a unit. There was a sense of community, similar to what riders do when gathered together. Like motorcyclists, brand names for skydivers are preferences and not dividing lines. I was at home with a new tribe! 🪂🤝
Still on pins and needles over what was ensuing, I met my tandem jumper – the owner of Skydive Mesquite. There could be no better companion because I knew I would be safe! Still, I was an endless supply of nervous energy. 😬
Once we lunged (intentionally, fully conscious, and conscientious), the first question in my mind was: “What am I doing?” And then, “Wow, what a view!” But really, nothing in life remotely mimics the feeling of falling out of an airplane and accelerating to the earth at 120 mph! I didn’t lose my stomach and didn’t get nauseous. A GoPro documented our conversion (where it was clear my nerves were still going wild), the views, and the entire experience. 📸🪂
Upon landing, which was like sliding into home base on gravel, I cheered with elation! The sense of overcoming a fear like that is indescribable. But what really opened up was what can be accomplished by overcoming fears and inhibitions. 🎉
After settling down from a mild adrenaline rush, the four of us navigated back to Las Vegas. With time on our side and using Google Maps, we chose the non-interstate roads meandering through Lake Mead National Recreation Area. This road’s windy turns, wide-open scenery, and desert colors will delight any rider! Even better, there was almost no one there in the off-season… allowing us to joyfully speed, cruise, and slalom through the desert terrain. Traffic was so light that I took several pictures while lying on the tarmac… something that will lead to certain death where I come from. 🛣️📸
And what would you guess we had for dinner on a day as fine as this? For us, there was only one possible answer – steak! Juicy prime rib with a perfect amount of gristle for $10 at a casino in Henderson, NV – naturally! 🥩
In all, we traversed 215 miles on the Harleys and lunged 12,000 feet from an airplane to the ground. And we captured the experience with photos and videos… if nothing other than to prove to ourselves that this surreal trip did in fact happen! 📸🎥
