Riviera Implosion Night with Spoke Easy Slow Roller Bike Rides

[wpsm_dropcap]L[/wpsm_dropcap]ast night Las Vegas lost another one of its old mobster casinos. The Riviera hotel was the latest to be imploded to make way for an expansion of the Las Vegas Convention center. In a city that is constantly changing, implosions are something people in Las Vegas are used to seeing. I’ve seen implosions on tv but I have never experienced one in person. After posting about my interest in experiencing the implosion in a Facebook post, I was told there was a group of people that would be biking to the implosion site. The Spoke Easy Slow Roller Bike Ride group is a Downtown Las Vegas based bicycle group made up of locals from all around the area. The group plans rides to different events happening in Las Vegas and tonight the plan was to check out the Riviera Implosion. So we loaded our car with our bikes and drove to the meeting point.

If you plan on attending a night ride here are a few things you will need:

Bike- Whether it’s 2 wheels, 3 wheels or your own custom creation as long as it rolls you’re good to go.

Lights-A headlight is great but it’s Las Vegas. From spoke lights to full frame led lighting setups the more lights you have the better. It’s all about tricking out your bike and showing off your personal style. We didn’t have any lights this time but we will definitely be ready for the next outing.

Bell- Ring ring! No bike is complete without some type of bell, we have a couple classic style bike bells on ours. Other riders had clown style honking horns and some even had electronic ones that made a variety of noises.

Backpack-Snacks, snacks, snacks. Biking around the city builds up a thirst and an appetite. Before meeting up stop by the store and pack your bag full of goodies for the ride. Water is a must but tasty beverages of all sorts are also good for the ride.

Tonights starting point was one of the group members houses Downtown, after meeting up we headed north towards Fremont Street. Every ride has a different route and different stopping points along the way. The route tonight went from Downtown Las Vegas to the Circus Circus hotel. Our final destination for the implosion ride was the rooftop of the Circus Circus parking garage. Unfortunately, after only a few minutes hotel security informed us we couldn’t stay so we decided to make our way to another vantage point. We cycled around and found a great grassy knoll area right in front of the Westgate hotel.

Shortly after 2:30am the festivities began. It started with a huge firework display that rivaled the best 4th of July show. Big boom after big boom it was a show for the ages. After the completion of the fireworks there was a countdown from 10 and then it was time for big boom of the night. Level by level the huge hotel imploded and collapsed to a pile of rubble that let out a huge cloud of dust and smoke. After the festivities had concluded we hopped back on our bikes and headed back to our starting point.

This night is something we will always remember, we had a blast. We are really looking forward to more of these night rides,  I see this becoming a regular thing for us. If you’re interested in joining the next night ride visit the group’s Facebook page for upcoming event information (link below.) Everybody is invited, the more the merrier. The only rule is that you have a good time. Thank you to all the group members for welcoming us with open arms and smiles, we definitely felt the love.

 

Click on the image below for more information about attending the next event

Music: http://www.purple-planet.com
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