Vegas day 3

Chris Hooper, Tori and I were the cycling crew today, which makes for a faster group. Actually faster isn't exactly the word, maybe a more capable group with longer range is the better characterization. Chris wanted to be back at 3pm to get ready for his flight, and I figured we had enough time to see the Hoover dam if we left at 10am. Seemed like it was worth seeing the sights while we had the chance.

Rolling out of town on a Sunday morning was nice, traffic was light, and the exit east out of town is a gradual downhill so easy pedalling gets you 36km/h.

We didn't stop at the scenic lookouts along the way, we just kept moving towards the dam. Passed some guy with a toque, fleece gloves and full tights and jacket on. I was wearing a jersey and shorts, as was Chris. Hard to understand.

The dam was busier than Friday, it's basically an all American traffic jam. But it's cool to get out there, and I think Chris found it worth his while to see the landmark.

We rode home at a comfortable pace, and I was surprised that the roads we coasted down.

So the distance total is 140k, 103k, and 120k. I'm pretty happy ith that, I might have ridden a little more on my own, but having company around is better than an extra 50k cumulative.

I did a harder climb today off the dam, let's felt good. First 2 days my peak 10 minute efforts were 260 and 280 Watts respectively, so obviouly not very intense (goal is logging kilometers + or - the 250 Watt range). But today I did 10 minutes at 320 W which felt good, especially since that included the first few minutes of climbing off the dam with cool legs from a half hour of picture taking.

We're now checked into THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay, which has a fairly modern decor, stopping just short of being pimpish. I'm trying to figure out which place would be the "best" hotel for cycling trips down here - need reasonable budget, easy access out of town, but preferably not last hotel on the strip like Mandalay Bay so you've got more choice within walking distance (that sounds lame I know, but we're talking tired cycling legs amount of walking).