The Hard Road to Vegas—LAB2V

A bunch of riding friends and I had spent years talking about the famous LAB2V, an annual desert group ride between Los Angeles and Las Vegas that has been held since 1983. Among California dirt bikers and dual sport enthusiasts, it is legendary. 

LAB2V (Los Angeles-Barstow-to-Vegas) covers 400 miles over two days of rock and sand, beginning in Palmdale, with an overnight stop in Barstow, and a finish line at a Las Vegas casino. But the event is always held on Thanksgiving weekend, when too many of us had family obligations. 

So, we kept talking.

In 2024, though, Gabe Moffat and I had a genius idea. Why not ask our friend John Nave, who had done the ride multiple times and acts as MC at the annual finish-line dinner, to design a route that we could take on any weekend? 

He agreed, and asked our friend Rex Heyer, another LAB2V veteran, to join us.

Motorcycle & Gear

2018 Husqvarna 450FE

Helmet: 6D ATR-1
Jacket: Thor Pack Jacket, Leatt Moto 6.5 Armor
Pants: Klim Mojave
Gloves: Klim Dakar
Boots: Alpinestars Tech-10
Luggage: Tusk Excursion

Curiosities in the Desert

We left Los Angeles pre-dawn and in high spirits, driving hard for our meeting point in Yermo, CA. Already, the trip yielded gold, as we breakfasted at Peggy Sue’s ‘50s Diner in Mesquite, NV, eating our eggs and bacon among an impressive collection of 1950s memorabilia.