Sixty-seven-year-old Scot Harden stands in front of nearly 200 motorcyclists gathered in Caliente, Nevada - the least populated incorporated city in the state - for the 39th annual Nevada 200 riders meeting on April 14. 

He asks the audience, a majority outfitted in KLIM off-road motorcycle gear – official event sponsor for over 10 years – a handful of questions: “How many of you have been riding this event for 30 years?”

A hand or two raise in the air.

He continues, “Twenty years?”

A few more hands. 

“10 years?” A handful.

“First time?” A huge mass of hands. 

Mine, too. 

“The history of the Nevada 200 is about the people who come here,” Harden told the captive crowd anxious for our three-day adventure waiting outside Agua Caliente RV Park. “It’s great to see so many first time riders. This is what it’s all about.” 

The event, which started in 1985 as a group of friends riding together, draws some of the biggest hall-of-fame humans in the sport – off-road champions past and present – this year, Rodney Smith, Jack Johnson and Chuck Miller just to name a few, and for the first time ever, Johnny Campbell and his son, Preston, plus weekend warriors and hardcore racers traveling hundreds of miles from home to attend.

For Harden, Caliente is a special place he’s been coming to since he was 5 in 1961 to go deer hunting. Growing up in Las Vegas, Harden became fast friends with the late Casey Folks, Best In The Desert founder, and the two devised an excuse to set a time and date each year where they could meet and go ride. Together with Kristi, his wife of over 40 years, the event’s grown into an invite-only Bucket List Ride bringing thousands of motorcyclists to the most economically challenged county in Nevada. 

“Off-road racing is the greatest opportunity for economic development here,” Harden told listeners of Nevada’s nearly six million federal acres managed by just several people. “I love this place because of the trails and enthusiasm for the sport.” 

The event changes lives, Harden said of its $700,000+ economic impact on rural Lincoln County, Nevada, and over $50,000 for the Caliente community. 

For Smith, a longtime off-road racing champion who this year helped lay out every mile, the event is the “next chapter” after a storied career. 

“This is what it’s all about – hanging out with the buddies and having a good time,” Smith said. “I’m thankful to be a part of it.” (Writer’s note: When I texted my dad the list of names on the ride, he replied, “No way!”)  

Harden, a two-time Baja 1000 champion, three-time International Six Days Enduro medalist and decorated off-road legend (the first American in history to win a marathon raid rally in Africa, the Djerba 500 Rally in Tunisia), encouraged first-timers to focus on having a good time and enjoying the great outdoors here. 

“The beauty of this ride is that the trail is marked, so enjoy it and have fun,” he told us before we took off on the first day. 

Game on. 

Friday’s ride, guided by legends like Harden and Smith, featured high desert single track, fast sand washes, flowing rocky trails and wide open terrain under beautiful blue skies and welcome sunshine. 

For KLIM ambassador and Nevada 200 first-timer, Jeremy Shoning, an ISDE silver medalist who qualified for the E4 class at this year's ISDE, the highlight of the weekend was riding new terrain that he never knew existed in Nevada.

“From the very beginning, as I drove into Caliente, I noticed the banners and staging area and was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and camaraderie, plus the epic trails that Scot laid out for us,” he said. “I was really happy with the way it was set up, and I will absolutely be back next year.” 

At one point on Friday’s 50-mile ride, we stopped for a group photo overlooking Area 51 where I’d never seen so many guys high-fiving, woohooing and grinning. 

“That’s why we do the ride, just for those moments,” Harden said later. “Most of the rest of the world doesn’t understand why we do what we do.” 

Father and son first-timers Adam and Mitch Nuyens were looking to set some time aside to ride together this year, and the Nevada 200 sounded like a pretty good plan, and it exceeded expectations right from the start. 

“Right out the gate, that hill climb was pretty gnarly,” Mitch said. “Or at least for my level of awakeness that morning. I thought, if this is how the whole weekend is, it’s going to be a long weekend.” 

The two found their groove – “It was just so much fun,” Mitch said – and look forward to returning next year for the 40th anniversary. 

Friday afternoon’s Welcome Party featured a presentation from Johnny Campbell on the early years building the XR and his first Baja 500 winning bike, a 1997 XR600, which he built from the ground up working for Honda since the late 80s. 

“I was my own mechanic from 1994 through 2001,” Johnny said. “All the race bikes that I raced and won on I built myself. I have a pretty rich history of bleeding red.” 

With an impressive list of race wins from all over the world – a record of 11 Baja 1000 Championships – Johnny said the Nevada 200 is an event he’s always wanted to attend, and he finally made it happen this year, with his son, Preston, along for the ride. 

“I love this area because I’ve raced through this area a lot in my career and so I was never able to stop and smell the roses and see the sights,” Johnny said. “I knew there was good terrain up here to ride so Scot put the invitation out to me, and it worked out really good for us.” 

Saturday’s 90-mile ride started off with a country breakfast and a riders meeting before a police escort through town. The hand-picked ~90-miles featured absolutely perfect riding conditions, more twisty singletrack, creek crossings, hill climbs, loose rock gardens and color-coded arrows for the advanced A and less-technical C ride, plus a catered taco lunch on the trail. 

For first-timer Larry Bever, the event was well worth the price of admission. 

“It was an awesome, awesome time,” he said. “The trails were epic and good flowing. I got to meet a lot of new people.” 

First-timer Suzy Moody, one of three females riding the event, said the Nevada 200 has been on her bucket list for 20 years. 

“I’ve been racing and riding motorcycles for 50 years,” Moody said. “I keep hearing everybody go on and on about this event, and in 2023, I was able to nail it. It was great.” 

Bever and Moody linked up Saturday to chase each other through the A course. 

“What a charming gal. I had a great time with her,” Bever said.

That’s what it’s all about – “It's a ride that anybody can ride, all skill levels,” Moody said. “Whatever your skill level is, you can ride it, so you need to come on out.”

***

After Saturday’s catered dinner and award ceremonies, Harden again addressed the crowd.

“I know some of you won’t be back,” he joked, adding, “There’s a lot of fast guys out here that are old.” 

He switched into Dad mode, acknowledging the advice of Folks who passed in 2017. 

“Heed Casey’s advice to do everything you can while you can,” Harden said. “Do it while you can because there might not be a next year. You’ll only remember the key memories and moments. You won’t remember the fancy cars or the nice house. Part of those memories will be on the back of a motorcycle.”

Sunday morning came with another dose of clear blue skies and perfect temperatures for those who showed up to the start of the 40-mile ride before a breakfast burrito brunch and departure. 

Matt Novak, another first-timer from Salt Lake City, showed up solo after none of the friends he invited took the bait and said the event was phenomenal and extremely organized. 

“But it’s not a cupcake ride,” he said. “It’s the real deal. I think after Day 1 I said, if you could ride that loop, you can ride about 80% anywhere in the United States, even Baja. It was pretty legit.” 

What a weekend to have in our motorcycle memory banks.

The 2024 Nevada 200 celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 19-21. 

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