NEVADA 200 TRAILRIDE - Fun, Fellowship and Epic Trails

Scot Harden Photo by Miguel Santana

By Scot Harden

The Nevada 200 Trailride was co-founded by Casey Folks and Scot Harden, lifelong friends, business partners, racing enthusiasts and riding buddies. 37 years ago, Casey and I established an event that has since grown into legendary status. We marked a date on the calendar that assured we would get together at least once a year to ride and enjoy off-road motorcycling as we had done growing up together in Las Vegas. In the 37 years since, The Nevada 200 Trailride has brought together thousands of riders from all over the U.S., and world for that matter. It’s had an economic impact of over $700,000 on rural Lincoln County, Nevada, raised over $50,000 for the local community of Caliente, NV, and opened thousands of miles of trails for off-road recreation. It is rated the “Best Trailride in America” by Dirt Bike Magazine and is a bucket list event for countless off-road motorcycle enthusiasts. Today it is co-promoted by Scot Harden and Daryl Folks. The following story is told by Scot Harden, in his own words about what the event means to him as we emerge from COVID lock down and look towards the future.

Fun, Fellowship and Epic Trails

37 years ago, my motorcycling career was really taking off. Everything I had dreamed of accomplishing as a young boy, winning Baja overall, medaling at Six Days, racing rallies in Africa, starting a business career in powersports - had come to fruition. The year was 1985, a year that I would win the Baja 500 overall once again, as well as several other big off-road events.

On the business side, I was entering my third year as a District Sales Manager for Husqvarna Motor Company, a highly respected company that was staffed by some of the best and brightest our industry ever produced. My boss was industry legend, Mark Blackwell, who along with guys like Dick Burleson, Terry Cunningham, Mike Melton and Larry Roeseler, were fellow colleagues. They joined a talented and dedicated group of sales, parts, technical and administrative support professionals to form a highly functional business unit. And then there were the Husqvarna dealers – some of

the best, and certainly some of the most proud and passionate powersports retailers I have ever met or known. Husqvarna Motor Company, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, was a very special place to work. Located in San Diego, it was like one big family.

I was living the “California Dream” as they say. My wife, Kristi, and I purchased our first home that year, and just two years prior, we had our first son, Brent. I was indeed extremely blessed, and life would have been absolutely perfect, except for one small thing.

I missed home. I missed my friends, family, and most importantly, of all my riding

Scot Harden and his Husky Photo by Miguel Santana

Grant Langston on the trail Photo by Miguel Santana

buddies from my native Las Vegas, the city where I was born and raised. Ever since moving to California in 1982 to work for Husqvarna, I yearned for the long weekend desert trail rides of exploration I would go on with my friends, especially my good friend Casey Folks.

Many will connect Casey’s name as the founder of Best In The Desert, the world class off-road racing organization he established, but Casey was also the owner of Sportsman Cycle, the first Husqvarna and Penton dealership in Las Vegas. Sportsman Cycle was one of my early sponsors, a mecca for local racers and my home away from home as a teenager growing up in Las Vegas. Between the two of us there is a mountain of personal history and a deep connection to Southern Nevada and the special moments and experiences we shared exploring the mountains and desert surrounding Las Vegas on long weekend trail rides. Since moving to California in early 1982, I desperately missed those moments and longed for a way to remain connected.

Out of this longing, the Nevada 200 Trailride was born. You see, the Nevada 200 was a trick I played to make sure Casey and I (no matter how busy our schedules got) made time each year to get together and go riding. It forced us to set a date and time where we would meet and ride. Our favorite riding area north of Las Vegas in remote Lincoln County would 64 DirtVenture

Chow time Photo by Miguel Santana

Ride along with Scot Harden on Day 2 of the Nevada 200

Taking a break on top of the world Photo by Miguel Santana

serve as our destination. To ensure that we couldn’t back out at the last minute or cancel, we invited 20 or so friends that first year to meet and ride with us in Caliente, Nevada.

In May, 1985, the Nevada 200 Trailride was born and over the 37 years since has grown to become one of the most anticipated events for riders on the off-road calendar. Participants enjoy three days of mixed riding, all on handpicked routes chosen by Daryl Folks and me after decades of exploring the endless trails surrounding Caliente. Friday is a shorter half-day ride, Saturday is a full 100-mile day, and Sunday is another half day. Each day brings a different blend of fast sand washes, woodsy trails, flowing desert single track, tighter rocky trails, some water crossings, and open desert terrain. Day Two, in particular, treats riders with incredible single track through a high desert forest, eventually leading to an open landscape where a lucky few may glimpse a herd of wild horses running in the distance. It’s not a desert race or a hard enduro, it’s a trail ride – exactly as the name implies. You can stop and rest whenever you wish, take photos of the scenery, and just ride whatever pace you feel.

For many it has achieved “bucket list” status, an event drawing riders from all over the U.S. and even overseas. The 37th Annual Motion Pro Nevada 200 Trailride was held April 16th – 18th, 2021, and I’m very happy to report still fulfilled its original mission, putting a date on the calendar for like-minded friends, family members and industry associates to meet and ride. The only difference was that approximately 160 riders showed up to share in the camaraderie, along with a number of the industry’s leading manufacturers and aftermarket companies including the AMA. Since Casey’s passing in 2017,

Photo by Miguel Santana

I co-promoted the event with Casey’s son, Daryl, with his company TRAC-ON, as my partner.

The 2021 event drew some of the biggest names in motorcycling including four AMA Hall of Famers, an FIM World Road Racing Champion, Kevin Schwantz, an FIM World Motocross and U.S. Supercross Champion, Grant Langston, 13-time AMA Off-Road and GNCC Champion, Rodney Smith, and living Baja and Mint 400 legends, Jack Johnson and Max Switzer. These legends added immensely to the event and gave the other 160 riders, who joined in, a great group to bench race with.

“Revival” would be an appropriate word to describe the Nevada 200 Trailride because that’s just what it is: a “revival” of the shared experience that makes off-road motorcycling such an important part of my life and the lives of countless others.

For more information on the Nevada 200 Trailride, visit www.harden-offroad.com.

Shown left to right: Ron Williams, Grant Langston, Kevin Schwantz, Rodney Smith and Scot Harden Photo by Miguel Santana

Photo by Miguel Santana