Colorodo Climb Routes

I don't live in Colorado and have never ridden there, but I was in the Vail
region a couple of weeks ago on business. The place is absolutely
beautiful, and everywhere you look - whether you're in a bustling town/city
or way out in the mountains - there's a bicycle path. I'd imagine that
means there's some good mountain biking, too. Even if it's all just bike
paths (which I don't think it is) I would say there are some really nice
climbs and some extraordinary views to be enjoyed there.

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

Thanks Doug

I just finished a San Francisco to Milwaukee ride and can comment
briefly on CA and Utah, though I speak from the standpoint of one who
tried to minimize climbing:

My CA route had a steep climb on 121 of maybe 2000 feet from the Napa
Valley to Sacramento Valley. Then after going north to Marysville I
took 20 east through Grass Valley and Nevada City and beyond to where
it joins I80, then I80 over the Donner summit (7200 ft plus). There
were a lot of big ups and downs throughout, and plenty of opportunity
for more had I ranged north and south in the Sierras rather than east
into Nevada.

Going east from Salt Lake City, I wasn't allowed on I-80 in the
Wasatch foothills, and so had to take Emigrant Canyon Rd. Then near
the top of that climb, when I could have gone down and picked up I-80
I mistakenly continued north on East Canyon Road, which climbed to -
it seemed to me - not far below the peaks in the area, which were a
little under 9000 feet. Then I continued generally north on route 65,
with quite a bit of up and down including one short stretch steeper
than the referenced canyons.

Circa Fri, 31 Aug 2007 17:26:01 -0400, "Doug" <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

Thanks Doug

http://www.mtevans.com/Mount-Evans-Things-Bicycling.HTML

Ron Wallenfang said:

I just finished a San Francisco to Milwaukee ride and can comment
briefly on CA and Utah, though I speak from the standpoint of one who
tried to minimize climbing:

Quoted message said:

My CA route had a steep climb on 121 of maybe 2000 feet from the Napa
Valley to Sacramento Valley. Then after going north to Marysville I
took 20 east through Grass Valley and Nevada City and beyond to where
it joins I80, then I80 over the Donner summit (7200 ft plus). There
were a lot of big ups and downs throughout, and plenty of opportunity
for more had I ranged north and south in the Sierras rather than east
into Nevada.

Quoted message said:

Going east from Salt Lake City, I wasn't allowed on I-80 in the
Wasatch foothills, and so had to take Emigrant Canyon Rd. Then near
the top of that climb, when I could have gone down and picked up I-80
I mistakenly continued north on East Canyon Road, which climbed to -
it seemed to me - not far below the peaks in the area, which were a
little under 9000 feet. Then I continued generally north on route 65,
with quite a bit of up and down including one short stretch steeper
than the referenced canyons.

Ron, glad to hear you made and survived your ride. A longer TR would
be very welcome.

Bill

__o | Look to the past and remember no empire rises
_`\(,_ | that sooner or later won't fall.
(_)/ (_) | --Al Stewart

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Quoted message said:

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

If you're in it for sheer altitude, you want to go to Colorado. They
have plenty of very high roads, mostly through routes: Trail Rider,
Berthoud, Loveland, Independence, Monarch, and Wolf Creek Passes are all
over 11,000' (3300 m). Road conditions vary with the season, of course.
There's also Mosquito Pass, high like the rest but dirt, so fewer cars and
more of a trail bike experience. Some of these routes (Independence,
Trail Rider, and Loveland) are narrow and winding. Others, like Monarch
and Wolf Creek, are long, comparatively gentle grades on major highways,
mostly with good, wide shoulders.
Colorado also has the Mount Evans Highway, a steep, narrow, winding
road that's scary even in a car. My 1.7 liter four-banger barely made it
up. It ends up at 14,200' (4330 m) - the highest road in the USA. A
couple of cyclists at the summit saw my empty bike rack and promptly
begged me for a ride partway down.
Utah has more varied (i.e., not all alpine) terrain, with only a few
roads over 10,000'(3050 m), but lots of canyon and desert routes.

Bill

__o | The American fascist would prefer not to use violence.
_`\(,_ | His method is to poison the channels of public information
(_)/ (_) | --Henry A. Wallace

Quoted message said:

Ron Wallenfang said:

I just finished a San Francisco to Milwaukee ride and can comment
briefly on CA and Utah, though I speak from the standpoint of one who
tried to minimize climbing:
My CA route had a steep climb on 121 of maybe 2000 feet from the Napa
Valley to Sacramento Valley. Then after going north to Marysville I
took 20 east through Grass Valley and Nevada City and beyond to where
it joins I80, then I80 over the Donner summit (7200 ft plus). There
were a lot of big ups and downs throughout, and plenty of opportunity
for more had I ranged north and south in the Sierras rather than east
into Nevada.
Going east from Salt Lake City, I wasn't allowed on I-80 in the
Wasatch foothills, and so had to take Emigrant Canyon Rd. Then near
the top of that climb, when I could have gone down and picked up I-80
I mistakenly continued north on East Canyon Road, which climbed to -
it seemed to me - not far below the peaks in the area, which were a
little under 9000 feet. Then I continued generally north on route 65,
with quite a bit of up and down including one short stretch steeper
than the referenced canyons.

Ron, glad to hear you made and survived your ride. A longer TR would
be very welcome.

Bill

__o | Look to the past and remember no empire rises
_`\(,_ | that sooner or later won't fall.
(_)/ (_) | --Al Stewart

Bill -

Thanks for your interest and for your earlier advice. I'm working on
a long trip report but it will likely be a few weeks before I get it
posted. Essentially, the bottom line is 2131 miles, beginning in San
Francisco before dawn on Aug. 10 and reaching home in metro Milwaukee
at 1:00 p.m. Aug. 26. Aside from a short last day when I needed only
77 miles to get home, my worst daily mileage was 92 on Aug. 16, coming
up out of SLC to Evanston WY - shortened by an incorrectly perceived
absence of motels ahead - and my best day was 186 on Aug. 20, from
Douglas, WY to Gordon NEB. Going through WY and SD means that I've
now biked in all 48 contiguous states. I found a motel every night
but had two close calls for spending a night outside. I'm not a real
good climber and had to walk the bike up parts of three hills - one on
121 east of Napa; the other two on East Canyon Road east of SLC. But
I did the whole trip without any motorized transport. I got wet only
once, about 50 miles of riding in the rain in IA; two flat tires.

Ron

Ron Wallenfang said:

Quoted message said:

Ron Wallenfang said:

I just finished a San Francisco to Milwaukee ride and can comment
briefly on CA and Utah, though I speak from the standpoint of one who
tried to minimize climbing:
My CA route had a steep climb on 121 of maybe 2000 feet from the Napa
Valley to Sacramento Valley. Then after going north to Marysville I
took 20 east through Grass Valley and Nevada City and beyond to where
it joins I80, then I80 over the Donner summit (7200 ft plus). There
were a lot of big ups and downs throughout, and plenty of opportunity
for more had I ranged north and south in the Sierras rather than east
into Nevada.
Going east from Salt Lake City, I wasn't allowed on I-80 in the
Wasatch foothills, and so had to take Emigrant Canyon Rd. Then near
the top of that climb, when I could have gone down and picked up I-80
I mistakenly continued north on East Canyon Road, which climbed to -
it seemed to me - not far below the peaks in the area, which were a
little under 9000 feet. Then I continued generally north on route 65,
with quite a bit of up and down including one short stretch steeper
than the referenced canyons.

Quoted message said:

Ron, glad to hear you made and survived your ride. A longer TR would
be very welcome.

Quoted message said:

Bill

Quoted message said:

__o | Look to the past and remember no empire rises
_`\(,_ | that sooner or later won't fall.
(_)/ (_) | --Al Stewart

Bill -

Thanks for your interest and for your earlier advice. I'm working on
a long trip report but it will likely be a few weeks before I get it
posted. Essentially, the bottom line is 2131 miles, beginning in San
Francisco before dawn on Aug. 10 and reaching home in metro Milwaukee
at 1:00 p.m. Aug. 26. Aside from a short last day when I needed only
77 miles to get home, my worst daily mileage was 92 on Aug. 16, coming
up out of SLC to Evanston WY - shortened by an incorrectly perceived
absence of motels ahead - and my best day was 186 on Aug. 20, from
Douglas, WY to Gordon NEB. Going through WY and SD means that I've
now biked in all 48 contiguous states. I found a motel every night
but had two close calls for spending a night outside. I'm not a real
good climber and had to walk the bike up parts of three hills - one on
121 east of Napa; the other two on East Canyon Road east of SLC. But
I did the whole trip without any motorized transport. I got wet only
once, about 50 miles of riding in the rain in IA; two flat tires.

Ron

Whoops! That was 2313 miles

Good discussion ..

How about Durango vs. Denver areas? Both seem to have some good rides.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some
US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check
out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good
climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Quoted message said:

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

If you're in it for sheer altitude, you want to go to Colorado. They
have plenty of very high roads, mostly through routes: Trail Rider,
Berthoud, Loveland, Independence, Monarch, and Wolf Creek Passes are all
over 11,000' (3300 m). Road conditions vary with the season, of course.
There's also Mosquito Pass, high like the rest but dirt, so fewer cars and
more of a trail bike experience. Some of these routes (Independence,
Trail Rider, and Loveland) are narrow and winding. Others, like Monarch
and Wolf Creek, are long, comparatively gentle grades on major highways,
mostly with good, wide shoulders.
Colorado also has the Mount Evans Highway, a steep, narrow, winding
road that's scary even in a car. My 1.7 liter four-banger barely made it
up. It ends up at 14,200' (4330 m) - the highest road in the USA. A
couple of cyclists at the summit saw my empty bike rack and promptly
begged me for a ride partway down.
Utah has more varied (i.e., not all alpine) terrain, with only a few
roads over 10,000'(3050 m), but lots of canyon and desert routes.

Bill

__o | The American fascist would prefer not to use violence.
_`\(,_ | His method is to poison the channels of public information
(_)/ (_) | --Henry A. Wallace

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

There are plenty of easy ways to create loop rides in Colorado that go
over well traveled, as well as not so well traveled passes.

Just being lazy, I can point you to a book -
http://bicyclecolo.org/itemdetails.cfm?ID=310&catalogId=34

Some suggestions:

Start in the I70 corridor - west of Denver - and ride up and over
Loveland Pass (highway 6, not the tunnel on I70), then into Dillon. Take
the bike path from Dillon to Copper Mountain to go up highway 91 and
over Fremont Pass to Leadville, go back north on 24 over Tennessee Pass
to Vail and then the bike path over Vail Pass back to Frisco.

And/or ... from Frisco, take highway 9 over Hoosier Pass to Fairplay and
then to Buena Vista and over my favorite Pass - Cottonwood Pass (14
miles of dirt road, downhill from the summit) and go visit Crested
Butte. If you're fine riding on more dirt mountain roads - go west from
Crested Butte to highway 133 (end of dirt) and go north or south. I'd go
north to Glenwood Springs (just to see the place), but you could head
into Aspen and go over Independence Pass.

You could also leave Crested Butte on the road (the way you came in), go
back to highway 50 and ride east over Monarch Pass - not a ride I really
recommend, though.

Of all that, the quickest and best way to do many passes in a loop would
be from my first paragraph.

Like I said, Cottonwood Pass is a personal favorite (as is the town of
Crested Butte). Cottonwood Pass has very little traffic and an often
serene ride over 12,000+ feet with great scenery.

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is awesome.

There are ways to create a route involving Rocky Mountain National Park
and the "Steamboat Springs area" as well.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
*****************************

Doug said:

Good discussion ..

Quoted message said:

How about Durango vs. Denver areas? Both seem to have some good rides.

Durango is near Wolf Creek Pass ("way up on the Great Divide," famous
in the old C. W. McCall song), a major highway (US-160) but recently
upgraded over much of its length, one of those long, relatively gentle
routes I mentioned.
From Durango you could also do the very challenging "Million Dollar
Highway" north to Silverton and Ouray. You are in the San Juans here, one
of the greatest concentrations of alpine scenery anywhere. There are high
dirt roads, e.g. Engineer Pass, all over. More scenic than the Denver
area, and less congested. I have never been over the hill from Ouray
(pronounced "YOU-Ray" BTW) to Telluride, but I hear it's spectacular there
as well (if maybe a little "Aspeny"😉

Bill

__o | Hummer: 10 mpg
_`\(,_ | Bicycle: uses no oil at all.
(_)/ (_) | So, who are the patriots?

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

Thanks Doug

I spent four days in Golden, CO this summer and climbed Mt. Evans. As
someone else mentioned, it is > 14,000 feet, the highest paved road in
America. The notes from my riding record spreadsheet says

"Rode from Bergen Park west of Denver. Went up Squaw Pass Road until
I got to Echo Lake. Then I turned up Mt. Evans Rd. None of the climb
was really steep but the elevation peaked out at 14,000 ft. From just
under 12,000 ft on up I would periodically feel good and then bad."

It was 33 miles and about 8000 feet of climbing. I live in San Diego
so I'm used to the climbing but not the altitude. I was so nauseated
at the top that I hitched a ride down. It was 100 degrees in Golden
but at the top I had all my cold weather gear on. I did it on a
Saturday so there was a lot of motor traffic and a lot of cyclists. I
can't say it was dangerous, however.

Bottom line is, if I'm ever back in Denver I'll do it again.

Tom

Doug said:

if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you pick
Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ?

California. I think the mountains in California tend to me more "pointy". My
experience is that the Colorado mountains visible from paved roads tend to
more rounded, like overgrown hills -- exception is southwest Colorado. Maybe
you could get into more spectacular areas of Colorado if you get off the
paved roads.

Also California has greater variety in its non-mountainous riding. And
non-mountainous non-riding.

I'd want to go to California in late May or June (when there was still lots
of snow visible), soon after the passes opened. Some of the climbs I'd be
interested to try would be: Sonora Pass from the west, Tioga Pass from the
east (and continue riding into Tuolumne Meadows). Onion Valley (not a pass)
from Independence, perhaps Mt Whitney portal, perhaps the view from climbing
east from Big Pine toward the ancient bristlecone pines and White Mt,
perhaps riding some sections of Rt 395 along the east side of the Sierra
mountains between Bridgeport + Mt Whitney, or something around Death Valley,

I hear there's worthwhile climbs on the west side of the Sierra and near
the Bay area, but I've never spent much time there.

Quoted message said:

Been over all the French and Italian big passes

All ??
? Colle del Nivolet
? Colle dell'Agnello
? Finestre between Susa + Sestriere
? Gran San Bernardo and Col du Grand Ferret

Ken

Quoted message said:

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

Thanks Doug

I spent four days in Golden, CO this summer and climbed Mt. Evans. As
someone else mentioned, it is > 14,000 feet, the highest paved road in
America. The notes from my riding record spreadsheet says

"Rode from Bergen Park west of Denver. Went up Squaw Pass Road until
I got to Echo Lake. Then I turned up Mt. Evans Rd. None of the climb
was really steep but the elevation peaked out at 14,000 ft. From just
under 12,000 ft on up I would periodically feel good and then bad."

It was 33 miles and about 8000 feet of climbing. I live in San Diego
so I'm used to the climbing but not the altitude.

Hi Tom,

That got my attention. I may move to San Diego in the next couple of
years. I really don't want to leave the convenient mountain riding here
right out of Boulder, but all the same, San Diego may be where I will be
living in a couple of years. My first thought was that it's flat, but
you make it sound like there is a lot of climbing. Can you give me an
idea of how close the climbs are (to the immediate San Diego area) and
what nature of climbs they are (wooded mountains?, how high?, how
steep?, how long?).

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
The world is my country,
Science, my religion.
*****************************

Quoted message said:

Doug said:

Hi everyone .. thinking about a trip to Colorado next summer to ride some US
climbs. Been over all the French and Italian big passes, time to check out
the home front. Can anyone suggest some good resources for some good climbs
.. preferably loops, but that's not as important.

Also, if you were going to ride for about a week doing climbs, would you
pick Colorado, Utah, California, or Montana ? Or somewhere else?

Thanks Doug

I spent four days in Golden, CO this summer and climbed Mt. Evans. As
someone else mentioned, it is > 14,000 feet, the highest paved road in
America. The notes from my riding record spreadsheet says

"Rode from Bergen Park west of Denver. Went up Squaw Pass Road until
I got to Echo Lake. Then I turned up Mt. Evans Rd. None of the climb
was really steep but the elevation peaked out at 14,000 ft. From just
under 12,000 ft on up I would periodically feel good and then bad."

It was 33 miles and about 8000 feet of climbing. I live in San Diego
so I'm used to the climbing but not the altitude.

Hi Tom,

That got my attention. I may move to San Diego in the next couple of
years. I really don't want to leave the convenient mountain riding here
right out of Boulder, but all the same, San Diego may be where I will be
living in a couple of years. My first thought was that it's flat, but
you make it sound like there is a lot of climbing. Can you give me an
idea of how close the climbs are (to the immediate San Diego area) and
what nature of climbs they are (wooded mountains?, how high?, how
steep?, how long?).

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
The world is my country,
Science, my religion.
*****************************

In article <[email hidden]>,

Chuck Anderson said:

Hi Tom,

That got my attention. I may move to San Diego in the next couple of
years. I really don't want to leave the convenient mountain riding here
right out of Boulder, but all the same, San Diego may be where I will be
living in a couple of years. My first thought was that it's flat, but
you make it sound like there is a lot of climbing.

San Diego proper is generally pretty hilly, it's flat mesa
separated by steep river cut valleys and dry washes. There are
many short steep climbs and a couple longer ones. ( La Jolla ).

Quoted message said:

Can you give me an
idea of how close the climbs are (to the immediate San Diego area) and
what nature of climbs they are (wooded mountains?, how high?, how
steep?, how long?).

East of San Diego is a range of mountains that goes up to around
6K feet. It's been a while and I was mostly riding my MTB and
hiking when I lived there, but I'd guess the rides are a lot like
the Front Range Canyon rides. Point Google earth at Julian,
California to get some idea of the roads. East of these mountains
is a fairly steep drop back to near sea level and hot desert.

In a car it's about a hour up to Julian, but that's with no
traffic.

_ Booker C. Bense

Chuck Anderson said:

Quoted message said:

It was 33 miles and about 8000 feet of climbing. I live in San Diego
so I'm used to the climbing but not the altitude.

Hi Tom,

That got my attention. I may move to San Diego in the next couple of
years. I really don't want to leave the convenient mountain riding here
right out of Boulder, but all the same, San Diego may be where I will be
living in a couple of years. My first thought was that it's flat, but
you make it sound like there is a lot of climbing. Can you give me an
idea of how close the climbs are (to the immediate San Diego area) and
what nature of climbs they are (wooded mountains?, how high?, how
steep?, how long?).

Sorry it took a couple days to reply. Booker Bense's reply was pretty
accurate. San Diego is definitely not a flat place to ride (like
LA). It is a city built in the hills.

The rural riding is great and very hilly. From my limited experience
in Colorado I could say that the biggest difference (besides altitude)
is that in Colorado it's easy to find a 10-15 mile climb but the
climbing is generally not as steep. In rural SD County there are
probably only a dozen climbs that long but finding roads with long
sections of > 15% grade is probably easier.

Urban riding is also hilly, with some steep grades but in the city you
won't find climbs over a mile or so. There are also flat mesas where
you can get in a couple miles of flat riding before the road drops
off. (But riding with motorists around sucks).

Email me directly if you are interested in some specific routes.
Tom

Quoted message said:

Chuck Anderson said:

Quoted message said:

It was 33 miles and about 8000 feet of climbing. I live in San Diego
so I'm used to the climbing but not the altitude.

Hi Tom,

That got my attention. I may move to San Diego in the next couple of
years. I really don't want to leave the convenient mountain riding here
right out of Boulder, but all the same, San Diego may be where I will be
living in a couple of years. My first thought was that it's flat, but
you make it sound like there is a lot of climbing. Can you give me an
idea of how close the climbs are (to the immediate San Diego area) and
what nature of climbs they are (wooded mountains?, how high?, how
steep?, how long?).

Sorry it took a couple days to reply. Booker Bense's reply was pretty
accurate. San Diego is definitely not a flat place to ride (like
LA). It is a city built in the hills.

Sorry it took me over a week to reply .... but I thank you and Booker
for taking the time to address my questions. I really do appreciate it.
I'm sure I'll have time to visit before I end up moving there (if I do).
My immediate will very likely be moving to San Diego sometime before the
fall of next year and then I'll be compelled to move somewhere close by.

I think I'm going to miss the high elevations and the closeness of the
mountains where I live (my usual climb starts about a mile from my house
and others are only 4 or 5 miles before I am truly in the mountains.)
Hopefully, if I end up in or near San Diego, I'll find some rides to my
liking. As it is, I am virtually addicted to the riding here.

Quoted message said:

Email me directly if you are interested in some specific routes.

I'll keep that in mind if (when?) I go down there next year - even for a
visit. Thanks.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
Nothing he's got he really needs
Twenty first century schizoid man.
***********************************