suggestions?

"tower" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:ff8c518d-8198-422d-bac5-239187fdb6a5@f52g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
> booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
> Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
> looking for suggestions...
>
> We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
> be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
> that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
> Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
> in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
> to me.
>
> Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
> heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
> ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
> since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
> like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.
>
> Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
> reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
> anything else that factors into this week of fun.
>
> Tower

Unless you like high heat (thus carrying tons o water) I'd avoid Fruita, GJ
and Moab in July. There's great mountain riding (cooler temps) near Denver
west to Vail and really great stuff in the SW corner of CO (Durango,
Ridgway, T-ride, Gunnison, etc.) Of course a lot of this riding is at high
elevations (>8000 feet) and you'll think your lungs are going to explode but
the rides are usually worth it.

great trail in T-ride is Wilson's Mesa (start at Woods Lake and go east for
an out and back of 25 miles)
great trail in/out of Ridgway is Dallas Creek Trail (start at Box Factory
Park and head east, 29 miles one way, ~6000 feet of climbing but you'll end
up in Ouray at the hot springs to soak away the pain and then catch dinner
in Ridgway at the Adobe Inn)
Durango....too many to list (not that I've done that many)
Gunnison- ping Mattb for suggestions but I'm sure he'll chime in. I keep
hearing that the Monarch trail is great but I alway seem to bring rain on
that ride so have never done it)

You've got plenty of time to plan.
Gary

tower wrote:
> My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
> booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
> Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
> looking for suggestions...
>
> We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
> be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
> that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
> Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
> in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
> to me.
>
> Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
> heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
> ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
> since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
> like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.
>
> Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
> reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
> anything else that factors into this week of fun.
>
> Tower

Yeah, The Crest should be nice, and then you are pretty close to
Gunnison (about 40 Miles from the summit of Monarch pass) and Crested
Butte (about 30 Mi from Gunnison) which have some great riding. Hartman
Rocks in Gunnison is a good intro to altitude with no really long climbs
but plenty of shorter (sub 500') ones. It might be hot by my standards
that time of year, but 85 is hot to us here.
Crested Butte is full of great and famous rides. There's also some good
stuff between Gunnison and CB.
As Gary said, it will be really hot in the lower desert (GJ, Fruita, and
Moab) and I'd stay away from those places that time of year.

Have fun!

Matt

tower wrote:
> My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
> booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
> Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
> looking for suggestions...
>
> We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
> be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
> that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
> Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
> in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
> to me.
>
> Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
> heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
> ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
> since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
> like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.
>
> Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
> reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
> anything else that factors into this week of fun.

You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
more hotel rooms and restaurants. Also, depending on you and your
wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
and points west.
Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year. Plus it's high,
cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding

Shawn

P.S. I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
(one time he was there too). Believe the locals when they tell you to
ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
1:00 every afternoon).

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew


>
> You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
> more hotel rooms and restaurants.  Also, depending on you and your
> wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
> for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
> and points west.
> Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
> sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
> Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
> that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year.  Plus it's high,
> cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding
>
> Shawn
>
> P.S.  I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
> (one time he was there too).  Believe the locals when they tell you to
> ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
> 1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

tower wrote:
> Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
> in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
> summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
> me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.
>
> I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
> friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
> won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
> more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
> riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
> both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
> forward to it!
> Drew

I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.

Greg

>
>
>> You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
>> more hotel rooms and restaurants. Also, depending on you and your
>> wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
>> for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
>> and points west.
>> Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
>> sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
>> Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
>> that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year. Plus it's high,
>> cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding
>>
>> Shawn
>>
>> P.S. I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
>> (one time he was there too). Believe the locals when they tell you to
>> ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
>> 1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>

G.T. wrote:
> tower wrote:
>> Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
>> in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
>> summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
>> me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.
>>
>> I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
>> friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
>> won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
>> more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
>> riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
>> both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
>> forward to it!
>> Drew
>
> I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
> restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
> http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.
>
> Greg
>

If you like (and can afford) fancy hotels, you will have several choices
in CB. There's also lots of shopping if she's a shopper.

Matt (more of a camper than a shopper myself)

On Dec 27, 1:35 pm, MattB <[email protected]> wrote:
> G.T. wrote:
> > tower wrote:
> >> Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
> >> in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
> >> summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
> >> me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.
>
> >> I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
> >> friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
> >> won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
> >> more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
> >> riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
> >> both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
> >> forward to it!
> >> Drew
>
> > I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
> > restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
> >http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.
>
> > Greg
>
> If you like (and can afford) fancy hotels, you will have several choices
> in CB. There's also lots of shopping if she's a shopper.
>
> Matt (more of a camper than a shopper myself)



I'm half-shopper, on my mother's side.

JD

On Dec 27, 1:02 pm, "G.T." <[email protected]> wrote:
> tower wrote:
> > Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
> > in the car but I do like to wander a bit.  I've ridden Moab in the
> > summer so I know what the heat can be like.  It doesn't really bother
> > me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.
>
> > I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
> > friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
> > won't be riding but most likely will hike.  I have been off my bike
> > more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
> > riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
> > both the lungs and the butt.  I can't tell you how much I'm looking
> > forward to it!
> > Drew
>
> I'd say focus on Crested Butte.  Endless hiking and riding and some fun
> restaurants.  You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.
>
> Greg
>
>
>
>
>
> >> You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
> >> more hotel rooms and restaurants.  Also, depending on you and your
> >> wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
> >> for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
> >> and points west.
> >> Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
> >> sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
> >> Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
> >> that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year.  Plus it's high,
> >> cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding
>
> >> Shawn
>
> >> P.S.  I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
> >> (one time he was there too).  Believe the locals when they tell you to
> >> ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
> >> 1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks for everyone's suggestions/responses. I'll be taking them into
account in the planning. I am thinking I'll try to find one beginner
trail and bike rental to take my wife on her first ride. I figure I
owe her that much for planning the trip.