Originally Posted by
jbhowat
Hi folks. My girlfriend and I did a car-supported tour in and around Yellowstone, the Tetons, and E. Idaho last summer. We camped all but one night (there really wasn't a place to camp in Victor, ID IIRC).
We also did RAGBRAI last summer and are already planning to do it again this summer (I'm going to roll self-supported) as well as some one-day rides (Elephant Rock, Loveland CCBT).
The people we did Yellowstone with last year were a lot of fun and are thinking about doing a S. Colorado bicycle tour this summer. It will be too early for us to go, though (my school doesn't get out until a week later... all of us are teachers, so we all have summers packed with "fun" plans).
I asked my girlfriend if she would like to do something with just us since we won't be able to do the "teacher tour" this year. My time frame would be mid-late June.
We would be self-supported.
We would prefer to camp most nights if possible. 1 night out of 6-7 in a motel would be OK and possibly welcomed by the lady.
I think a good daily mileage to average would be about 50-60, less if we have a lot of serious mountain terrain. Realistically one big mountain pass is going to really tire out my girlfriend. One per day and hopefully every other day. I've done RtR so I am familiar with several passes.
We live just north of Denver (Thornton). We could start from there or farther south in Highlands Ranch where were family is.
I have been messing around with Google Maps, but I'm not sure which roads are good for bikes, what is scenic, etc.
Give me some suggestions. Starting in Denver Area and ending there as well. Out-and-back ok for segments, but would prefer a loop to mix-up the scenery.
Denver to Estes Park (day 1) over Trail Ridge to Grand Lake (day 2) and on to Kremmling (Day 3). From Kremmling you could go north to Steamboat over Rabbit Ears Pass and return over Gore Pass. (Day 4 and 5). Or you could go to Walden and come back over Cameron Pass to Fort Collins (Day 4, 5, 6) to Ft Collins (this tour would be rugged and a little remote but on good roads).
Or you could go south out of Kremmling to Dillion returning over Loveland Pass and along I-70.
If you want to do a mountain bike tour (a different kind of adventure but very doable), go up Coal Creek Canyon (not the best riding but it's okay) to Rollinsville. Go over Rollins Pass (there a little hike and bike over Needle's Eye Tunnel) to Winter Park. From Winter Park follow 4-bar-4 road over Ute Pass (there are several Ute Passes in Colorado
) to the Green Mountain Reservoir area (I don't have a good designation for the road but I can get it). Go south on CO9 to Dillion and on to Breckenridge. Follow the Boreas Pass road to Jefferson and then south to Tarryall Res. From there go south to Woodland Park (some road riding here) and then come down off the Rampart Range on Mt Herman Rd into Monument. Head north along CO105 or Douglas 18 to Castle Rock. You can go over to Franktown from Castle Rock and pick up Cherry Creek and the Platte Trails to get back home. It's more ambitious but very pretty. I did this route about 20 years ago.