Mountain - Plains - Colorado Mountain Routes

I finally finished torturing myself with a bathroom remodel.
I would like to take sometime riding up in the mountains before the weather turns sour.
Does anyone have a nice road route in the rockies easily accessible from denver ?
My only exclusion is no mountain biking. :p
Tour bikes and mountain trails......

Day trips or Overnight?

Mileage?

Gain?

I've been on the road here for only a few months but I know any of the classic mountain towns are surrounded by gorgeous passes and lonely two laners.

I always take the same tact when going someplace new, google the heck out of it and you will find something. When mountain biking it was 401 trail in Crested Butted, Government trail in Aspen, Angel Fire to Taos in NM, etc. etc. Someone always has a trip report or ride description about there favorite ride in "????." Then when I get in town I go to the local shop, get a locals map or just ask for advice. I have MB maps for every small town in CO it seems.

I am going down to Ouray in a few weeks for my wife's journey over Imogene Pass (running up and over a 13,400 ft pass, sounds like fun ...) My deal with her is I watch the kids while she runs and I get to spend the afternoon biking from Ouray to Silverton and back, we are spending an extra day so I will scout out at least two high alpine rides for when we are out there.

A couple of weeks ago I did the south east side of Dillion Res to Vail Pass and back, a fast 50 miles, 2,500 or so in gain, mostly empty MUP the entire route. Heck, that would be one of your daily commutes : )

And heck, there is always Mt Evans, Trail Ridge Road, Peak to Peak etc, nearby.

So to summarize, pick an area, google, dream, ride, remember.

I'd tell you to pick me up on your way out of town but you scare me with the mileage you rack up!

LOL! My commute is not that hard :p

It would be a day trip. Things are too difficult with a young kid and a wife that works on the weekend.

As for mileage: I guess it would depend on the grades. In the denver metro area I can ride something like 60 miles in one sitting pulling a trailer with a toddler in it. I have not a clue what this would translate into a ride alone.

I'm game for anything at least once :p

Thanks for the ideas :)

I'm planning on doing the Copper Triangle loop on Sept 16 --Start/Finish is the Copper Mtn parking lot, head to Leadville, then to Minturn, and through Vail back to Copper. 78mi, three passes. Fun stuff, and very doable (and popular).

This site has some routes: http://ecosports.com/ecosports/

But yeah, google the route and just go do it. I'll be happy to Topo routes for ya (I've got DeLorme installed), and heck, I'll go with ya---

I'm planning on doing the Copper Triangle loop on Sept 16 --Start/Finish is the Copper Mtn parking lot, head to Leadville, then to Minturn, and through Vail back to Copper. 78mi, three passes. Fun stuff, and very doable (and popular).

This site has some routes: http://ecosports.com/ecosports/

But yeah, google the route and just go do it. I'll be happy to Topo routes for ya (I've got DeLorme installed), and heck, I'll go with ya---

I might be interested in doing that ride. Need to see if I can get a hall pass from my wife first. I'd wanted to do the organized ride of that a few weeks back but was out of town (riding in CA). Are there good places to get water/snacks along the route when it isn't supported like during the organized ride? I know the route as far as Leadville, but don't know what the route is like between Leadville and Minturn.

Oooo.... Bikeforums ride in the mountains! :)

I might be interested in doing that ride. Need to see if I can get a hall pass from my wife first. I'd wanted to do the organized ride of that a few weeks back but was out of town (riding in CA). Are there good places to get water/snacks along the route when it isn't supported like during the organized ride? I know the route as far as Leadville, but don't know what the route is like between Leadville and Minturn.

Yeah I rode the organized ride a few weeks ago, and there are well placed water/snack stops (i.e. gas stations and the like). It's very doable self-supported....

Very cool. I think I may just do that route.
Plus, that may be something to do on labor day. For whatever reason, we never celebrate labor day.
That sounds like a blast. :)

That sounds like a great ride. I was just down in the area riding for a week mainly in the Boulder area. We did go out and did the Dillon to top of Vail Pass ride & back. I'll be moving to Aurora later this month. I look forward to getting involved in the cycling scene in the area.

I was in the Denver area for the weekend, no biking, just car sight seeing and mild walking. I was amazed at the number of bikers. They were everywhere. I am in awe in some of climbing I saw those people doing. Two guys were doing Hwy 36 through Rocky Mt. Nat'l Park. They were pounding it out. Then I realized we were at about 10k feet and they still had several miles to go just to make the summit. I could not imagine doing that. Also saw guys out on 285 around Fairplay, and on 9 near Brekinridge. Serious climbs all. Maybe some year I would be shape to try something like that. You guys rule.

Thought I would mention that I took my 3 year old son out with his trailer on a little father son bonding trip.
I loaded it up with my bike and headed to Frisco. The summit county trail system is quite nice IMHO.
While I am comfortable riding on roads and highways by my lonesome, I do not feel the same while pulling my kid in a trailer. So, we rode around the trails from vail pass to breckenridge. Very fun I must say.

Hey guys, I'm still planning on riding the Copper Triangle this Sat (16 Sept), anyone wanna meet up?

From Thornton there are many good rides to the north and northeast of you:
Crater Lake from Boulder Resevoir area, about 40 miles round trip.
Masonville from Boulder Res area, about 60 miles, great rural roads and can be done via Carter Lake.
Fort Lupton from Boulder area, go east on Weld County Rd 6 all the way to Ft Lupton.
Frederick from Boulder area, eat at Plaza Cafe, about 40 miles.
Platteville from Park and Ride at I-25 and Hwy 52, recommend Double Tree Restaurant, 37 miles.
Windsor from I-25 and Hwy 66, Egg and I a good place to eat, about 50 miles.
From Boulder ride up Left Hand Canyon to Jamestown or Ward, and on to Brainard Lake if you have any energy left. On any weekend you will have 100s of riders to accompany you on this ride, very popular and bike lanes on both sides of the roads.

Mileages are round trip. They can all be done mainly on good paved rural roads.

Hey guys, I'm still planning on riding the Copper Triangle this Sat (16 Sept), anyone wanna meet up?

I turned my 15 mile commute home into a 50 mile tour! :) I had to run down to pick up a set of handlebars, It was down by Mineral station, so I just kept going, hit the C-470 trail and rode it all the way around to Golden, then home via Colfax and Indiana. :) It was a GREAT ride... I'll be paying for it in the morning, though. :p

I'd be up for a ride, but I don't have a car right now, and I'm not about to bike all the way up there to go for a ride! :p (Ok, it's something I probably WOULD do if I had the time!)

From Thornton there are many good rides to the north and northeast of you:
Crater Lake from Boulder Resevoir area, about 40 miles round trip.
Masonville from Boulder Res area, about 60 miles, great rural roads and can be done via Carter Lake.
Fort Lupton from Boulder area, go east on Weld County Rd 6 all the way to Ft Lupton.
Frederick from Boulder area, eat at Plaza Cafe, about 40 miles.
Platteville from Park and Ride at I-25 and Hwy 52, recommend Double Tree Restaurant, 37 miles.
Windsor from I-25 and Hwy 66, Egg and I a good place to eat, about 50 miles.
From Boulder ride up Left Hand Canyon to Jamestown or Ward, and on to Brainard Lake if you have any energy left. On any weekend you will have 100s of riders to accompany you on this ride, very popular and bike lanes on both sides of the roads.

Mileages are round trip. They can all be done mainly on good paved rural roads.

Good info. Thanks
I was actually suprised how many cyclists are up north when I last rode to boulder. I never see anyone riding in Thornton. Apparently, I just needed to head north a bit.
This should give me a decent list of routes to try in the coming months.

thanks again

I was just staring at a photo from the top of Berthoud Pass and was wondering if they finished all of the construction yet and if that is a good route. Seems like it would be a great route since you should have a nice wide shoulder through all the switchbacks going up and it would be a screaming blast dropping into Winter Park.