Mountain - Plains - Riding from Boulder to Golden/Lookout Mountain?

I live in Boulder and really want to do the lookout mountain climb. But driving down there seems kind of ridiculous. Has anyone figured out a good route down to Golden, and especially lookout mountain?

Just about your only route would be to ride down 93. It's not a bad ride as long as you do it during low traffic. I've done it a couple times.

Yeah, it's a problem! I've done 93 a few times, but it sucks.

The Rocky Mtn Cycling Club has a route that goes from Boulder to get to Coal Creek Canyon, it goes out east, it adds a lot of miles, and cuts of the worst of 93, but not all of it:

Cherryvale
E on Marshall Dr
S on McCaslin
E on 128
S on Simms
W on W100th (follow around/name changes)
S on Indiana
W on 72/Coal Creek
then you get to 93.

You could modify this and stay east longer (not turn on 72), but since I haven't done it, I don't have anything to recommend. Hopefully someone further south will chime in with a recommendation.

I'll be checking in on this thread, I'm looking for a better route myself!
:)

valygrl has it correct.
If you want to continue s on Indiana, you can turn on Leyden Rd. to 93.
..or Leyden Rd. to Quaker and s to 64th to 93
..or Quaker to 64th to s Easley Rd to 60th to 93.
Riding across the 'flats is taking your life in your hands.
I drive to Marshall to ride in Boulder and points north.

Why not drive to 72/93. There is a parking area on the SE corner.
Do Lookout Mt. from there.
93 south from there has good shoulder all the way to Lookout.
Going south you have the gravel pit hill.
Coming back you have the gravel pit hill and the dump hill.
Actually makes a ride out of it.

WHY??? So much better riding in Boulder - and the shaded spots can be hazardous and icy now. And the traffic/drivers on 93 are really nasty, fast and loud.

Lookout Mtn is cool but if you're already in Boulder...Baseline to the top of Flagstaff is a GREAT ride too, especially the return leg :-)

WHY??? So much better riding in Boulder - and the shaded spots can be hazardous and icy now. And the traffic/drivers on 93 are really nasty, fast and loud.

I mostly just wanted to do a new ride; something in between the grade of Lefthand Canyon and Flagstaff.

Have you ridden any of the stuff north of here? Kind of a long ride to get up there, but excellent climbing
Rist, Stove Prairie, Devil's Gulch

And of course right here - Sunshine, Lee Hill, SuperJames

Also south
Golden Gate, Coal Creek

...
S on Simms
...
:eek::eek::eek:
I rode Simms once, and will never do it again!
93 is a hell of a lot safer.
93 has a generous bike lane except for the 1 mile stretch along Rocky Flats, the hill just South of the Eldorado Market.

What's the grade comparison between Lefthand and other hills around town, namely Flagstaff? Waiting for it to get warm again to do the good climbs again.

Yeah, the weather is lovely today, -9 on my back porch right now.

So, off the top of my head, from memory of looking at my Garmin %:

LHC - mostly 6-8%, with maybe 13% for a little of that last mile to Ward.
Flag - bottom mostly 8%, with the "SuperFlag" part above the amphitheater getting up to maybe 16% for about 1/4 mile, with maybe a mile total of 10-12%.
Lee Hill - up to 12%
Jamestown 3-7%
SuperJames short section of 15%, lots of 8-10%
Sunshine - lots of 8% with some 12%
Coal Creek - lots of 5%, couple miles of 8%
Golden Gate - lots of 6-8%, a few .5-1 mile sections of 12% at the top
Lookout - I've only done this a few times, I think it's mostly around 8%, not too steep
St. Vrain - lots of 3% a few sections of 6-8%

I concur w/ VG except:
- LHC (per my GPS) is 4-5% until the end where it peaks at 12%.
- Flagstaff starts at 12% on the initial leg, then mostly 6% to the amphitheater, then does indeed do 16% after the two hairpin turns, then a couple 12% sections before the ridge.
- Lookout ~6%.

What's SuperJames? If this is the road above Jamestown is the gravel surface much of a problem? TIA.

I learned the hard way last summer.:eek:

I decided to ride through Jamestown all the way to Peak-to-Peak.
I never saw more than 9% on the Garmin to Jamestown.

Between Jamestown and Peak-to-Peak the grade damn near killed me, and then I got to that washboard gravel crap.
I don't recall the grade, but I could probably dig it up from the GTC history.
Let's just say I don't have any plans to do it again.

What's SuperJames? If this is the road above Jamestown is the gravel surface much of a problem? TIA.

Yes, SuperJames is continuing past Jamestown - there's about another 5 miles of paved road, which becomes quite significantly steep, then after a short descent (false summit) it turns to hardpack dirt, which is OK to ride on a regular road bike. The dirt part is rolling, mostly up, with a couple of very short moderately steep sections, and no bad descents. Sometimes it's washboard-y, and I haven't tried it after a lot of rain, but it's fine in summer. Nice alternative way to get up to the Peak to Peak, or just extend to the end of the pavement and turn around.