Commuting - Commuter Moving to Colorado Springs

I'm an avid commuter her in Virginia but will be relocating to Colorado Springs soon. Any commuters from the Springs with advise? I will be living in Woodland Springs :eek: and working downtown.

Thanks

I'm an avid commuter her in Virginia but will be relocating to Colorado Springs soon. Any commuters from the Springs with advise? I will be living in Woodland Springs :eek: and working downtown.

Thanks

Get an oxygen tank! :D

woodland park? I think I envy you, but I work too far north.

I'm not sure about the roads, but you should be able to pick up some trails. I haven't checked out that area yet, but I see there was a ''proposed america the beautiful trail" which seems to run along side highway 24, which I think is the only route form woodland park to manitou springs, at least. You may be able to bike on the highway, I'm not sure. Once you get to manitou, you are set, but your ride home will be a hump, until you get acclimatized, that is, if you are fit. There is maybe (probably?) some bus action if you don't have the steam to make the ride home. This is beautiful country.

You may be able to patch together some side roads (woodland ave, el paso ave, ute pass ave, chipita park rd, manitou ave) as you work your way down from woodland park to green mountain falls, to cascade, to manitou springs to downtown.
You might luck out and find there is a fountain creek trail that you can hit.

The altitude mask is no joke. :) You will be descend from from 8400ft to 61000ft or so.

Good luck!

I don't think the descending part will cause her any problems. Climbing back up might not look so inviting at the end of the day. I've heard there's a good reason one of Colorado's big organized rides is called the "Triple Bypass".

I've done the ride up to Woodland Park from the Springs a couple of times. There is absolutely no one who does that ride as a commute. There are few people who do the ride at all. The highway is very narrow, through a canyon, between Manitou Springs and Green Mountain Falls. There is literally no shoulder in some spots, as the white line is just a few feet from a granite rock wall. In the places where the shoulder exits, there is sometimes gravel, and road debris.

There are other reasons you wouldn't want to commute that road. You would be moving with traffic in the morning..with the other 10,000 drivers coming down the pass, going to work. The upper part of the drive is wider, 2 lanes each side, with a large median. However, there are many entry/exit pullouts, and people are moving at about 65mph. You would be riding on the highway. I've done it. Its a little hairball.

I would recommend driving to Manitou Springs, park, get the bike out, then commute to Colorado Springs, about 10 miles. It would actually be about the same time on a bicycle as in a car, as it is slightly downhill the entire way, and the road speed limit is 30mph with plenty of stop lights. So you would make good time. Then the ride back to Manitou in the afternoon/evening would be pleasant.

That bike trail that runs parallel to hwy 24 is not yet completed. It doesn't go very far, maybe 1/2 mile. Slow progress, might be done in a couple years or so.

Enjoy all the trails. Get the Pikes Peak Atlas, and head up Gold Camp Road. You can literally ride 50 miles on singletrack, up to Cripple Creek if you want.

Thanks to everyone. The car to Manitou Springs and then the bike in sounds the best. I work inside at a desk all day so I need to unwind at the end :eek:

I am fairly fit but I'm sure the altitude may hit me a little. Good Ironman training I would assume :D

Keep in touch...we are slowly creating a CS bikeforums community. :)