flyefisher

I live in the Northeast but may have to relocate for work. We are quite spoiled here as far as the quantity of back roads meaning hours of peaceful riding without tons of cars.

Denver has a great cycling community, but having visited there last year it seemed like a real 'big city' place. I'm wondering how the surroundings are as far as number of roads, quality etc. for road cycling.

Also - are there any weekly training races in the Denver area?

DaveSSS 

Check out the many rides under "road rides".

https://www.teamevergreen.org/

There are many miles of paved bike path, but who wants to ride on those? Not me. The mountains are very challenging and a lot more fun. The only way to get into the mountain easily is to live near them. I ride about 11 miles from my home in Highlands Ranch to Wadworth & Deer Creek Canyon Road. From there, it's only a few more miles before the real climbing starts. Most people drive to the intersection to start their ride, but I'm try to avoid a 20 mile round trip and loading/unloading my bike twice, just to get in ride. From that start point, you can ride all the way to the top of Mt. Evans or over to Idaho Springs.

https://www.bicyclerace.com/history.php

If you live toward the east side of the metro, you'll be driving a long way to get in a scenic ride.

There are some weekly race training rides, but riding laps around an office park isn't my thing.

https://www.americancycling.org/resul...mtevans/sm.htm

valygrl

surroundings are great but the city isn't peaceful. do try to live on the west side as close to the mountains as possible. Golden is good too - right on the edge of the mountains, but not too far from the city.

another club to check out, with a long distance focus:
www.rmccrides.com

there are weekly training races I think one is called the Meridian crit (I"m not a racer so that's about all I know) and there are eleventy billion race teams/clubs.

here's a race org:
https://www.americancycling.org/Default.aspx

hocker

I can't believe what I am reading, neither of you live in the city...geesh.

I live near downtown (LoHi) and the riding is stellar. I can get up Lookout Mtn (1500 ft of climbing over 4.8 miles) on my bike from my doorstep after work. The city IS peaceful! It is a great city and I have lived in Portland, Seattle, DC, Boulder, Ann Arbor...Denver is great, but you have to live in it. Do NOT move to the suburbs. I have four after work training options that I do regularly (no driving needed) where I can get in hills, flats, rollers, intervals, etc., and are all linked by a fantastic, bike-friendly MUP. You can link the MUP up to Deer Creek and do Highgrade (epic). If MUPs aren't your style then you many other options as well like 32nd Ave to Lookout, then you have about a hundred options for an epic ride. Oh, I ride my bike to the Meridian crits, from my house...you can't beat that.

There are ton of races and clubs, meet up groups, etc,. Again, move into the city, do not waste your time in the burbs...Highlands Ranch...puh-leeze.

valygrl

Okaaaaay... sorry. I was trying to be helpful, and responding to this, which I did not believe to be possible in the city.

"quantity of back roads meaning hours of peaceful riding without tons of cars."

hocker

Oops. Gotcha! On Fridays I get a dark chocolate cappuccino from the shop downstairs...makes me a little jittery and dense. Anyways, I may ride (sans dark chocolate cap) with the Sports Garage group this Sunday and go up to Ward...very peaceful indeed.

bryceepoo

I have 2 words for you: Foot Hills

There are more miles of country roads than you'll ever want just 10 miles out of true downtown Denver. Be prepared for a lot of climbing though. Practically every ride will have some strenuous climbing unless you head east, and then you'll just end up riding in the rolling hills with winds most days.

There are 2 weekly "training crits" in the area. One is in the south end of the DTC (basically south Denver) and the other is more organized (but costs $15) on a great closed course right in Golden. Check out https://www.americancycling.org/ for all the racing info in the state for the most part.

Hope to see you around soon!

DaveSSS 

To each his own. You couldn't pay me to live in the city. My wife drives up to 17th and Lawrence in about 35 minutes in the morning. I'm retired so I ride while most folks are working.

It's 10.7 miles from my house to Deer Creek and Wadsworth. I can be there in 30-35 minutes, riding easy. How far from your house?

MUPs? No thank you. I avoid them at all cost. I have to ride 1 mile of MUP each way to get in and out of Chatfield. The rest of my ride is on wide shouldered roads with moderate traffic.

dark13star

Another vote for live in the city, ride in the foothills. I am originally from New England, and the riding out here makes all that pale in comparison. That said, Denver is a great town and by being in the city, we don't drive much at all. Bike, walk, bus, or cab are all options. Plenty of restaurants and everything within a few blocks of my house, and yes, you can have a house right in the center of the city. We have 5 fruit trees and two vegetable gardens in a nice urban neighborhood.

Velodad

Just to let you know, there is an indoor velodrome in Bolder. Even if track riding isn't your thing, it's better than the trainer come winter.

flyefisher

Not sure where in New England you were, but southern RI and eastern CT are gorgeous. Most of New England is pretty rural but if you live in and around Boston, Hartford, New Haven or Providence the riding sucks pretty bad. Drive 20 miles outside of any city and it's lovely. That's why I live 20 miles south of Providence. But the economy is drying up here little by little as the high-taxation, anti business climate has driven unemployment levels to all-time highs. If you drill down on a map there are so many roads due to the history. I know places like Florida suck because there aren't many roads and most don't have much shoulder. Or then in the south and parts of the midwest you run into the angry rednecks in pickup trucks who get a rise out of buzzing any guy riding a bike in tights. A teammate of mine races at Fort Lewis college and he complained about that outside of Durango. I know the riding community is big there, I just was wondering about the roads etc. Last year I visited after being away (I'm a Boulder alumni) since 1995. The place is so freaking big now and so my experiences riding around Boulder then must be different now. Lots more congestion. I have no problem with climbing at 5'11" 153 pounds. Sounds like you have to live near the mountains. We visited Longmont area when we were there. That was super nice.

dark13star

I've ridden all over New England, but mostly in CT. I did a lot of riding while at UCONN for two degrees and we went north to VT a lot. The riding in New England is good. The riding in CO just surpasses it, in my opinion. We can also ride all winter long down on the plains.

The economy out here is not great right now, but it is certainly better than most places. The taxes and general cost of living are crazy low compared to New England too.

I hope the move works out for you.