Krispy

My fiancé and I just got approval for two weeks vacation time in September. It will be the first two weeks of the month. We’ve been talking about potential places to do a self supported tour and Colorado is high on our list. The route I have in mind starts in Durango and goes north on hwy 550 through Silverton, Ouray, and Ridgeway to Montrose. From Montrose east to hwy 149 and then hwy 149 south to hwy 160 through the towns of Lake City, Creed, etc to Pagosa Springs. From Pagosa Springs back west to Durango. I may modify and expand the route as well.

Now to my question: Will it be too late in the year to do this route by bike?
I’ve visited that area quite a bit in years past but it was usually mid to late July. I remember wearing winter clothes on some of the passes above 9,000 feet. In July in the mountains it could be sunny and warm one minute and the next it could rain, snow, or hail, and then 10 minutes later be sunny and warm again. Two years ago in first week of October I drove through that area in my car and they had just had a heavy snow. The plows had just cleared the passes and the temps were right at 32 F.
Anyone here familiar with that area? Should I be looking for a lower/ warmer route? Any advice would be appreciated.

eofelis 

I'm not sure of the weather in the high country of the San Jauns in Sept, but I'd assume you'd see some cold mornings and maybe some flurries.

I'm in Grand Junction and the weather is great in the high desert in Sept. If you need a warmer route try heading to Dallas Divide out of Ridgway (yes that is how it is spelled), west out of Placerville towards Norwood and Naturita, on to Gateway and then through Unaweep Cyn to Grand Junction. Hwy 50 from GJ goes back to Montrose. Hwy 50 is very busy, but has good shoulders to ride on.

We did this route a while back. You can camp along the San Miguel River past Placerville. We camped in the town park in Naturita and there is plenty of public land around Gateway. Hwy 141 into Gateway goes through the fantastic Canyon of the Dolores River. There is a good spring along there, look for large rocks making a parking area on left.

SRS

The route you have outlined is great. I've done this route a few times in September without tour ending weather problems. I've encountered sun, wind, rain, hail, snow - all within an hour - and it's been fine and that is what makes it an adventure. It's a beautiful ride with some wonderful climbs. As you have noted, the weather can run from warm and sunny to snow and wind, but, this is true of any month in the high country. You need to be ready to handle all of the possibilities. The good news regarding snow is that the road surfaces will still be warm so any snow that falls will melt off quickly.

Do you plan to camp all the time or have a mix of camping and motels?

The ride from the top of Red Mountain Pass to Ouray is about 13 glorious miles. The last 6 miles into Ouray are in a steep-walled canyon. Rocks, at times, come off the canyon walls and are in the road. As you zip down the hill be ready to adjust your course. This may entail taking the lane so that you have room to maneuver.

The approximately 60 miles on Rt 160 from Pagosa Springs to Durango is very heavily traveled by cars and trucks. You might consider a few alternate routes. You can swing south on Rt 84 and take Rt 64 west toward Igancio then continue northwest to Bayfield and Durango. Another option (fairly popular) is to take Rt 160 west from Pagosa Springs for about 18 miles and then pick up Rt 151 through Arboles and on to Ignacio. There is much less traffic on this route (though you will 'enjoy' 18 miles of Rt 160). You can avoid Rt 160 from Bayfield to Durango by going north from Bayfield on CR 501 and then take CR 240 (Florida Rd) into Durango. Again, much less traffic.

Departing northbound from Durango, I'd suggest taking County Rd 250. This keeps you off Rt 550 for 15 miles or so and allows to ride a nice, quiet county road. Also, there is a wonderful bakery at the corner of Florida Rd (County 240) and CR 250.

Krispy

Yes, we'll be packing our winter riding gear as well.

We plan to mostly camp but every once in a while a motel or cabin is nice.


The alternate routes sound like a good idea. Thank you!

cyccommute 

Early September is usually a good time of year to do stuff in the mountains. September is usually one of our drier months. As you go later in the fall, things can get dicey. There are occasional hickups and this year has been goofy weatherwise. You should be okay since you seem to be prepared.

mtbikerjohn 

You must be talking about "Bread"...Fantastic place,with friendly folkes running it and lots of bikes usually parked outside..I recommend the chocolate croisants...Last year around this time,I was Spending a wonderful 3 day backpack and was "stuck" on Molas Pass,by about a foot and a half of fresh snow...Oh well,thats Colorado for you...The OP picked a decent route tho..very pretty

SRS

In Silverton I can recommend the Teller House Hotel. It's a unique place to stay. There is a USFS campground - South Mineral - a few miles north of Silverton. The access road is dirt/gravel - typical USFS forest road.

In Ridgway, you can camp at the Ridgway State Park but you'll probably have company of RV's.

There are a number of campgrounds along the north shore of Blue Mesa Reservoir. I'm not sure about the water situation at the campgrounds. You need to contact the controlling authority. It might be the BLM but I'm not sure.

There are very few services between Montrose and Gunnison. I can only think of one Conoco station that is on the south side of the road in Cimarron. It might be good to plan on bringing all your food and water for that section of the ride. The last time I rode that section of Rt 50, the proprietor of the Conoco was baking pies every day. Yummy!.

I can't remember any services between the turn off for Rt 149 and Lake City.

eofelis 

We camped in Ridgway State Park on our tour. Bikes can get in the park for free. Ask for a walk-in campsite on Dakota Ridge. It was $12/night, great view! There were good showers there. It is a nice park. They seemed to be bike-friendly. Ride the bike path into town from the Park.

There are some RV parks along Blue Mesa Res. and a nice Restaurant right on the lake.

Between Montrose & Gunnison there are a couple of small stores in the Cimmaron area so getting water won't be a problem. There is also a picnic area and museum (?) and a small campground at the foot of the climb to Cerro Summit (heading west). We met another guy there touring on a 'bent with a Bob, heading the other way. We had our lunch together.

Krispy

Thank you everybody for the wonderful suggestions. I’ll definitely take these notes with me on our tour. Now let me throw another possible variable into the route. I was also thinking of possibly splitting the tour between the mountains in Colorado and the desert in Moab UT. We’d still do hwy 550, Silverton, Ouray, etc but instead of looping eastward toward Creed we’d go westward toward Moab. Does anyone have any experience on the roads going west toward Moab?
I know if I take the north route from Fruita there would be about 30 miles on I-70 before turning south at Cisco. I’ve heard of a few people doing it on a tour bike but what are the laws concerning a bicycle on the interstate in that area? What about the roads going west From Ridgway, hwy 90 which turns into hwy 46 in Utah?

Thanks again for all your suggestions.

SRS

To go to Moab from Ridgway, I would go west from Ridgway toward Placerville and Telluride rather than continuing north toward Grand Junction. The most direct route goes through Norwood and Naturita and then on to Moab. A longer alternative is to go over Lizard Head Pass and on to Dolores. From Dolores you can head northwest to Moab via Dove Creek and Monticello. These roads have low traffic counts especially the one that goes through Naturita. The change in topography as you head west from Placerville toward Moab is quite dramatic.

When you're in Placerville you might enjoy a side trip to Telluride, however, the road from Placerville into Telluride is not the most bike friendly but it can be done. Telluride is a beautiful spot so it may be worth the slight detour.

Do you have the Colorado Bicycle Map? It's a pretty good map that shows approximate traffic volumes, shoulder widths and other information. Many states have them and I'd rate Colorado's bike map as above average. Wyoming and Oregon both have very good bicycle maps. Here is a web address for an organization called Bicycle Colorado. Look in the left hand column of the home page and click on "Riding in Colorado". You'll find a button for "Free Information Packet". Click that and you can request the Colorado Bicycle Map along with some other information.

https://bicyclecolo.org/

You can ride the interstates in most western states except where specifically prohibited. In those instances, there is almost always a parallel road or path that is better for bikes. Generally, I prefer to be off of the interstate but in some cases there is no good alternative. I rode about 40 miles on I-84 between Mountain Home, ID and Boise, ID. The shoulders were extra wide and the grades always easy but the whine of truck tires gets old after awhile.

Krispy

Thanks for the suggestion! I ordered the map and the book and hope to have them by Monday.

So far my Plan A route is to do a loop in the San Juan Range. As the time for the start of the tour nears we could switch to Plan B if the weather is predicted to be bad. Plan B would be to head for Moab. Plan C would be to do at least part of the San Juan Mtns. and then go toward Moab. This would give us quite a bit of flexability and I don't think we would be disappointed with any of the scenery no matter which plan we take. Any of it is better than sitting at my desk in this office!

Anyone have any suggestions on parking places in either the Durango area or the Fruita/Grand Junction area? Some place where my car won't be ticketed, towed, or stolen if it's parked there for two weeks.