Originally Posted by
markf
A van shuttle to Frisco would knock off 90+ miles and 6000+ feet of climbing, plus eliminate the need to ride over Loveland Pass with all the haz-mat trucks and oversize loads as well as the ride through Denver and the short stretch where you still have to ride on I-70. It would also put the OP in walking distance of at least 2 USFS campgrounds, a bunch of cheap hotels, a good bike shop and and a good supermarket, as well as a few wild camping options. It would also put the OP in cycling (or transit bus with bike rack) distance of 2 hostels and a couple more campgrounds. On the other hand, it would cost about $120 per person with the bikes. Not bad for the first night of the tour, IMHO.
On the other hand, they'd be missing riding over Loveland Pass and up the I-70 corridor. It may have a big road running through it but it's still damned pretty. And Loveland Pass is breath taking...literally and figuratively.
But your idea of using shuttles may be a good one. Tobias: The problem with the western US is that we are backwards. We don't belong to the rest of the developed world and we shun things like public transportation. For example, Greyhound's only goes to limited places and Amtrak goes to even fewer places. Where you want to go is off the beaten path and has even less service than major areas.
You could use airport shuttles (not cheap) to get you from some of the smaller Colorado towns to other smaller Colorado towns. The
St. George Shuttle, for example travels from St. George to Salt Lake City along I-15. You could visit Capitol Reef and then catch the shuttle at Beaver UT. There are some other shuttles that might be worth looking into as well.
The other issue is that Greyhound and Amtak require that you package your bike before you put them on the bus or train (so the the US airlines). It's dumb policy but that's what they do.