Originally Posted by
valygrl
I don't like Cyccommutes' route (usually I do like his routes!) it maximizes hot/dry/busy areas and minimizes mountains. That road between Paonia and Delta straight-up sucks (traffic, ugly, dangerous) and the Mancos-Durango stretch will be brutally hot. Question: Is Crested BUtte to Panonia paved or dirt?
Try this one:
http://goo.gl/maps/9467
You do have to keep an eye on the Little Sand wildfire burning near Pagosa Springs though - you could do an end run around it through Alamosa/Chama/Dulce if needed. The Chama area is really nice.
I'm not sure whether Kebler Pass (Crested Butte to Panonia) is paved or not, although I can find information about the parts of it being paved. It is an old rail bed and is considered passable for passenger cars. It's also relatively short at 30 miles.
I haven't ever been on the Paonia/Delta road but I have driven US160 between Durango and Pagosa Springs and that road is 60 miles of very bicycle unfriendly road. There are ways around it but they take you a long way out of the way. US160 and the alternative routes would hardly be cooler than the Durango to Mancos route which is only 30 miles and then you head back into the mountains around Telluride.