Denver-area newbie question
 

Hi everyone. First post. I'm sure many of you Denver folks are familiar with this map of urban bike trails that was in the Denver Post last year: link. I live in Broomfield and I'm thinking of taking part of the South Platte River Greenway to downtown. I see that there's a path that links up to it starting at about Pecos and 96th ave maybe? Do any of you know exactly where that route begins? Or if you've got any other good routes to downtown from the Broomfield area, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

Is this an alternative to RTD?

Lol, well, sort of. I've been thinking about communting for a few years, but never actually do it. After driving around downtown for over 30 min this morning trying to find a parking spot, the idea suddenly popped up again.

I'm hoping that this causes many RTDers to rethink their transportation. Think of the improved health, finance, and personality!

If anyone else is interested, it looks like I found the answer: Thornton Bike Trails. It appears you can jump on at Pecos Park at Pecos and W. 96th Ave.

I visited the Denver area and cycled your 'trail' system. The 'tails' are more like bike roads. Great system. Looks like you could commute almost anywhere.

The Greenway is a nice commuting route. Knowing where to get off downtown is a bit tricky. Good luck. I'm looking forward to hearing how it went.

You could run into me :p
Make sure you have lights. :)

I ride from 120th and colorado to Orchard. Thank goodness for the new touring bike.

I was using RTD to shorten my route. This has obvious problems with the strike.
The plan was to gradually increase up to riding the entire way full time in summer. That was bumped up to now.
I will be nice and exhausted friday. A month later I should adapt to this. ugh
Time for the new bib shorts and a jersey. RTD is providing a perfect excuse to spend a little $$. :p

Get thee to your local bike shop or REI. You need a DBTC Denver Metro Map. It is the most comprehensive bike map covering any metro area just about anywhere on the planet! It will have almost all (there may have been additions to the system since the last update) bike routes available in the Denver Metro area.

Now, as for your route, the Platte trail is way east of Broomfield. Way, way east. Starting in Olde Towne Broomfield, at 120th and Wadsworth, you'd have to go roughly 10 or 15 miles to the east and south to get to the Platte and then go another 15 or more miles to the south to get to Downtown. Not necessarily your best bet.

The best way of getting Downtown from Olde Towne Broomfield would be to find your way to Dry Creek in Arvada. Don't get confused with the Dry Creek Trail near Broomfield, that one takes you north. You will probably need to do some road riding (sorry) to get there and I'm kind of sketchy on the details of how to get there from Broomfield. That area isn't in my normal stomping grounds. The only map I have handy at the moment is also from 1992 so things may have changed a bit.

Take old Wadsworth south off of 120th to 92nd. This is probably the worst part of the route. Old Wadsworth has never been that great for riding anyway. At 92nd you want to go left to Vance then right towards the shopping center at Wadsworth and 88th. Once you get to 88th you'll want to go left (there is a bike path here but be careful, it has lots of nails and debris on it. You'll want to turn right into the neighborhood at the first chance (I think it's at Gray) and continue south on Gray towards Lake Arbor. This neighborhood is tricky to navigate since none of the roads seem to go anywhere. Once you get in there you might never leave.

Once you've found your way through this mess, you start into the next Arvada mess, which is the next neighborhood below 80th. You should come out on Ingallis. Go south about 2 blocks and watch for a park on your left (east). This is where the bikepath you want to follow starts. It's not a great path but it does get you out of Cul-de-sac hell. Follow this south and east and it will, after a few miles cross under Sheridan and Federal and eventually put you on the Clear Creek Trail around 64th and Pecos. From there just follow the Clear Creek trail towards the east and eventually you will connect with the Platte River Trail. Go south on the Platte to Cherry Creek (The REI Flagship store is right there) and turn left towards Downtown. Where you get off of Cherry Creek is up to you.

If you don't want to do the whole route, or if you don't have time, drive over to the Park-n-Ride at 70th and Broadway and ride to Downtown from there. You still follow the Clear Creek Path (Hint: It's just across the street to the south in that little park there) and you shorten the route by about half without getting lost in Arvada's Cul-de-sac hell!

Good luck.

I second the DBTC map. Very nice map. However, mine is falling apart.
Doesn't really matter since I only look at it for new leisure rides. My commute is set for the most part. Except for the flippin' construction that keeps closing buchtel. :( Riding down Downing is so much fun.

We planned it that way:D Long ago we (back when I was President of DBTC) discussed doing the map on Tyvek but we nixed it. Makes you go out and buy a new one more often that way. Plus, with frequent updates (we used to do it yearly), the old ones would have been outdated too soon anyway.

By the way, since you are going to DTC, why don't you go a little further south on Cherry Creek to Cook Park? Go south out of the park on Oneida all the way down to Bible Park and then to Tamarac. That puts you on DTC Drive and avoids all the hassles of TREX and the fun of riding on Downing.

What? http://harleyzone.tenmagazines.com/f...ges/cookoo.gif

That sounds like a good alternative.
I have driven most of those roads and they seem fine traffic wise. However, DTC roads can be a tad interesting from a cycling perspective....not always in a good way.

Wow, thanks for the detailed route description...I just might try that. I'll also have to head over to REI and pick up that map. I decided to head east this morning, after all. I just drove over to Pecos Park this morning (Pecos and W. 96th Ave) and started from there. That trail is apparently called the Niver trail. Not too bad...almost all trail except for a little bit on Coronado Pkwy (starting around 84th Ave just east of I-25). You eventually connect with the South Platte River Greenway and head south. Turns out it's not a bad trail, except for a few detours in Commerce City where they're renovating the trail. The detours are well-signed, but, um, those streets in Commerce City by the factories are a little sketchy. Anyway, I took a few wrong turns and had to backtrack a few times this morning, but still a little under an hour. I'm sure it will be faster if I decide to go this way again! Thanks everyone for your replies!

Yup. I hate that detour. Be wary of the train tracks. :p
I save up a bit of energy before I hit it and then power through the detour as fast as I can.

Also, when it gets warmer do not get startled by the homeless across from the RTD operations center.
You can come around a bend in the trail and find 15 people standing around the trail or meandering aimlessly (more likely in the afternoon).
Don't let that scare you off. Just be aware of it. For the most part they are harmless.
I also tend to slow down before reaching that area to gather my energy and then power through it.
I tend to be a bit paranoid. It has served me well so far. :p

Ha, funny you mentioned the tracks--I was definitely careful over those. I like your idea of conserving energy and powering through the slightly less desirable areas.

Don't worry too much about the homeless guys across from RTD. (I work in that building by the way. Not for RTD but for another company.) Just say "Hey! How's it going.", and you'll be alright. Now that daylight savings time is here:mad: you should see less of them along the path unless you are riding through there late. You are actually in more danger from the morons and their dogs then from the homeless people.

It's not really the homeless that worry me. In my limited experience, from time to time there are other types mixed in with the homeless (ex: drug dealers, hookers, etc).

Then again I am paranoid but not paranoid enough to stop riding the route.

A female cyclist coworker of mine was amazed I ride that trail at 5am. Of course, she is female. They have other safety issues to worry about.
I doubt someone is going to take advantage of a bald, slightly overweight, and goofy looking cyclist. :)

Lol, you're preachin to the choir.