jfmckenna

Hey all,

I am headed out to Cyclocross Nationals in KC on Dec. 13th. After that we've decided to head to Littleton to stay with my GF's family for Xmas. I've been there many times but never with a bike! But now I fear it will simply either just be too darn cold or snowy to ride in the mountains. I've always wanted to ride Left Hand Canyon which is in Boulder.

Anyway if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Or even better if any one can point me to a regularly scheduled group ride sort of thing that would be great. Thanks in advance...

MDcatV

Skip the bike, take your skiis and go to a-basin.

tedshuck

There are usually lots of opportunities to ride around here in the winter. I went riding on Tuesday, it snowed on Wednesday, I could have gone riding today (Thursday). It normally melts pretty quickly where the sun shines. Last winter was the exception. We had snow that just wouldn't quit.

We usually get snow once a week or so, but half the time we will have highs of 40-50 degrees, so it's pretty nice riding weather if you are dressed for it. Mountain rides can be colder, especially as you get into shady areas.

Riding some of the canyons can get a little dicey in the winter. The shady areas may hold some ice and there will surely be sand/gravel on the road which can make descents interesting There are some great canyons near Littleton, including Deer Creek, Bear Creek and Turkey Creek. There are also great rides on the rolling hills below the foothills. There are quite a few bike trails so you can stay out of traffic if you choose. I am including a link to rides around Littleton that are on MapMyRide.

https://www.mapmyride.com/search?txtP...rch=SEARCH+%3E

Ted

celticfrost

mapmyride is good stuff.

I'm bit of a fair weather rider, but you could still easily get lucky enough to run into some sunny days in the high 40's to mid 50's in the Denver and Boulder area in mid December. I would not bet on any rides that reach significant elevation. Once you're at about 8k feet the temps will cool somewhere between 5 and 10 degrees. Lefthand Canyon Rd will take you to 9k feet...

You can take route 36 north out of Boulder, through Lyons and (if it's warm enough) all the way into Estes Park. That should give you some great rollers and then sustained climbing from Lyons to Estes Park at a little over 8k feet. An out and back of that would give you about 65 miles roundtrip.

There's also some good routes close to where you're staying (Littleton). Perry Park Rd (Route 105) from Sedalia to Palmer Lake and back (50 miles) is a great ride and will keep you under 7.5k feet and offer sustained climbing into Palmer Lake. If the temps are good, you can also go to Chatfield Reservoir and take Deer Creek Canyon Rd into some good climbing. The only thing about the roads in that area is that there's usually a lot of shade, which could make for cold riding in mid December.

Another good ride (from Denver) is 32nd street west through Golden and up Lookout Mtn. Rd. and back (about 30 miles).

You can pm bmclaughlin807, cycommute, snowy, superdex or waterrockets and probably get some good routes from them. Have fun.

valygrl

I can't stop looking at the TDF Win-O-Meter.... sicky-sick.

cyccommute 

It gets dark and cold here a little earlier than elsewhere too. There's some big piles of rocks to the west that shade us from the sun

PM me, jfmckenna. I'd suggest staying out of canyons this time of year. There's been enough snow lately that you could run across some icy patches. But there's enough good plains riding around to still make it interesting. An almost mountainous nice 50 miler to the south starts in Sedalia to Larkspur and back through Perry Park. Very nice ride.

jfmckenna

Thanks everyone for your replies and PM's of valuable advice. I will definitely look into this a bit more and may PM you cyccommute once I get some plans down.

Hey MDcatV I'll be bringing my ski's but every time I visit CO around Xmas time the ski conditions suck at best. I haven't tried Arapaho this time of year is that the place to go for early skiing? I remember years ago Crested Butte had a free ski do they still do that?

cccorlew

Every time I see this thread somehow I think it reads
"Where to ride in Denver when you're dead"
There's no reason, it just happens.

bvfrompc

Unless its in the 30s, like yesterday, I had to dismount on one of the switchbacks on the way up because my rear wheel kept slipping on the ice, and took 40 down to avoid the ice and I believe that is the coldest I have ever been, ever. brrrrrrrrr. I went out out early in the day, it got a little nice later in the afternoon.

Unless we get some 50's+ weather, like today for instance, stick with the rolling foothills rides and avoid the canyons.

BVFROMGolden

bvfrompc

They brought it back this year after years of not doing it. It bit them in the tail four or five years ago, it was gaining momentum, had a lot of early season booking, and no snow, not great marketing. Thye must be more confident in their snowmaking under the new owners.

MDcatV

IME - A-basin and Loveland are good bets for early season as they're high (elevation, not just the lifties) and a bit closer + less $$ for day tripping than the other Summitt Co. resorts.

Not much open now though

https://www.arapahoebasin.com/


Edit - good luck at cross nationals

wfrogge

Indoors

jfmckenna

I remember one year, probably 10-12 years ago it snowed like mad and the whole mountain was open for free

jfmckenna

bump,

So anyway, again is there a regular meeting place in the Boulder area where riders in training go out for their weekend base mile type riding?

I'm going to ski Arapaho tomorrow but would love to do some riding this week end. In my home town and many others I have visited there is typically an open group ride every weekend. I know there has got to be something like this in the so called Mecca of cycling Boulder Colorado right? So clue me in. Thanks...

valygrl

Amante, but.... brr. it's supposed to snow tonight.