raybo

I will be in Salt Lake City in late August. I have 2 weeks before I need to be home so am considering a ride somewhere. Being as it will be late Summer and Salt Lake City is surrounded by desert, I want to be careful in committing to such a ride.

One idea was to head north to, say, Missoula, but I have been through southern and eastern Idaho and don't need to do that again. Also, Yellowstone in late August (without camping) seems like a bad idea.

The route that I am considering is Salt Lake City to Boulder. I have friends in Boulder that could be sent my bike box and the distance is about right. Also, I'd like to ride in the Rockies.

But, the idea of riding east from Salt Lake City in the heat of August has me wondering it this is a good idea. Also, since I don't carry camping gear, the route will have to include places to stay every night. I have done a quick look and it appears this isn't a showstopper but will require some careful planning.

Has anyone done such a route? In late August?

Would such a route be interesting for someone who doesn't relish riding through the desert?

Are there other destinations from Salt Lake City that would work?

Note that I have friends in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Would a ride from SLC to there be worthwhile?

Thanks for your comments.

saddlesores

where is home, and how are you getting there?
could you do a loop of southern utah? leave your box at a hotel
there, pick up after the tour, leave from salt lake?

don't know if there is lodging suitably spaced on highway 50, but
the ride from salt lake to virginia city/reno is scenic..

Brian25

Check out roadway 89 heading south, it looks really awesome.

raybo

I live in San Francisco and would fly back there after the tour.

The obvious thing to do is to do a tour of the canyons in Utah. But, the reason I'll be in Utah is that me and some family members are doing a 2-week RV (!) trip of the Utah canyons and other National Parks, so revisiting them on a bicycle after just being there doesn't really make sense.

I'll check out the ride west toward Reno.

saddlesores

...the ride west toward Reno...

mev

I've cycled east from Salt Lake area twice to Fort Collins, and also come from the West across Nevada twice mostly in the June/July months. Some general thoughts:

-- Elevation keeps things a fair amount cooler. Hence a ride heading East that ends up via Steamboat or Summit County will on average be cooler than one that ends via Arches National Park, Moab, etc.
-- As I came via US 50 across Nevada and then Delta, Eureka, etc - there are a fair amount of wide open spaces - some desert (& hot in August though not Las Vegas hot). There is a certain beauty to it all that I enjoy - but this is definitely not shared by everyone...
-- US 40 is OK, but not excellent as far as shoulders/traffic go in places. I used it as the most direct route, but other roads in CO at least as nice.

In general, I think it is hard to go completely wrong starting in Salt Lake City in the summer, except perhaps to find yourself in areas too hot and too remote.

Robert C

What route did you take east out of Salt Lake? It is hard to find a good cycle road over the Wasatch Range.

mev

The first trip was South from Salt Lake City to Orem, then to Heber City. There was a bike path in some of Provo Canyon and I was on 189 during the rest. I took US 40 from there east all the way to Steamboat Springs and then via CO 14 via Walden to Fort Collins. This was during the week containing Memorial Day.

The second trip I was coming from further south (US 50 to Delta, UT) and thought I might potentially go via Moab to Grand Junction. So I cycled from Payson to Price on US 6 before taking US 191 to Duchesne and then US 40 east from there. This second trip was mid-June, but above-average forecasts of >100F and large gap without services had me change my routing once I was in Price to go northeast instead.

I think there are also some smaller roads more directly over the Wasatch Mountains, but I was content to stay on the major US highways instead.

Brian25

I believe that Utah has a lot to offer; There is the 12 likely one of the most scenic byways in the country. There is the 14, which goes out to Cedar City. There is the 143, 15 which starts in Payson and goes down towards Ephraim. There is also the 89/ 6 / 191 / 10 / 31 loop. There is also the road out by Salida. really scenic. Try Google maps street view.