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Trip to Denver

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SigepKat

SigepKat

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I'm heading up to Denver this week on my S10. Mostly I'll be spending time w/family, but may be able to sneak away for a day to do some riding. Any suggestions on roads I HAVE to do while up there? Paved or not, I've got knobbies on the bike, so I'm not picky, but nothing too technical, since I'll be riding solo...Where should I go?

Thanks!
Chris
 
Be aware they may be having some snow in the Denver area late this week.
 
Do you have the Colorado Butler map? When we were up there a few weeks back, we just took several roads into the Front Range other than 70 and they were all nice.

I came out of Boulder and followed the Peak to Peak route for a bit, then came back on a nice windy road towards Golden. Basically just following the good stuff on the Butler map.

Looks like it might snow Thursday, but be gone quickly afterward.
 
I wouldn't have a clue about dirt. If you want some nice pavement, here are a couple of suggestions of nearby roads.
  • Guanella Pass is easy to find on Google Maps. That makes a nice half-day loop. Go west on US 285 from Denver, then north on 62, a scenic curvy road, over Guanella Pass. At the other end of 62, you'll join I-70 and head east back to town.
  • Mt Evans Drive. West on I-70 to Idaho Springs, and south on 103. At the Summit of the main Road (Echo Lake Park), you can either break right to the Mt Evans Road, or continue on 103 for a nice, curvy descent with great vistas all the way down. Eventually, you'll work your way back to Loop 470 in Denver. Easy to find on Google Maps.
  • Nederland. Go to Boulder, then west on 119 over to Nederland, then north on 7 through Allenspark all the way to Estes Park. Or for a shorter ride, cut east before Allenspark toward Lyons and back to I-25. This ride - particularly up to Estes Park - is more likely to be close to an all-day affair.
Of course, these roads all have significant elevation changes and, if there's any substantial snow this week, are likely to be either closed or unsuitable for 2-wheelers.

You should be just in time to catch the aspens in fall colors.

PS - Jarrett is right; if you have a Butler map, all these roads & more will be marked.
 
Might be too far for you but CO 12 from Trinidad to 160 is nice also CO 69 to 50 as well as the scenic Skyline drive in Canon city.
 
I'll second CO 12 as one of my alltime favorite Colorado roads; Drew, you & I did that together, didn't we?

Since you're riding up, you could build CO 12 - Cucharas Pass - into your trip north. Get off I-25 at Trinidad, enjoy the side road, and rejoin I-25 at Walsenburg. It will add a couple of hours to your trip, but if you have the extra time, it's well worth it. My TWT picture (left) was taken at Cucharas Pass.
 
There's another nice little diversion you can catch either on the way up or back. Assuming you catch it on the way home, take State Hwy 72 east from Raton. It's a mildly curvy road that climbs up to around 9000 feet, then eventually rejoins the main highway about halfway between Raton and Clayton. It'll add maybe half an hour to the trip.
 
tshelfer said:
I'll second CO 12 as one of my alltime favorite Colorado roads; Drew, you & I did that together, didn't we?

Since you're riding up, you could build CO 12 - Cucharas Pass - into your trip north. Get off I-25 at Trinidad, enjoy the side road, and rejoin I-25 at Walsenburg. It will add a couple of hours to your trip, but if you have the extra time, it's well worth it. My TWT picture (left) was taken at Cucharas Pass.
Click to expand...
Yes we did.:rider: On a side note if you have time on the way home ride the NM 38 the enchanted loop NM 434 and NM 518 on the way home.
 
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Thanks for all the suggestions! Unfortunately, due to the weather, I wasn't able to take advantage of them. It started snowing Thursday early morning and stuck around till Friday morning, and I didn't want to chance heading into the mountains w/the possibility of ice on the road. It ended up being a ride to Denver and back. S10 handled it flawlessly w/the exception of the knobby tires causing shaking about 95mph or so (to be expected.) Guess I'll have to plan another trip up there when it's a little warmer.

CM
 
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