Dillon Colorado riding

email hidden said:

Is Hwy 9 south to Fairplay good?

Define "good."

Quoted message said:

Is Hwy 24 from Poncha Springs to Minturn good?

It doesn't connect the two

Quoted message said:

Both directions?

Not in either direction.

But if you add in a stretch of US 285 you can do it. Going form Poncha
Springs(7500 feet) to Leadville (10,000 feet) it follows the
Arkansas River Valley with the Collegiate Range (numerous 14'ers)
running N/S to the west. So it is is a l-o-n-g steady uphill heading
north with only minor terrain undulations. Typically windy, with a
prevailing tailwind when you round the curve heading up the final
stretch into Leadville.
A very scenic side trip might be up the east side of Independence Pass
(12,100 ft.), which is consistent and not terribly steep.
Tennessee Pass(10,400 ft.), is pleasantly scenic between Leadville and
Minturn.

DR

This site has a nice list of rides:

http://www.coppercolorado.com/todo/biking/road_biking/index.htm

I'm thinking of doing the Winter Park loop counter clockwise from
Frisco next month.

Quoted message said:

Later this summer I will be spending a week in Dillon Colorado. I
plan to take the bike and ride everyday. Both one day out and back
routes, and 2-3 day loop rides. What are some good rides from
Dillon? I rode the Triple Bypass last year so I am aware of the bike
trail from Dillon to almost Avon along I-70. And the climb over
Loveland Pass on Hwy 6. I've heard about the triangle ride from
Copper Mountain to Leadville on Hwy 91, then to Minturn on Hwy 24,
then through Vail back to Copper Mountain on the I-70 bike path. I
have the Jean and Hartley Alley Colorado riding book describing some
of the rides up to Steamboat Springs and to Aspen. Is Hwy 9 north
from Dillon to Kremmling good? I know Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs is
OK since I rode it a few years ago on Pedal the Peaks. Is Hwy 9 south
to Fairplay good? Is Hwy 24 from Poncha Springs to Minturn good?
Both directions? Is Hwy 82 in and out of Aspen good going from both
Twin Springs and Carbondale? One-two of the days will be occupied
with riding down to Idaho Springs and up Mt. Evans. Maybe a day or
two to ride up the west side of Trail Ridge Road.

Highway 9 north from Silverthorne to Kremmling has a fair bit of fast
moving traffic, even though it really isn't meant for that sort of
thing. I've done a loop by heading north out of Silverthorne, turning
right on Ute Pass Road, crossing Ute Pass and heading north again on
Grand County Road 3 to where that road intersects with US 40 between
Kremmling and Sulfur Hot Springs, then turning left/west on US 40 to
Kremmling, then left/south on CO 9 back to Silverthorne, then US 6 back
to Dillon. There's parking at the bottom of Ute Pass Road if you don't
want to cycle from Dillon through Silverthorne. A good part of CR3
through Grand County is dirt, but it's so well graded that lots of
locals ride it on road bikes with 700x23 tires.

CO 9 south to Alma/Fairplay can be good, but there's a fair bit of rush
hour north into Summit County in the AM and back out of the county in
the PM. Nobody who earns a living in Summit County can afford to buy a
home here, so they all buy in Alma/Fairplay and commute over Hoosier Pass.

CO 82 from Twin Lakes to Aspen is a beautiful road, but north of Aspen
it becomes 4-lane or more, or construction zones where they're
continuing to upgrade it. Rush hour traffic between Aspen and
Carbondale/Glenwood Springs is surprisingly heavy, once again nobody who
earns a living in those towns can afford to live there. Bring lots of
Assos clothing if you ride through Aspen, and try not to ride a bike
costing less than $6K if you want to fit in. The Maroon Creek road just
north of town is a pretty place to ride, and the road out to Old
Snowmass off of CO 82 seems popular. I should mention that CO 82 from
the top of Independence Pass down into Aspen can be quite narrow in
places, watch for oncoming traffic.

A fun short loop (16-18 miles) from Dillon is to follow the bike path
next to US 6 east to Swan Mountain Road (which you should remember from
the Bypass, it's the short climb after Keystone Ski Area), then over
Swan Mountain Rd to Farmer's Korner/the high school, then south on the
bike path (shared use path) into Frisco, then follow the bike path along
the shore of Lake Dillon to the Dillon Dam Road, cross the dam and
you're back in Dillon. You can add to the loop by going out and back
from Farmer's Korner (yes, that's how it's spelled) to Breckenridge, or
out and back from Frisco to Copper.

Be very careful on the bike paths if there are a lot of tourists in
town, there are a surprising number of serious injuries on the bike
paths during tourist season. There's no law in Colorado requiring you to
use the bike path, and more and more locals are starting to use the
roads instead of the bike paths if the bike paths are crowded.

HTH,

mark

mark said:

Be very careful on the bike paths if there are a lot of tourists in
town, there are a surprising number of serious injuries on the bike
paths during tourist season. There's no law in Colorado requiring you to
use the bike path, and more and more locals are starting to use the
roads instead of the bike paths if the bike paths are crowded.

I thought it was common knowledge that cyclists have a higher accident
rate on bike paths relative to riding in the road.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

"mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Later this summer I will be spending a week in Dillon Colorado. I
plan to take the bike and ride everyday. Both one day out and back
routes, and 2-3 day loop rides. What are some good rides from
Dillon? I rode the Triple Bypass last year so I am aware of the
bike
trail from Dillon to almost Avon along I-70. And the climb over
Loveland Pass on Hwy 6. I've heard about the triangle ride from
Copper Mountain to Leadville on Hwy 91, then to Minturn on Hwy 24,
then through Vail back to Copper Mountain on the I-70 bike path. I
have the Jean and Hartley Alley Colorado riding book describing
some
of the rides up to Steamboat Springs and to Aspen. Is Hwy 9 north
from Dillon to Kremmling good? I know Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs
is
OK since I rode it a few years ago on Pedal the Peaks. Is Hwy 9
south
to Fairplay good? Is Hwy 24 from Poncha Springs to Minturn good?
Both directions? Is Hwy 82 in and out of Aspen good going from
both
Twin Springs and Carbondale? One-two of the days will be occupied
with riding down to Idaho Springs and up Mt. Evans. Maybe a day or
two to ride up the west side of Trail Ridge Road.

Highway 9 north from Silverthorne to Kremmling has a fair bit of
fast moving traffic, even though it really isn't meant for that sort
of thing. I've done a loop by heading north out of Silverthorne,
turning right on Ute Pass Road, crossing Ute Pass and heading north
again on Grand County Road 3 to where that road intersects with US
40 between Kremmling and Sulfur Hot Springs, then turning left/west
on US 40 to Kremmling, then left/south on CO 9 back to Silverthorne,
then US 6 back to Dillon. There's parking at the bottom of Ute Pass
Road if you don't want to cycle from Dillon through Silverthorne. A
good part of CR3 through Grand County is dirt, but it's so well
graded that lots of locals ride it on road bikes with 700x23 tires.

CO 9 south to Alma/Fairplay can be good, but there's a fair bit of
rush hour north into Summit County in the AM and back out of the
county in the PM. Nobody who earns a living in Summit County can
afford to buy a home here, so they all buy in Alma/Fairplay and
commute over Hoosier Pass.

That's too bad. From what I remember of riding through there 25 years
ago, there is a cool old western hotel with a bar in Fairplay. Nice
place to buy a beer. The road was easy riding back then. I would hate
to think that it has turned into a commuting nightmare. It's also
weird to think about commuting over an 11K+ mountain pass. -- Jay
Beattie.

Jay Beattie said:

"mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Later this summer I will be spending a week in Dillon Colorado. I
plan to take the bike and ride everyday. Both one day out and back
routes, and 2-3 day loop rides. What are some good rides from
Dillon? I rode the Triple Bypass last year so I am aware of the
bike
trail from Dillon to almost Avon along I-70. And the climb over
Loveland Pass on Hwy 6. I've heard about the triangle ride from
Copper Mountain to Leadville on Hwy 91, then to Minturn on Hwy 24,
then through Vail back to Copper Mountain on the I-70 bike path. I
have the Jean and Hartley Alley Colorado riding book describing
some
of the rides up to Steamboat Springs and to Aspen. Is Hwy 9 north
from Dillon to Kremmling good? I know Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs
is
OK since I rode it a few years ago on Pedal the Peaks. Is Hwy 9
south
to Fairplay good? Is Hwy 24 from Poncha Springs to Minturn good?
Both directions? Is Hwy 82 in and out of Aspen good going from
both
Twin Springs and Carbondale? One-two of the days will be occupied
with riding down to Idaho Springs and up Mt. Evans. Maybe a day or
two to ride up the west side of Trail Ridge Road.

Highway 9 north from Silverthorne to Kremmling has a fair bit of
fast moving traffic, even though it really isn't meant for that sort
of thing. I've done a loop by heading north out of Silverthorne,
turning right on Ute Pass Road, crossing Ute Pass and heading north
again on Grand County Road 3 to where that road intersects with US
40 between Kremmling and Sulfur Hot Springs, then turning left/west
on US 40 to Kremmling, then left/south on CO 9 back to Silverthorne,
then US 6 back to Dillon. There's parking at the bottom of Ute Pass
Road if you don't want to cycle from Dillon through Silverthorne. A
good part of CR3 through Grand County is dirt, but it's so well
graded that lots of locals ride it on road bikes with 700x23 tires.

CO 9 south to Alma/Fairplay can be good, but there's a fair bit of
rush hour north into Summit County in the AM and back out of the
county in the PM. Nobody who earns a living in Summit County can
afford to buy a home here, so they all buy in Alma/Fairplay and
commute over Hoosier Pass.

That's too bad. From what I remember of riding through there 25 years
ago, there is a cool old western hotel with a bar in Fairplay. Nice
place to buy a beer. The road was easy riding back then. I would hate
to think that it has turned into a commuting nightmare. It's also
weird to think about commuting over an 11K+ mountain pass. -- Jay
Beattie.

All the ski resort communities in the western US have grown
tremendously, and CO 9 has gotten to be a surprisingly heavily traveled
road in places. I keep wondering why Adventure Cycling doesn't re-write
some of their maps to send cycle tourists over Boreas Pass (well graded
dirt) south of Summit County, and/or Ute Pass to the north instead of
instead of continuing to follow CO 9 through Park and Summit counties.

Quoted message said:

email hidden said:

Later this summer I will be spending a week in Dillon Colorado. I
plan to take the bike and ride everyday. Both one day out and back
routes, and 2-3 day loop rides. What are some good rides from
Dillon? I rode the Triple Bypass last year so I am aware of the bike
trail from Dillon to almost Avon along I-70. And the climb over
Loveland Pass on Hwy 6. I've heard about the triangle ride from
Copper Mountain to Leadville on Hwy 91, then to Minturn on Hwy 24,
then through Vail back to Copper Mountain on the I-70 bike path. I
have the Jean and Hartley Alley Colorado riding book describing some
of the rides up to Steamboat Springs and to Aspen. Is Hwy 9 north
from Dillon to Kremmling good? I know Hwy 40 to Steamboat Springs is
OK since I rode it a few years ago on Pedal the Peaks. Is Hwy 9 south
to Fairplay good? Is Hwy 24 from Poncha Springs to Minturn good?
Both directions? Is Hwy 82 in and out of Aspen good going from both
Twin Springs and Carbondale? One-two of the days will be occupied
with riding down to Idaho Springs and up Mt. Evans. Maybe a day or
two to ride up the west side of Trail Ridge Road.

Thanks.

Day 1 was Dillon-Loveland Pass-Idaho Springs-Mt. Evans-Idaho Springs.
I was at the top of Mt. Evans at 5 PM. Park Ranger told me I was the
latest he had ever seen a bicyclist on the top. But other than a
little snow at the top, the weather didn't get bad. I did get off the
top and down the mountain as fast as I could.
Day 2 was Idaho Springs-Empire-Berthoud Pass-Winter Park-Granby-Winter
Park-half way back to Granby-Winter Park. Sidewall failure, booting
the tire, and a glass flat made the day a bit weary.
Day 3 was Winter Park-Berthoud Pass-Empire-Georgetown-Loveland Pass-
Dillon. Re-learned the most important lesson of Colorado riding. Get
over the passes before Noon. Rain, snow, sleet, wind, cold the last
mile or so climbing Loveland Pass and all the way down to Keystone.
Fortunately I had just enough winter gear to make it. Arm, leg
warmers, wind jacket, balaclava, and liner gloves. Second most
important lesson of Colorado riding is carry the right clothes. But
best to follow lesson one so you can avoid lesson two.
Day 4 was ride the Dillon Lake bike path to Copper Mt.
Day 5 was Dillon-Frisco-Copper Mt.-Vail Pass-Vail-Minturn-Battle Mt.
Pass-Tennessee Pass-Leadville-Fremont Pass-Copper Mt.-Frisco-Dillon.
The Copper Triangle the easiest and safest way. 91 south from Copper
Mt. to Leadville had no shoulder and was somewhat narrow to Fremont
Pass. Best to climb Fremont Pass from Leadville to Copper Mt. Vail
Pass was easier and shorter going east to west than the other way.

Not sure I'll do much more Colorado mountain riding. All the roads
over the passes were filled with cars except for very early in the
morning. There were shoulders on most of the roads so the bikes more
or less had a place to ride. But I prefer to ride on less traveled
roads when I have the choice. And the shoulders had plenty of glass.
The weather was bad. Even on days when the weather was good, it was
still bad for biking. Cold, cold, cold until 9 AM. Even with clear
blue sunny skies. Then Noon-1 PM the black clouds and possible rain,
snow, sleet, hail hit the passes.