suggestions?

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

Quoted message said:

My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
looking for suggestions...

We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
to me.

Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.

Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
anything else that factors into this week of fun.

Tower

Unless you like high heat (thus carrying tons o water) I'd avoid Fruita, GJ
and Moab in July. There's great mountain riding (cooler temps) near Denver
west to Vail and really great stuff in the SW corner of CO (Durango,
Ridgway, T-ride, Gunnison, etc.) Of course a lot of this riding is at high
elevations (>8000 feet) and you'll think your lungs are going to explode but
the rides are usually worth it.

great trail in T-ride is Wilson's Mesa (start at Woods Lake and go east for
an out and back of 25 miles)
great trail in/out of Ridgway is Dallas Creek Trail (start at Box Factory
Park and head east, 29 miles one way, ~6000 feet of climbing but you'll end
up in Ouray at the hot springs to soak away the pain and then catch dinner
in Ridgway at the Adobe Inn)
Durango....too many to list (not that I've done that many)
Gunnison- ping Mattb for suggestions but I'm sure he'll chime in. I keep
hearing that the Monarch trail is great but I alway seem to bring rain on
that ride so have never done it)

You've got plenty of time to plan.
Gary

tower said:

My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
looking for suggestions...

We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
to me.

Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.

Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
anything else that factors into this week of fun.

Tower

Yeah, The Crest should be nice, and then you are pretty close to
Gunnison (about 40 Miles from the summit of Monarch pass) and Crested
Butte (about 30 Mi from Gunnison) which have some great riding. Hartman
Rocks in Gunnison is a good intro to altitude with no really long climbs
but plenty of shorter (sub 500'😉 ones. It might be hot by my standards
that time of year, but 85 is hot to us here.
Crested Butte is full of great and famous rides. There's also some good
stuff between Gunnison and CB.
As Gary said, it will be really hot in the lower desert (GJ, Fruita, and
Moab) and I'd stay away from those places that time of year.

Have fun!

Matt

tower said:

My wife is making a strong case for "wife of the year", for Xmas she
booked flights for us from Mt. Biking poor KY (Louisville area) to
Colorado in July for a week of getting lost in the mountains. I'm now
looking for suggestions...

We fly into Colorado Springs and will be renting a car. I guess I'll
be bringing my own bike although I need to check into the logistics on
that. The only plan we have is to drive to the Monarch Crest trail in
Ponch Springs, a trail I had mentioned to her after reading about it
in Details magazine. Other than that the itinerary for the week is up
to me.

Fruita looks like just over 3 hours from Ponch Springs and I've always
heard there is fantastic riding there. Any other thoughts? I've
ridden in a lot of places (Moab, Wasatch in UT, many NorCal trails
since I lived there) but never had the chance to do CO. I tend to
like great climbs and vistas to a bunch of downhill.

Looking for suggestions on rides, trails, places to stay that are
reasonable in budget and decent enough for myself and wife, and
anything else that factors into this week of fun.

You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
more hotel rooms and restaurants. Also, depending on you and your
wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
and points west.
Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year. Plus it's high,
cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding :-)

Shawn

P.S. I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
(one time he was there too). Believe the locals when they tell you to
ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
1:00 every afternoon).

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew

Quoted message said:

You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
more hotel rooms and restaurants.  Also, depending on you and your
wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
and points west.
Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year.  Plus it's high,
cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding :-)

Shawn

P.S.  I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
(one time he was there too).  Believe the locals when they tell you to
ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

tower said:

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew

I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.

Greg

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
more hotel rooms and restaurants. Also, depending on you and your
wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
and points west.
Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year. Plus it's high,
cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding :-)

Shawn

P.S. I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
(one time he was there too). Believe the locals when they tell you to
ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

G.T. said:

tower said:

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew

I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.

Greg

If you like (and can afford) fancy hotels, you will have several choices
in CB. There's also lots of shopping if she's a shopper.

Matt (more of a camper than a shopper myself)

MattB said:

G.T. said:

tower said:

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit. I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like. It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike. I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt. I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew

Quoted message said:

I'd say focus on Crested Butte. Endless hiking and riding and some fun
restaurants. You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,
http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.

Quoted message said:

Greg

If you like (and can afford) fancy hotels, you will have several choices
in CB. There's also lots of shopping if she's a shopper.

Matt (more of a camper than a shopper myself)

I'm half-shopper, on my mother's side.

JD

G.T. said:

tower said:

Thanks for the suggestions...I definitely don't want to spend the week
in the car but I do like to wander a bit.  I've ridden Moab in the
summer so I know what the heat can be like.  It doesn't really bother
me too much but it's not something I guess I'd seek out.

Quoted message said:

I also have to keep in mind the places we stay have to be wife-
friendly...I'd stay in dives but can't do that with her along. She
won't be riding but most likely will hike.  I have been off my bike
more than I like this summer due to a new baby and lack of interesting
riding around here so I'll definitely have to do some conditioning of
both the lungs and the butt.  I can't tell you how much I'm looking
forward to it!
Drew

I'd say focus on Crested Butte.  Endless hiking and riding and some fun
restaurants.  You could check out Black Canyon of the Gunnison,http://www.nps.gov/blca/, too.

Greg

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You should stay in Salida (four miles east) rather than Poncha Springs,
more hotel rooms and restaurants.  Also, depending on you and your
wife's fitness, you might consider riding out of Salida (7000 ft MSL)
for a day or two to acclimate before hitting the Crest (11,000 ft MSL)
and points west.
Considering the time of year and the fact that driving around Colorado
sucks *huge* amounts of time, spending the rest of your time in Crested
Butte would maximize riding and recreation in a high mountain area
that's inaccessible to bikes for a lot of the year.  Plus it's high,
cool above the heat of lower elevations, beautiful, and great riding :-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Shawn

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

P.S.  I've had the same problem as Gary with weather on the Crest Trail
(one time he was there too).  Believe the locals when they tell you to
ride early and head home when the weather moves in (regularly, around
1:00 every afternoon).- Hide quoted text -

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for everyone's suggestions/responses. I'll be taking them into
account in the planning. I am thinking I'll try to find one beginner
trail and bike rental to take my wife on her first ride. I figure I
owe her that much for planning the trip.