Trail Ridge / Berthoud Pass loop from Boulder

Michael Steiner said:

- is this in general an advisable route? (Living in Manhattan, i can
stand some traffic but i can also do with less than here :-)

Long time since I was there, so I'll defer to locals on most points.
I do seem to remember Trail Ridge being very narrow, winding, and crowded
with rubbernecking drivers. Going over very early in the day might help
with that.
Perhaps more of a concern for a New Yorker is the altitude. You'll be
going up to around 12,000', riding up a steep hill. You need to ask
yourself if you can handle that, and/or what your plans for acclimation
are.

Good luck,
Bill

__o | REALLY support the troops
_`\(,_ | Ride a bicycle!
(_)/ (_) |

Michael Steiner said:

Hi,

I will spend a few days of cycling over labor day in Boulder. I already
found a handful of good 1-day route advices (rt93-rt46-rt72 /
left-hand-peak2peak-st. vrain) in the newsgroup archives.

I was considering now also a bigger 2-day loop over Estes Park - Trail
Ridge Rd - Grandby - Berthoud Pass. I found already some route
description (http://www.rmccrides.com/brevet20050709route.htm) but have
a few questions (given that they do it in one go and want 300km this
might not necessarily the best route; me, doing it in two, could also
potentially extend and deviate a bit):

- is this in general an advisable route? (Living in Manhattan, i can
stand some traffic but i can also do with less than here :-)

It's an excellent route, but keep in mind that Trail Ridge Road tops out
at 12,180 ft., and Berthoud Pass tops out at 11,315 ft. Snowstorms are a
possibility in September (or most other months, for that matter). Check
the weather and bring warm clothing no matter what the weather forecast
is. It's hard to brake with frozen hands, so bring long gloves. A lycra
balaclava to go under your helmet is also a good idea. Stay hydrated and
pile on the sunscreen, too.

It might not hurt to ride to some fairly high elevations in the days
before you do this loop, just to get yourself acclimated and get a feel
for weather conditions.

Quoted message said:

- I was thinking of taking St.Vrain, Peak-to-Peak through Allenspark to
Estes Park thinking this is nicer and less traveled than 36. Is that a
good idea?

Definitely less traveled, much more scenic, more ups and downs. Still a
good road with good paved shoulders.

Quoted message said:

- how is US-40? Worth to take any smaller side-roads? (TopoUSA showed
some between Grandby and Berthoud Pass but then i'm not sure with
TOPOUsa if all of them are paved. It also showed Oh My God (see below)
and did not say it was unpaved ...)

Oh My God Road is unpaved, but Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties have been
paving it at about one mile a year. Not sure how far they've gotten. US
40 in that area is wide, good shoulders, the road has been modernized to
accommodate all the skier traffic to Winter Park.

Quoted message said:

- from Idaho Springs on, the colorado 300k route did not seem thaat
exciting (e.g., 8 miles on I-70). I was wondering whether it would be
worth to go back over Central City. If read about the (unpaved) ``Oh My
God'' road (old virginia canyon road being great from a scenario
perspective and also from people descending it on a road bike. Would
climbing it make sense or would i have to be crazy to do it on a road
bike? Alternatively, would take the central city pkwy sense? Any other
suggestions?

Central City Parkway is wide and has a paved shoulder the whole
distance. Cyclists are required to exit the parkway and use a bike route
just before the final descent into Central City. From there, you could
continue to Nederland and down Boulder Canyon to Boulder. Bring a
taillight for the short tunnel(s?). Oh My God Road would let you do
pretty much the same thing, but with less traffic and a more challenging
ride. Central City Parkway was built to get tour buses to the Central
City Casinos, so expect a good number of buses.

HTH,
mark

Mark & Bill,

Thanks for your reply!

mark said:

It's an excellent route, but keep in mind that Trail Ridge Road tops out
at 12,180 ft., and Berthoud Pass tops out at 11,315 ft. Snowstorms are a
possibility in September (or most other months, for that matter). Check
the weather and bring warm clothing no matter what the weather forecast
is. It's hard to brake with frozen hands, so bring long gloves. A lycra
balaclava to go under your helmet is also a good idea. Stay hydrated and
pile on the sunscreen, too.

Yes, i made similar experience in the Swiss Alps: riding down a pass
during a snow storm in summer is no fun ...

Quoted message said:

It might not hurt to ride to some fairly high elevations in the days
before you do this loop, just to get yourself acclimated and get a feel
for weather conditions.

Acclimatisation is certainly crucial. Luckily, i seem to acclimatise
quite quickly (e.g., last year i climbed Mt. Whitney with only two days
of acclimatisation and it worked out very well).

Quoted message said:

Oh My God Road is unpaved, but Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties have been
paving it at about one mile a year. Not sure how far they've gotten.

While i would never have considered longer unpaved roads on a road bike
back in Switzerland, i made the pleasant experience that here in the
Northeast of the USA, lots of unpaved roads have quite good a surface
and, in particular, not to big pieces of gravel and not really worn out
with deep ruts, and are quite ok to ride with a road bike. So my main
concern was whether it is of similar quality and, hence, well rideable
with a road bike or not. From a scenario perspective it certainly
should be nice and i don't mind the challenge.

-michael-

BTW: In the meantime i stumbled over Mt. Evans as a great and
challenging ride. Over labor day itself it probably will be too crowed
to climb and supposedly they close the last five miles after labor day,
i.e., half the fun would be gone. I wonder, is this closure for all
vehicles and strictly enforced or is there a way to sneak up by bicycle
(of course weather permitting)?