7 Ways Colorado Will Ruin You For Biking Anywhere Else / COME TO LIFE 7 WAYS COLORADO WILL RUIN YOU for Biking Anywhere Else It takes ample amounts of black top, singletrack, sunshine and friendly people to create a bikers’ paradise to match ours. Lively biking communi-ties ensure that events abound spring through autumn and that road-biking and trail-riding options proliferate. 6 GO FOR THE GOLD! Colorado has more gold-or platinum-rated bike commu-nities than any other state, according to the League of American Bicyclists. Boulder and Fort Collins are ranked platinum, while Breckenridge , Durango , Crested Butte , Carbondale and Steamboat Springs are gold. Silver status goes to Aspen , Vail , Colorado Springs , Denver , Salida , Golden , Gunnison , Arvada and Longmont , while Castle Rock , Greeley , Lakewood , Grand Junction and Summit County make the podium with bronze. 1 GREAT MAPPING Connect with local visitor centers to get directions to hot biking spots. In Durango , for example, rides are rated from easy to difficult. Eagle ’s website ( eagleoutside.com ) has photo navigation of nearly every inch of their trails. And in Steamboat Springs , the maps can help you decide if you need fat tires or skinny. In Fruita and Crested Butte , two mountain-biking master towns, trail networks are so vast and varied that a map is a downright necessity. 4 AMAZING EVENTS Our biking-events calendar is nirvana for riders and fans. Look for large events like the new Colorado Classic (August 10–13 in Colorado Springs, Denver and Breckenridge), Ride the Rockies (June) and the Leadville Trail 100 MTB (August),as well as dozens of smaller events each year. Longtime favorites like the Wheels of Thunder Classic (May), Colorado Ea-gle River Ride (July) and the Fort Collins Tour de Fat (August) are joined by newer events like the Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb (August) Tour of Vail , Pedal the Plains and the West Elk Bicycle Classic (all three in September). COLORADO.com/Events 2 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: WEST ELK MOUNTAINS NEAR CRESTED BUTTE, NATHAN BILOW; BOULDER B-CYCLE; BIKE, ISTOCKPHOTO. BIKE THE BYWAYS There’s no better way to see purple mountain majesty or amber waves of grain than by collecting the 26 long-distance Bike the Byways rides. Start at Denver’s South Platte River Trail and work your way toward the Lariat Loop near Denver before tackling mountain rides like Top of the Rockies in Leadville and finishing off with the bluffs and buttes of Dinosaur Diamond north of Grand Junction. Or, start the other way ’round at the mystifying Trail of the Ancients in Cortez and add rides to your list as you work your way north. bikebyways.org 5 TOWN CONNECTS Connection rides between cities are well-traveled by bikes and lightly traveled by traffic (read: plenty of shoulder room). For starters try the new Boulder to Westminster route, Wolcott to Steamboat Springs , Las Animas to Lamar (with a stop at John Martin Reservoir State Park), Aspen to Glenwood Springs , or Fort Collins to Mishawaka Amphitheatre (ok, The Mish isn’t a town, but when there’s a concert on, it’s close). The ultra-popular Boulder-to-Golden route was recently im-proved with a larger, paved shoulder for bikes. Try the Grand Junction to Palisade “fruit loop” route, which starts at the botanical gardens, then winds riders through the rows of peach trees and grape-vines the area is famous for. 7 DENVER & BOULDER B-CYCLES Is red a really, really popular color for bikes in Denver and Boulder ? The cities’ B-Cycle program has taken off in recent years and received national attention, placing dozens of bike stations and hundreds of (mostly red) bikes on the roads year-round. Visitors and locals alike can “check out” a bike at a station, pay with a credit card (or buy a pass) and cruise from station to station. denver.bcycle.com boulder.bcycle.com 3 E-BIKES For those who prefer scenery chewing to pedaling or driving, electric bikes offer a little boost for paved and trail exploration. Rent one at Colorado E Bikes in Grand Junction , Pedego in Denver , Rocky Mountain Adventure Rentals in Vail , Boulder Cycle Sport and many other spots. COLORADO.COM / 77
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