Colorado Will Ruin You For Biking Anywhere Else / COME TO LIFE 4 AMAZING EVENTS Look for large events like Ride the Rockies (June), the Leadville Trail 100 MTB (Aug.), the Colorado Classic (Aug.), as well as dozens of smaller events. Longtime favorites like the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival (June), Buena Vista Bike Fest (June), Steamboat Stinger (Aug.), Breck Epic (Aug.), the Fort Collins Tour de Fat (Aug.) are joined by newer events like the Grand Junction Grand Enduro (June) Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb Gran Fondo (Aug.), Copper Triangle Bicycle Tour (Aug.), and September’s Pedal the Plains , West Elk Bicycle Classic and Estes Epic MTB . COLORADO.com/ Events 6 GO FOR THE GOLD! Colorado is ranked sixth in the nation for bicycle-friendliness, according to the League of American Bicyclists. Boulder and Fort Collins get platinum rankings, while Breckenridge, Durango, Crested Butte, Carbondale and Steamboat Springs are gold. Silver status goes to Aspen, Vail, Colorado Springs, Denver, Salida, Golden, Gunnison, Arvada, Summit County, Glenwood Springs and Longmont , while Greeley, Lakewood, Windsor, Silvert-horne, Pueblo and Grand Junction take the podium with bronze. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: GARDEN OF THE GODS IN COLORADO SPRINGS, BETH SCHNEIDER; MONARCH CREST NEAR SALIDA, LISA SEAMAN; ASPEN-SNOWMASS; FRUITA, MILES/DENISE CHAMBERS; BOULDER B-CYCLE. 5 TOWN CONNECTS Connection rides between cities are well-traveled by bikes and lightly traveled by traffic. For starters try the new Boulder to Westminster route, Wolcott to Steamboat Springs , Las Animas to Lamar , Aspen to Glenwood Springs , or Fort Collins to Mishawaka Amphitheatre (The Mish isn’t a town, but when there’s a concert on, it’s close). The ultra-popular Boul-der-to-Golden route was recently improved 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 grapevines the area is famous for. For a more intense challenge: The San Juan Hut System connects Telluride or Durango to Gateway or Paradox . 7 BIKE SHARES Is red a really, really popular color for bikes in Denver and Boulder ? The cities’ B-Cycle program has taken off in recent years, 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 and cruise from station to station. The Fort Collins Bike Share and Colorado Springs PikeRide run a similar program, and there are also programs in Aurora, Avon, Longmont, Buena Vista and Aspen . WANT MORE? COLORADO.COM/CYCLING 8 WE MAKE ’EM OURSELVES Handcrafted to get riders wheeling on all the terrain Colorado can serve up, more than 30 companies are keeping things local for Centennial State riders, from Durango Bike Company to Alchemy Bicycle Company in Denver, Yeti Cycles in Golden and many others. COLORADO.COM / 73
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2019: Page 73
