Need advice on biking in Boulder, CO

[KLizotte]

Hi y’all, I’ll be in Denver (only three days) and Boulder (8 days) starting in June for vacation. Whoohooo! I’ve never been to either.

I’m hoping to rent either a road and/or mountain bike in Boulder and am looking for shop recommendations since I’ve often found that rental places often not do not maintain their bikes very well or have a big selection.

Also, I presume I should bring my own pedals (SPDs) and saddle (it’s the only one I’ve found that doesn’t cause sciatica pain) along with the usual bike clothes, safety gear, water bottles, etc. Anything I’m forgetting? I presume I should bring my own pump, tubes, etc for repairs? I presume the shop will provide me with a u-lock?

I’ve never gone mountain biking before; are there good newbie places in the area?

Any recommendations on where to take a road bike?

I understand both Denver and Boulder have bikeshare so getting around downtown should be easy.

Thanks so much for your advice!!!

Topic

[DismalScientist]

Here’s a little one day ride not far from there: http://www.strava.com/segments/5159712

[KLizotte]

@DismalScientist 86825 wrote:

Here’s a little one day ride not far from there: http://www.strava.com/segments/5159712

Are you trying to be funny?! 0% average grade but 6K+ elevation difference! That is the weirdest profile I’ve ever seen. I wonder if anyone rents e-bikes there…..

[DismalScientist]

It a trip up and down the mountain with the highest paved road in the country.:rolleyes:

Here’s a worse one, but it’s not in Colorado: http://www.strava.com/segments/794440

[KLizotte]

@DismalScientist 86828 wrote:

It a trip up and down the mountain with the highest paved road in the country.:rolleyes:

So I would need oxygen then….

[rcannon100]

I may (or may not) be out there in July and am wondering the exact same things.

[PotomacCyclist]

The Boulder Cycling Club might be a good source of info. They have a Visiting Cyclists Program too.

http://bouldercyclingclub.org/2009/02/visiting-cyclists-program/

https://www.facebook.com/BoulderCyclingClub

[eminva]

K —

Have you been to higher elevations before and do you have any idea how you handle changes in altitude? Being a lifelong sea level person, experience has taught me that I have a particularly difficult time just hanging out on the sofa at high elevations, so sadly, I have to scale back my ambitions for active vacations. I think most people do not have my problems so hopefully this is not an issue for you. But maybe start with some easy stuff the first few days to see how it goes? Then tackle the more ambitious routes after that.

If you love your helmet above all others, bring that, too.

Have fun! Sounds great and looking forward to the photos!

Liz

[KLizotte]

Hi Liz, yeah, I’ll be taking the first five days or so really easy, partly due to itinerary and also to acclimate. Yup, sea level person here but I’ve been at elevation before and didn’t have any problems so fingers crossed. There is no way I’m gonna be biking thru heavy mountains though since I know that is out of my league. Denver had a big hail storm the other day so I am hoping the weird weather is out of the way. Bringing my hiking boots of course. At least I won’t have to worry about grizzly bears unlike last trip.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[baiskeli]

I’ve been in this area a few times, including last summer, but haven’t biked there much, and not in a long time. I can’t give specific advice, just this rather floppy, lame response.

In addition to the aforementioned altitude, the air is pretty dry there, so be prepared to hydrate alot. I’d bring a CamelBak. Not much shade either.

Definitely bring pump, etc. with you, since the spaces between civilization (i.e. bike shops) can be wider out there, and there ain’t no Metro to hop on either.

There’s all kinds of space out there. They have just public “open space” where you can ride around or whatever. Crazy! Plenty of places to mountain bike in the foothills where Boulder, etc. are – no need to go up in the mountains. It’s great for road biking too. You can ride from small town to small town. Be prepared for damage to bridges and roads from the floods last summer. Also, every little town has at least one brewery, and you can bring your own food into some of them. I guess now they all have their own reefer joints too. I’m sure you haven’t chosen Colorado as a vacation site for that reason though.

[cyclingfool]

@KLizotte 86877 wrote:

Denver had a big hail storm a the other day so I am hoping the weird weather is out of the way.

I’ve never been to Denver (unless a layover counts), but if there’s one thing I do know about Denver, it’s that the weird weather is NEVER out of the way. Have fun on your trip!

[KLizotte]

@baiskeli 86928 wrote:

In addition to the aforementioned altitude, the air is pretty dry there, so be prepared to hydrate alot. I’d bring a CamelBak. Not much shade either.

Definitely bring pump, etc. with you, since the spaces between civilization (i.e. bike shops) can be wider out there, and there ain’t no Metro to hop on either.

Very good points. The first might be problematic since I seem to drink more water than a normal person.

[baiskeli]

@KLizotte 86937 wrote:

Very good points. The first might be problematic since I seem to drink more than a normal person.

Me too, but sometimes I let someone else drive after visiting the breweries so I could have like 5 or 6 beers and …oh, wait, you mean water.

[DaveK]

@KLizotte 86937 wrote:

Very good points. The first might be problematic since I seem to drink more than a normal person.

You’re going to love it there. I’ve never rode a bike in anything but casual clothes there, because all my rides seem to end at breweries and distilleries. You can make a great bikes and brews day of Avery, Twisted Pine (really great tap room), Boulder Beer, Mountain Sun/Southern Sun, Upslope, and then if you’re feeling ambitious (and you should definitely do this) you can hit up the Boulder Distillery where they make 303 vodka and whiskey and serve homemade infused spirits and cocktails. Seriously, Boulder is an alcoholic cyclist’s dream. You can even try and hook up with the Thursday Boulder Cruiser Ride for a rolling parade of fun.

Can you tell that Boulder is my favorite place on earth? Because it kind of is.

If you want to do some SERIOUS BUSINESS cycling you should climb Flagstaff Mountain just outside of town. You’re likely to run into a whole host of pros training there like Taylor Phinney (although not right now), Lucas Euser, Nathan Haas, and half the Garmin team. Garmin’s home office is just off Foothills Parkway, you can see it from the road and the bike path.

Watch for prairie dogs, they’re everywhere along the paths!

[baiskeli]

Also, Louisville is a nice little town 10 miles east of Boulder with a few breweries and restaurants.

For an urban destination in downtown Boulder, there’ a nice farmer’s market on Saturday. Lots of Boulder weirdos hang out in the park nearby – my daughter player her first hackey-sack there. Also, I had the best papusas I’ve ever tasted:

http://www.boulderfarmers.org/hourslocation.html

[JimF22003]

Whenever I ride out west, what happens to me is the hydration problem, as already mentioned. I tend to get cracked and dry lips. Also I get sunburned, especially on the back of my neck. I always think I’m as brown as I can be, and never burn even if I’m out in direct sunlight for hours when I’m out here. Out west (Idaho specifically) I always catch a nasty sunburn. I don’t know if the angle of the sun, or the thinner atmosphere, but it always gets me.

[Author]

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