Good roads, beautiful scenery, TOO MANY PEOPLE enjoy it.

[tbitm]

I realize that if anybody actually answers this question it will defeat the purpose of the question but where can I find some nice twisty roads that are NOT bumper to bumper and have reasonable speed limits?

Here is my problem. I recently moved here and am just exploring trying to find good rides.. I've ridden around Golden Gate, Pine - Deckers, Peak to Peak, Rocky Mtn, Fair Deal. All of these areas are packed with cars and a few motorcycles on weekends and the speed limits are very slow in comparison to the technicality of the road. If any of you have ridden much in New Mexico the roads are fantastic and you see only a few cars / motorcycles. With out riding 4 hours south that' pretty much what I am looking for around Denver. Anybody have ideas?

Thanks in advance.

[Ezzzzy1]

Get up and out earlier...

[Jmetz]

You've got to head a couple hours out to find what you are looking for. The further away from Denver you get the less populated the roads are.

Also pick up this book, it was written by one of our members and has tons of good roads and info.

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee511/jmetz9/7334EEDA-884A-4783-B203-68040910507C.jpg

[asp_125]

Weekdays ftw!

On weekends, either get out by 8am or ride farther away from town. Mid summers it's possible to get in an early evening ride and be back in town before dark.

[asp_125]

...If any of you have ridden much in New Mexico the roads are fantastic and you see only a few cars / motorcycles. ..
Thanks in advance.

I have, IMO other than Sandia Crest, I thought that it was a bit of a slog from ABQ to get to the roads near Jemez and Los Alamos.

FWIW the best Colorado twisties are on the west / southwestern part of this state. You owe it to yourself to ride that way sometime.

[tbitm]

Thanks all for your responses. I have been getting out by 8am but maybe even earlier would work. I'll check out the book, heading further southwest etc and keep enjoying the scenery.

[tbitm]

I have, IMO other than Sandia Crest, I thought that it was a bit of a slog from ABQ to get to the roads near Jemez and Los Alamos.

FWIW the best Colorado twisties are on the west / southwestern part of this state. You owe it to yourself to ride that way sometime.

I happened to live in Los Alamos so the Jamez were in my back yard so maybe I was a bit spoiled.

[salsashark]

I'm in Charleston, SC for the time being and always looking for that next move that'll get me back to CO. It's hot as hell here and the humidity straight SUCKS!. There's not a twisty road within 5 hours of this place (although, that 5 hours puts you in the middle of dragon country). Get the book and enjoy whatever you have access to. Head further out west. Once you get out past the divide, there are some amazing roads with no one around. Riding in the foot hills gets tiresome because everyone else wants to head out to play as well.

[Spooph]

Don't forget the north west part of this state. 40 out to Dinosaur has some pretty good spots and various other roads out there. Google maps is your friend. As you said in the earlier, if we tell you, then it will be a place everybody already knows as the word has gotten out about all of the wonderful places to ride close by... Best of luck!

[Clovis]

My buddies and I were talking about this on Saturday. Seems like every year there are more and more cars on the road in the northern riding areas.

(In and around Nederland in particular). Got to head west my boy!

[OUTLAWD]

On the weekends, I would head out by 6am to get my spirited riding in before the crowds.

I noticed less traffic up by FoCo/Loveland (Hwy14, Stove prairie, Rist Canyon, Devil's Gulch) than down by Deckers.

Other than that, get out of the foothills...pack a tent and head West.

[asp_125]

No surprise that the roads that lead somewhere with an attraction (Evergreen, RMNP, Nederland, Blackhawk, Summit County) are the most crowded. RMNP is the most popular national park in the nation, so that should tell you something. But the longer you've been here the more you figure out which are the main feeder routes out of town on the weekends; and you learn to avoid them during peak travel times. For instance most cars take 36 up to Estes out of Lyons, and fewer take 7. Likewise Coal Creek Cyn is less travelled than Golden Gate, than 6 (where all the tour buses are). Bear Creek sucks because it's the Morrison and Evergreen corridor, etc.

[theMayor]

No surprise that the roads that lead somewhere with an attraction (Evergreen, RMNP, Nederland, Blackhawk, Summit County) are the most crowded. RMNP is the most popular national park in the nation, so that should tell you something. But the longer you've been here the more you figure out which are the main feeder routes out of town on the weekends; and you learn to avoid them during peak travel times. For instance most cars take 36 up to Estes out of Lyons, and fewer take 7. Likewise Coal Creek Cyn is less travelled than Golden Gate, than 6 (where all the tour buses are). Bear Creek sucks because it's the Morrison and Evergreen corridor, etc.

News flash... Not even close. RMNP is #5 in the nation at 3.4 Million. Smokey Mountains is 3X that. Good recommendations on routes avoiding traffic... but its a 50/50 chance those roads will have a bike race on them pretty much any weekend in the summer.


I'm in Charleston, SC for the time being and always looking for that next move that'll get me back to CO. It's hot as hell here and the humidity straight SUCKS!. There's not a twisty road within 5 hours of this place (although, that 5 hours puts you in the middle of dragon country). Get the book and enjoy whatever you have access to. Head further out west. Once you get out past the divide, there are some amazing roads with no one around. Riding in the foot hills gets tiresome because everyone else wants to head out to play as well.

Wanna trade? I'd gladly live in Charleston over Denver. I'm counting down the days until I'm back in the South again (I used to live 30min from the Dragon too). But you're right, finding a good road takes effort here. I prefer switchbacks to sweepers, but that's all you can find in the foothills. Add the traffic and LEO's and its a miserable weekend.

[salsashark]

Wanna trade? I'd gladly live in Charleston over Denver. I'm counting down the days until I'm back in the South again (I used to live 30min from the Dragon too). But you're right, finding a good road takes effort here. I prefer switchbacks to sweepers, but that's all you can find in the foothills. Add the traffic and LEO's and its a miserable weekend.

30 minutes from the Dragon and all the "even better" roads would rock... 5'sh hours from there makes for a VERY long and boring day of slab riding. Unfortunately for me, they don't make airplanes anywhere up in the Smoky Mountains.

[White wings]

Great post, I was wondering the sames thing as I just moved here from the flat lands and river valleys of MN.

[theMayor]

I rode Squaw Pass for the first time last weekend. 74 from Morrison to Evergreen was fantastic. Squaw Pass seemed like it would have been an excellent ride if it wasn't for all the bicycles. Really wasn't all that much traffic except for a few groups of cruisers. Gonna hit it one more time this week and see how bad the weekday traffic is.

Ive decided that Squaw Pass will be my "go to" road for the rest of the summer. I got slapped with $635 ticket last time I rode Golden Gate. And I saw even more LEO's on P2P. I don't ride outrageously fast, but if I have to worry about cops around every turn, it takes all the fun out of riding.

[madvlad]

$635? Holy crap, how fast were you going? I also rode Squaw this past Saturday and was a very nice and mellow ride (did leave very early so bicyclists were at a minimum). I'm avoiding p2p, gg and hwy 7 like the plague. My first ride of the season and some CSP decided to lie about my speed saying I was doing 88 in a 35 at hwy 7 which was absolute bullshit given I was sweeping and riding slow all ride, I was doing no more than 60 through that turn. Got court on the 6th so we'll see how that goes cause it's in Boulder county, have heard they got no liniency for motorcyclists but yet I've never seen those fuckers on bicycles get in trouble for taking the whole road and hauling ass coming down the canyons.

[Clovis]

Tickets can be routinely avoided with the right radar detector setup and a pair of eyes :)

[Kim-n-Dean]

Here's how we beat the traffic and get to the roads that are three or four hours away...

Throw the bikes in the back of the toyhauler, leave Thursday afternoon, drive to Buena Vista or Cripple Creek, etc. pull into one of the nice RV resorts and wait for Friday morning. Piece of cake, no traffic.:D

[madvlad]

Tickets can be routinely avoided with the right radar detector setup and a pair of eyes :)

He was around a blind corner so doubt the radar would've done anything. I don't ride fast on the street anyways, that's what track days/superstreets are for :lol:

[Spooph]

I rode Squaw Pass for the first time last weekend. 74 from Morrison to Evergreen was fantastic. Squaw Pass seemed like it would have been an excellent ride if it wasn't for all the bicycles. Really wasn't all that much traffic except for a few groups of cruisers. Gonna hit it one more time this week and see how bad the weekday traffic is.

Ive decided that Squaw Pass will be my "go to" road for the rest of the summer. I got slapped with $635 ticket last time I rode Golden Gate. And I saw even more LEO's on P2P. I don't ride outrageously fast, but if I have to worry about cops around every turn, it takes all the fun out of riding.

this ain't the dragon, that's for sure! There are places with less of a LEO presence, but with the massive increase in CO's population, the LEO's have been increasing too... Also, the floods two years back also reduced the front range riding options significantly. Hwy 7 isn't what it used to be...

[asp_125]

..Hwy 7 isn't what it used to be...

Still pretty good on weekdays, but nowhere as fun as before. The narrows are a bit bumpy too.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

....and sadly, will probably NEVER be the same. Shame, as 7 was my all-time fave front-range road. NONE of those Northern roads will be the same, though I think 7 was the most negatively affected.

[Wrider]

Irony: one of the people who just moved to the area complaining that there are too many people in the area...

[Sully]

He was around a blind corner so doubt the radar would've done anything. I don't ride fast on the street anyways, that's what track days/superstreets are for :lol:

LMAO.. YESSSSS a radar detector would have helped you!!!! :slap: The other two detectors in the group went off well before we approached the LEO's :bigeyes:

And riding highway 7 isn't as much fun as it was before the floods :(

[madvlad]

I dk, never needed one cause I don't ride fast on the roads. You saw me take what, 2 turns fast? About it

[asp_125]

Need to follow the lead of Devaclis and Ninja, they're on the other side of the state this week, where the really good riding is.

[madvlad]

Moab?

[asp_125]

Moab?

from their facebook posts, looks like they rode North Rim of the Gunnison, Telluride & Million $$ Hwy, and probably going through Gateway via 141.

[Aphrodite]

I was wondering how the influx of people affected traffic there.

[madvlad]

Traffic is an absolute nightmare here now, it is literally rush hour traffic 90% of the day now

[Aphrodite]

I guess I will stay here in Misery and visit Colorado lol :yes:

[theMayor]

$635? Holy crap, how fast were you going? I also rode Squaw this past Saturday and was a very nice and mellow ride (did leave very early so bicyclists were at a minimum). I'm avoiding p2p, gg and hwy 7 like the plague. My first ride of the season and some CSP decided to lie about my speed saying I was doing 88 in a 35 at hwy 7 which was absolute bullshit given I was sweeping and riding slow all ride, I was doing no more than 60 through that turn. Got court on the 6th so we'll see how that goes cause it's in Boulder county, have heard they got no liniency for motorcyclists but yet I've never seen those fuckers on bicycles get in trouble for taking the whole road and hauling ass coming down the canyons.

I was 24 over.... but I crossed the double yellow "3 times" (It was once, but I passed 3 cars) to SAFELY go around 2 vehicles that were unloading passengers (and one that was halfway in the road). The cop was sitting in someones driveway up a hill behind a blind corner and claimed to have seen the whole thing and said that I should've stopped for the cars to unload rather than go around them.

For the record, I don't ride fast on the streets. I do enjoy a spirited pace in the canyons, but i'm constantly scanning for cops. I just got tagged at the exact wrong moment as I was passing cars in a straight-away (that were pulled over)... and I had been stuck behind that group for 4-5 miles.