Denver: where to locate - Page 3 - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

11-13-2003, 06:45 PM

Bob wrote:

<< Should I try to locate on the west side or is it easy enough to get over
there via roads and/or trails from the north or south of the city? >>

I think it would be a great bonus to live on the west side. From central Denver
there is an hour ride to get to the hills, and it is not a spectular ride. How
'bout Boulder? Lots of great road riding. Have your wife commute to Aurora and
bring home the bacon while you cruise Left Hand Canyon four days a week.

Robert
damn that sounds good

Where can I find a woman like that?
----Rick Springfield

She will never let your spirits down, once you get her off the street.
----Rick James

11-13-2003, 07:06 PM

R15757 <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
: Ouch. That sounds like a truly awful ride. No wonder you think Denver is such a
: bad place to ride a bike. Actually, to be honest, it would be difficult to come
: up with a worse cycling route into downtown from there.

well, perhaps. the part of that ride that was always the worst was quincy
or hampden to parker from e470. and afaik there are no trails or even non
arterials to choose from. you're stuck on quincy for 4 or 5 miles and if
it's near rush-hour. groan. god help you if you get in front of an f-150.
there's no room for him to pass and they just queue up behind you getting
angrier and angrier. tower and buckley perpendicular are also a treat.

parker, while a much larger street (basically a highway) was cake in
comparison 'cause of the shoulders except for that lane change in front of
i-225. but then i've spent a lot of miles on interstates and high-speed
traffic doesn't really bother me as long as i have my space. people did
seem shocked that i biked on parker, tho.

you shouldn't need intimate knowledge of a city to pick routes. in most
places you can more or less just go out and ride.

i would be interested in a better way to get downtown via the streets, tho.
my folks live in aurora and i go back every so often.

: It's an interesting debate. Personally, I find the fully-separated paths of
: Denver to be very useful tools.

i don't deny that they're useful. i would even say that the denver trails
are better than most. i just hate trails on philosophical grounds.

: I did notice some new painted lanes downtown, serving
: no clear purpose.

weird?
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-13-2003, 09:31 PM

"Bob Lovejoy" <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote in message news:<F%Asb.186578$e01.675257@attbi_s02>...
> Bob,
>
<snip>
> There is also a long standing touring(?) and ride oriented group that could
> be of help. They have always put out a great map of the area, with paths
> and recommended routes.
> [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
>
> Hope it helps!
>
> Bob

I would also like to add that the DBTC has an electronic newsletter
that I edit that contains a lot of information on bicycle happenings
in the Metro area. You can sign on at the DBTC website above. Our
rides are for all levels and go all over the Denver area. And, yes,
we even have rides on "roads" not just paths.

Another group you might want to look into is Bicycle Aurora. They
have more rides in the Aurora area. Their website is
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ].

One last thing about living in Aurora vs Denver. The City and County
of Denver has a more stable water supply than any of the surrounding
cities. Because of the vision of our City fathers in the late 1800's,
Denver owns rights to a lot of water from the west slope of the
Rockies. During the dought last year (2002), we still had 3 or 4
month's supply of water when the other cities were down to dead pools
in their reseviors. Denver also provides trash pick up as part of
city services which can save a lot of money. And, if you end up
living in the southeastern part of the city, the schools are better
than those in the other parts of town.

11-14-2003, 11:26 AM

Does anybody remember that movie from 1979-80 that was set
in Denver.... basically this subdivision from hell was
created and finally all the kids went ape? I've been
trying to remember the name of the movie... it seems
to characterize the subtleties I've seen about Denver
in the news and on visits there.

Mark

11-15-2003, 12:54 AM

David Reuteler wrote:

<< well, perhaps. the part of that ride that was always the worst was quincy
or hampden to parker from e470. and afaik there are no trails or even non
arterials to choose from. you're stuck on quincy for 4 or 5 miles and if it's
near rush-hour. groan. god help you if you get in front of an f-150. there's
no room for him to pass and they just queue up behind you getting angrier and
angrier. tower and buckley perpendicular are also a treat.>>

<<parker, while a much larger street (basically a highway) was cake in
comparison 'cause of the shoulders except for that lane change in front of
i-225. but then i've spent a lot of miles on interstates and high-speed
traffic doesn't really bother me as long as i have my space. people did seem
shocked that i biked on parker, tho. >>

Parker is all right. But then it turns into Leetsdale through Glendale and is a
terrible road to ride. Busy, high speeds, very narrow curb lanes, massive
potholes, and drivers who don't expect to see cyclists.

<< you shouldn't need intimate knowledge of a city to pick routes. in most
places you can more or less just go out and ride. >>

Are there not varying degrees in hassle and stress with different routes? You
have chosen the worst roads available and your experience was therefore
negative.

<< i would be interested in a better way to get downtown via the streets, tho.
my folks live in aurora and i go back every so often. >>

An easy way is to stay on Quincy, which is much better to the west, all the way
to say Clarkson and just bomb north all the way in. There also are many very
nice routes to be found through the residential areas northwest of quincy and
quebec. Make your way to Happy Canyon (?) to Dahlia to Iliff/Warren to St.
Paul/Steele into Cherry Creek shopping vortex, where your fastest option will
be the path into the heart of downtown although those with your religious
belief will also have plenty of street options available.

<< i don't deny that they're useful. i would even say that the denver trails
are better than most. i just hate trails on philosophical grounds. >>

Seems more like religion than philosophy. Some of the more zealous
Forester-ites are like cult members who need to be deprogrammed.

<< : I did notice some new painted lanes downtown, serving
: no clear purpose.

weird? >>

Very weird. I don't understand the bike lane thing. They only show up on
streets that are already good cycling streets. Sometimes they feel helpful and
other times not helpful at all. In any case they freak me out. When I'm on
18th, I use every inch of every lane and the bike lane looks pretty lonely over
there.

Robert

11-15-2003, 06:00 AM

>Seems more like religion than philosophy. Some of the more zealous
>Forester-ites are like cult members who need to be deprogrammed.

Man, you summarized it perfectly.

I think that some folks have an automatic reply option pre-set on their
computer.

When it recognizes the word "trail" or "bike path" it automatically spews out a
prewritten diatribe against trails and paths.

There are 100's of bikers who use the Cherry Creek Trail as their main route
into downtown Denver. It is by far the easiest and fastest way to get around.
Ask these riders what they think about "trails."

Of course, the trails don't fit everyone, nor go everyplace. However, they are
a viable option.

When I commuted from Cherry Creek (CC) Shopping Center to Westminster, I would
park my car at CC and ride the CC Trail to Confluence Park and take the Platte
River Trail to the Clear Creek Trail, getting off at Pecos and going 1 mile on
Pecos to my school, and do the 18 miles in one hour.

I was able to go under and through 3 freeways (I-25, I-76 and I-270/US 36) with
only 2 street crossings the entire 18 miles, and those street crossings were
small, unused streets.

The alternative would be to try to find my way around those 3 freeways on
surface street, an almost overwhelming proposition, and use narrow surface
streets such as Pecos and Federal. Wow, that would be some ride.

I see lots and lots of commuter folks using the Clear Creek Trail and the
Platte River Trail. I will ask them what they think about trails vs freeways!!

And I said I was going to stay out of this flame war!

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(Colorado rental condo)

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11-15-2003, 08:59 AM

R15757 <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
: Parker is all right. But then it turns into Leetsdale through Glendale and is a
: terrible road to ride. Busy, high speeds, very narrow curb lanes, massive
: potholes, and drivers who don't expect to see cyclists.

leetsdale isn't all that bad in comparison to quincy.

: Are there not varying degrees in hassle and stress with different routes? You
: have chosen the worst roads available and your experience was therefore
: negative.

rubbish. i did bother to ride on considerably more streets than those
mentioned.

: Seems more like religion than philosophy. Some of the more zealous
: Forester-ites are like cult members who need to be deprogrammed.

yea, ok, fine. **** yourself.
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-15-2003, 09:04 AM

Denver C. Fox <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
: The alternative would be to try to find my way around those 3 freeways on
: surface street, an almost overwhelming proposition, and use narrow surface
: streets such as Pecos and Federal. Wow, that would be some ride.

yea, ummm, hello. so given ludicrous choice (a) you pick trails. maybe
you should question why you're having to make ludicrous choice (a).
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

11-15-2003, 12:51 PM

>yea, ummm, hello. so given ludicrous choice (a) you pick trails. maybe
>you should question why you're having to make ludicrous choice (a).

This response is supposed to make some sense??

Perhaps you are not yet awake?

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(Colorado rental condo)

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(Family Web Page)

11-15-2003, 01:17 PM

Denver C. Fox <[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]> wrote:
:>yea, ummm, hello. so given ludicrous choice (a) you pick trails. maybe
:>you should question why you're having to make ludicrous choice (a).
:
: This response is supposed to make some sense??

yes.

you said trails are a great option because your roads suck so bad. i said
you should question why your roads suck so bad.

: Perhaps you are not yet awake?

good one.
--
david reuteler
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]