What to do in Boulder if you have a bike

I know we're not in Boulder anymore but I've been working on this one for a while. And hey, a girl can dream can't she?

Any cyclist will tell you that the biking in Boulder is awesome. But when we first got here, that was all we knew. Like many sports in Colorado, there are so many awesome options that it's hard to get specific suggestions when you ask people for good routes. Here are a few of our favorites. For consistency's sake they all start from the corner of Baseline and Broadway and you can assume that for the vast majority of each ride you will have a bike lane/wide shoulder and relatively minimal traffic (car, that is).

Flat Rides

1. Neva Road Loop





2. Baseline Loop





3. Hygiene Loop

This is a nice, relatively flat longer ride around the Boulder area. It rolls through farmland north of Boulder with great views of the flatirons and foothills. At the turn onto 75th (around mile 18) you can instead go left and you will immediately find yourself in the charming little town of Hygiene.





Climbs:

4. Ward

This is something like the must do climb in Boulder. The first time that we did it, we did the first route shown below as an out and back. We had camped in Meadow Park in Lyons the night before. (The campsite was great. Right on the St. Vrain river, real bathrooms, and low altitude so it was great for early summer camping when the mountains were still cold and snowy). This climb is 25 miles completely uphill and took us about 3 hrs. When we got to the top, we ate our weight in cheesy pizza and desert at the first restaurant we saw (and I'm pretty sure the only one in town) before enjoying a beautiful 45 minute pedal-less descent down the way we had come. (I couldn't believe all the beautiful scenery I had missed while cursing the pavement on the way up.)




Another way to get to Ward is up Lefthand Canyon Drive. This route is shorter and more convenient when you're leaving from Boulder. The road ends at a cute little general store where you can buy snacks and drinks to refuel for the not nearly as strenuous descent.





5. Jamestown

If you start up Lefthand with dreams of Ward but 20 minutes later decide that today may not be the day to realize that dream, take a right on James Canyon Drive and head up to Jamestown instead. If you get there before 2:00, you can even stop in town for a home-cooked breakfast. If you get there after 2:00, you absolutely cannot. There is one restaurant in this "town" and we found out when we got there at 2:15 that it stops serving at 2:00.





6. Flagstaff

Flagstaff is also a must-do Boulder climb, although not nearly as much of a time commitment as a climb to Ward is, this one is short but very steep. The whole thing only takes 45 minutes to an hour and can be done before work as a quick but intense morning workout. You can take a right at Flagstaff Summit Road and continue till the end if you want to add a little more mileage.






Epic (coming soon)

8. Tour de cute towns (Just a little all day ride that Michelle and I cooked up. Mostly an excuse to eat 5 meals in a day)

9. Carter Lake

10. Mt. Evans