Looking for someone familiar with good riding spots near Golden. Until the snow melts riding is limited as far as I know. I have been to Left Hand Canyon a few times and up to the Sprucewood area. Rampart has a little too much snow or at least it did on my last visit. Ive found a ton of places online, but all are at higher elevations with deep snow. What cha say folks? any ideas? I figure within a month or two most of the state will be available, but thats a month or two..Anyone ever tried the trails around Buffalo Creek/Cheeseman Lake?

Not sure, but post up what you find. When I get back from an Arizona road trip in a few weeks I will be looking for them.

I have noticed most of the foothills are bare on the South sides, if you can find roads and trails facing South you might do OK.

you betcha...

I rode up through Ward and stopped at the Mill Side (or is it Race) Inn for lunch on Tuesday. There was a lot of sand and lots of snow in Ward and in the lot at the Inn, but a fun time was had for an afternoon mental health day!

John

Looks great

Well the plan was to head up to Saint Marys area and see what the conditions were like. Just as I got to the end of my street it started to snow. Too stubborn to turn back I kept going. Its amazing just how much snow can end up on your face shield on the KLR, the windshield must direct everything just perfectly. So another days ride is postponed due to snow. Looked for some riding nearer to home, but no such luck. There are a few single tracks heading up Table Mountain, but pretty sure between the snow and Coors security it would not have been a good idea. Supposed to ride to Kansas for BBQ in a couple weeks, hope it clears by then..

I'm down in the Springs, let me know if you find a clear trial. I'm not sure I can take it much longer. I don't take chances after I dumped my bike on Rampart.

No Bull / Crash:

I am currently researching trails and off road rides in CO. No Bull -- I think I met your wife (Follow?) at the CO ST Tech event a couple weeks ago. Hope I got the right wife with the right guy!

Anyway, my buddy and I are planning on riding a ride called "In the Shadow of the Rockies" this summer sometime, and then next year we are going to ride the entire Continental Divide Trail. I'm working on the CDT getting it mapped out for my Delorme GPS. When it's done I can send the files to anyone who needs them. Keep in mind, it will take a while and I'm not sure that the Delorme software wil save or export GPX files so we may need to work on another way to get them to you's. I'm sure there are converters out there if I can't save them.

Rich.

Hey Hellbilly, how long would a ride like the Shadow of the Rockys take. I'm lookin for a week long ride for late July. It will be my first big adventure, and I think for my first go around I should use an already plotted trail. You know, to take out some of the guess work. Then the next one I will have a little more knowledge on how this sort of trip works.

Hillbilly it was my wife yes, did she talk poorly of me?? You guys should check these two sites, good places to start for rides..

www.traildamage.com

www.staythetrail.org

http://www.offroadcoloradotrails.com/west.html

Ok ok three sites...

Hey Hellbilly, how long would a ride like the Shadow of the Rockys take. I'm lookin for a week long ride for late July. It will be my first big adventure, and I think for my first go around I should use an already plotted trail. You know, to take out some of the guess work. Then the next one I will have a little more knowledge on how this sort of trip works.

Hey Crash... a guy named Sam in Tennessee created the Shadow of the Rockies trail and sells the roll charts and maps for it on his web site. He is also the guy who created the Trans America Trail (TAT) and sells all the routes for that also.

To make a long story short, I'm not sure how long the SOR ride will take. I don't have the maps yet and have not loaded it into my GPS. Sam went to a lot of trouble creating these trails so I really don't want to undercut him by loading his GPS waypoints and then posting them. You can google his web site and get the maps from him... they're fairly cheap.

On the other hand, the Continental Divide Trail is more public domain and I am working on those waypoints as I speak. I think you could do that trail from one border to the other of Colorado in 3 - 5 days. Probably more like 3. The trail goes from Mexico to the Canadian border and next year my buddy and I are going to try the entire thing. This year around August we're going to do the Colorado portion. You can google the CDT and get a lot of info for that one, and when I'm finished getting everything straightened out on my Delorme software I will post the results here.

Hillbilly it was my wife yes, did she talk poorly of me?? You guys should check these two sites, good places to start for rides..

www.traildamage.com

www.staythetrail.org

http://www.offroadcoloradotrails.com/west.html

Ok ok three sites...

Nah, she didn't speak poorly of you. In fact, I really only introduced myself and didn't say much to anyone. Just watched the maintenance and gabbed a little. Looking forward to better weather and getting out in the dirt a little.

Thanks for the links!

HellBilly you missed a nice run to Hutchinson for BBQ this weekend, you going to Moonshine?

Weather looks great all week, Im game for some type of ride next weekend if anyone else is. Ive still learning but Im up for embarrasing myself if I can learn something in the process..

Well I had a great day today. After a nice brunch with the wife I headed up to Central City and hit the dirt. Most trails were dry and clear, I ran into some snow up high on Yankee hill but it was only in shaded areas. Came out near Saint Marys Glacier, Dumont area. I did notice my OEM tires are starting to slip more and more, didnt get the miles outta them I expected. Better start searching some knobs.