Im off to Steamboat Springs in Colorado in a few days. Has anyone ridden in that area? The area is a ski resort so i guess there may be some mtb trails etc. Im being lent a gravel bike to explore on.

Is it worth me taking my bivvi kit for an overnighter, or will i get eaten by bears and killed by venomous snakes as i sleep?

Any recommendations or experience greatly recieved

Thanks

Ian

We went a few years ago, we stayed at Evergreen at the wilderness cabins up in the mountains and there were loads of bears, we also stayed with some friends at their campsite which was made up of a couple of trailers parked in a square with an electric fence round it to stop bears getting in, they still got in now and again and the destruction they caused was eye opening, in fact the trailer we stayed in had a steel sheet riveted over the window frame as a bear had ripped the window out of frame and climbed in to look for food
This was taken at Evergreen were we stayed

Bears.. 😯
Apart from that it was great, though Boulder was like a cross between Amsterdam and the Wild wild West, loads of stoned cowboys all over the place..
We visited a ski resort (can’t remember the name) and they had bike trails all over and the lifts were converted to carry bikes, there were loads of bike shops around that rented bikes out and were happy to chat and give advice as well.
Get used to hearing ‘gee I love your accent’ 😐

Wow! That photo is both amazing and scary. I may have a rethink regarding staying out overnight. Im guessing they can outrun me on my bike too.

Did you do any gravel riding?

No, we went hiking and horse riding, our friends breed those spotty horses at their ranch, but there are loads of bike trails all over the place and lots of places have free maps you can grab, never seen any gravel bikes, it was either MTB’s or road bikes,
Our friend who we stayed with likes to go out for a couple of months at a time with his horse and dog, he searches for and recovers body’s when people have gone missing and he had some tales of bear encounters while he was in his teepee, one of which was being woke up by a bear licking his face and having to stay stock still til it went away while his dog cowered underneath him, and his mule got clawed badly when it was parked outside the trailers one night.

I have not ridden there but skied and visited in the summer for walking. First statement of the obvious is its a massive state so a lot depends on where you are going. Lots of good riding, will dig out some Vimeo videos. It gets un-ridably hot in the summer but should be ok now.

Thanks guys that is ace. Its currently daytime peak temp of 30c…so thats at the upper limit of riding for me.

We are staying with the guys from Moots so im sure i will get some pointers from them…i just didnt want to turn up and be totally surprised by everything….

If you go past Fruita, sop off and ride. Drop into Over the Edge for trail advice http://otesports.com/locations/fruita/ and the pizza place round the corner is good too!

Think you will find the altitude has an interesting effect on your riding ability,
it did with me last year, so take it steady, trails and scenery pretty epic.

A few hours drive from Steamboat, but there are great trails and riding communities at Durango, Salida and Crested Butte. You’ll acclimatise pretty quickly, if you land at Denver you’ll be at 1500m straight away.

I landed at Denver last night! What a coincidence. I’m at a conference for a few days then heading to Boulder for a few days. I’m recovering from surgery so ‘just’ going to do some road biking.

You’ll need one of these

Altitude is a killer. You’ll be huffing and puffing.
Great riding though

Judging by the altitude it seems i would scare off any possible rey with my heavy breathing.

Im currently looking at part of the Great Divide route, as Steamboat is on the route. Im rather excited now 🙂

Iirc Winter Park is just over 70 miles from Denver.

I would go back to Crested Butte in a heartbeat. You’d need to check the trails were open though, I was there in late June and 401 was still closed with snow messing it up higher up.

If you head to CB stop off in Leadville, at 10,000+ feet you get blood flecks in your snot…. I liked Leadville none the less 😆 Turquoise Lake I seem to recall was pleasant. And flattish, thankfully…

I also liked Boulder as a place. Didn’t do any cycling there though… 😳

Colorado Trail by Yeti Cycles (based in Golden, Colorado) – this does not look S 🙂

[video]http://vimeo.com/110962890[/video]

Colorado Fall

[video]http://vimeo.com/110962890[/video]

Ace! Thanks

Rode through Colorado, N to S last year on the Divide. I was bimbling so slept many nights alone in the woods, mixed with a few motel stops. I wouldn’t worry too much about black bears.

Americans generally tend to big up and sensationalise the risk, with any sighting becoming a social media epic, but miniscule records exist of black bear intrusions on camp when people present. Advise I got from the old timers was to hang your food and toiletries. Keep a few stones by your tent so if a bear comes in you can scare them off with the stones. Read up on riding in bear country and making lots of noise and you will be fine. Worth noting the bears are more scared of you, so will avoid, unles surprised.

No grizzlies in Colorado so nothing to worry about. I had dumped my bear spray in wyoming, as wasnt needed in Colorado.

Oh and Salida was the coolest place I visited.

Been to Boulder twice and cycled around there (off and on road) and also been to other areas like Vail & Fruita. Did a lap of the Vail XC course the climbs at altitude are brutal. Not been to Crested Butte but its supposed to be amazing.

In general I found the altitude means you lack top end power and need to drink lots and lots. Whether you are on the road or mtb the climbs are typically long compared to what we have in the UK, so be prepared for that.

Oh other thing to mention are the afternoon thunderstorms which can be mental and a bit scary. So start cycling early and get off the mountains before mid afternoon.

Ace area to visit though.

I was told that there were no poisonous indigenous snakes in Colorado.

Camping in Colorado is huge. We did 2 big trips camping every night. There are hundreds and hundrerds of campsites and most are big. Bears are not a big deal in Colorado. We were more careful Yosemite and areas with grizzlies need lots of precautions. I think we might have slept with food away from the tent in Colorado but not hung up

List American bear fatalities

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

Colorado had a ear fatality in 2009. But he fed bears regularly. Then you need to go back to 1994 and 1971

Remember 100 cyclists a year die in the UK

Old Thread here

I was told that there were no poisonous indigenous snakes in Colorado

Apart from the Rattlesnakes?

@dikie’s link is great

I realised I posted the same video link twice, here is the Fall one (not the most useful for planning as no location info !)

[video]http://vimeo.com/72234074[/video]

This year has been pretty good for big snakes on the front range. I haven’t checked them too hard but I think they were mostly bull snakes. But yes there are rattle snakes in Colorado. Last I heard there was a lot of snow still melting in Summit county from the big storm in April but it’s warm enough that it should be gone soon. Looks like Trestle bike park is open at WP now, so the other bike parks are probably open at CB and Keystone.

Rode there about 10 years ago
Fruita at the Bookcliffs. Great dry sinuous single track
Kokopelli trail near Grand Junction. Amazing track next to Colorado river
Moab-very hot and slick rock was wicked. Bailed on other riding there due to the heat
Durango-great access to the Colorado trail for out and backs.
Hermosa Creek-Up from Durango. Another amazing trail
Crested Butte-401, Dkye Trail, Reno-Flag-Bear….just so good
Salida-Monarch Crest and Rainbow trail. Big climb and amazing downhill

So much good riding there and the locals are really friendly.