Keep up-to-date with colorado.bike and our travels throughout the state!
Bicycling Adventures in 2022
Posted July 16, 2022
This year, I have had the great pleasure of riding at 3 trails new to me in Colorado. Here’s what I felt about each:
Centennial Cone Park in Golden
Wow, what an absolute blast! This trail is moderate to difficult in sections, but it’s a good kind of challenge. When you start from the West Trailhead parking lot, you’ll start on the easy, relatively flat doubletrack called the Elk Range Trail that could best be described as a four wheeler trail. Small pebbles, some loose dirt, but nothing huge or scary. Then you’ll start climbing some technical singletrack switchbacks with large rocks strewn throughout the path. 29ers really excel at getting over these larger rocks.
The downhills of Centennial Cone Park are awesome! Fast, flowing, with some small bumps that can be hit for big air! Be careful on some of them because you’re perched on the edge of a 500+ foot drop to the creek below. The views are stellar and the foliage is beautiful. Sections of both the Elk Range and Travois Trail smell like the beautiful wildflowers that surround them in the spring and summer!
Linking the Elk Range Trail with the Travois Trail gives riders about 10 miles of excellent riding. My riding partner and I completed the two trail loop in 2 hours. The park also offers the Mayhem Gulch, Juniper, and Evening Sun Loop trails. I haven’t personally ridden the last 3 listed trails, but I hear they’re also excellent. Mayhem Gulch is apparently very technical and challenging, especially the uphill climbs.
Please refer to the Jefferson County, Colorado website (jeffco.us) to find out which days the trails are designated for biking or hiking as the days alternate (for example, even-numbered days may be for bicyclists and odd-numbered days may be for hikers.) There is no fee to park at Centennial Cone West Trailhead. Enjoy the fascinating Clear Creek Canyon drive to reach these trails and expect high volumes of car and truck traffic in the spring, summer, and fall months. Please respect the speed limit and other road users as the road to the trails is in a residential area.
Elk Meadow Park includes over 14 miles of trails for all skill levels. Starting at the Lewis Ridge parking lot on Bergen Peak Drive at the intersection with Evergreen Parkway (Colorado 74), you can link the Sleepy-S Trail with the Bergen Peak Trail or the Elk Ridge Trail. The Sleepy-S Trail starts climbing from the parking lot and you can climb higher at the intersection with the Bergen Peak Trail or descend back towards the parking area on the Elk Ridge Trail. Fast, mildly technical downhills with loose dirt and small jumps make for a great reward after the 500′ climb. Please, yield to all other trail users including hikers and horseback riders. This is a free park with no fee to park or use the trails!
Alderfer/Three Sisters Park’s West Summit Trail in Evergreen
These trails from the West Summit Trailhead are pretty easy, wide open, and very fun. The East Trailhead has more difficult trails with rocky sections that may require repeated dismounts. This place is very busy every single day of the week in spring, summer, and fall. Be prepared to arrive early (6, 7am) to beat the rush. The West Trailhead parking area has more parking spots available than the East Trailhead parking lot. You can complete most of the trails in this park in a couple of hours.
Of the three trails, all within a half hour drive of each other, I would recommend them in this order for a rider of my experience level (advanced): 1) Centennial Cone Park, 2) Elk Meadow Park, and 3) Alderfer/Three Sisters Park. If you’re looking for easier rides, reverse the order.
Enjoy your rides and get out there and have fun, everyone!
-Alex
Watch the Tour de France 2022
Posted July 7, 2022
The Tour de France is on NBC affiliate USA for the next 2 weeks every morning. Today was Stage 6; 15 more grueling stages to go! Congratulations to the riders who are on the ride of their lives and competing for one of the most coveted trophies in cycling racing!
-Alex
Trail Construction Begins in Virginia Canyon Mountain Park
Posted January 16, 2022
Trail construction has begun on Phase 1 of Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, located in Idaho Springs, Colorado, home of colorado.bike. Read about it here! https://cityofidahosprings.colorado.gov/press-release/trail-construction-begins-in-virginia-canyon-mountain-park
(The above link no longer directs to the 2022 news story as of March 9th, 2024. No alternative link has been discovered.)
-Alex
Congratulations to Sepp Kuss!
Posted July 11, 2021
Sepp Kuss of Durango, Colorado has won Stage 15 of the 2021 Tour de France! He broke away from the leaders with 20km to go in the difficult stage that ended in Andorra. Stage 15 included the highest point of the Tour above 8,000′ elevation and the only stage that enters a country other than France. The tough climbs and 10km final descent were akin to a ride someone would encounter in Colorado. Kuss became the first American rider to win a Tour de France stage since 2011! Congratulations to Sepp and keep on riding, friends!
-Alex
Happy Mother’s Day!
Posted May 9, 2021
Get out there and take a bike ride with mom today! Here at colorado.bike, we salute all the hard working and loving mothers out there!
-Alex
Spring snow and the coming months
Posted March 16, 2021
Good morning, cyclists! It has been a while since I’ve posted anything new here on colorado.bike. Spring snows and the continuing global health situation have kept us from traveling and bringing you the content we desire to share with the cycling community. All excuses aside, we will be traveling around Colorado, riding bikes, filming and photographing, and meeting fellow cyclists soon! April will be busy as we embark on summer plans for our headquarters in Virginia Canyon just outside of Idaho Springs, CO.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly at alex@colorado.bike. I am the owner, founder, and sole proprietor of the website and company and would love to help you realize your Colorado bicycling dreams. This state is a very special place that I and my friends and family have a vested interest in preserving for future generations of residents, tourists, animals, and plants alike. Thank you for your continued support and we hope to see you on a ride in the year 2021!
-Alex
Stretches for cyclists and hikers
Posted February 14, 2021
Keeping limber as a cyclist or hiker is vital to your fun and safety. Follow these stretches to keep legs, back, and abdominal muscles fit for the ride/adventure!
Toe Touches: Stand with your feet pointing straight ahead and side-by-side. Reach slowly towards your toes with your arms. Don’t bend your knees. Hold for 3-10 seconds, stand up straight, and repeat 3-5 times. You should feel this stretch in the back of your legs, upper and lower alike.
Butterfly: Sit on the floor with the bottoms of your feet flat against each other. This stretch will be felt in your groin muscles. Do not bounce and flap your legs; try to slowly press them floorward with your palms facing down.
Standing Leg Balance: Stand on one foot and fold the other leg behind your bottom. Hold and develop core stabilization muscles with this classic stretch challenge. Try to hold for 10-15 seconds each leg, then repeat 3-5 stretches each leg prior to your ride.
Seated Toe Touch: Sit with your legs straight out in front of your core. Slowly reach for your toes, eventually grabbing them and pulling gently towards your body with your hands. Another classic stretch, often encountered in school Presidential Fitness tests!
Use these and other stretches to keep your muscles and joints flexible and ready for any ride! Combine excellent nutrition and resistance training in the form of weightlifting to add to your power and endurance! Happy riding, colorado.bike family!
-Alex
Spring/Summer 2021 plans
Posted February 3, 2021
colorado.bike has big plans in the works for the spring and summer of 2021. We have laid the groundwork for our food truck in Idaho Springs, Colorado on our land in Virginia Canyon. We are developing menu items daily and have our 3 featured items confirmed! We plan to source as close to 100% of our ingredients from Colorado growers! We will feature a variety of vegan, gluten free, and organic items in addition to quality meats. All our food will be designed with ease of trailside consumption and minimal waste in mind. And of course the foods we offer will provide useful nutrition for cyclists, hikers, and adventurers!
We aim to repair and sell bicycles from our headquarters this year in the summer. Stop by for a tire pressure adjustment, part replacement, or bicycle inspection while riding at the forthcoming Virginia Canyon Mountain Park! Click the link for up-to-date news about the development of the 400+ acre park and trail system!
We would like to remind our readers and website users the area our headquarters is located in is highly residential and is also a vital corridor for the mining and natural resource industries. Please observe the 15 mile per hour speed limit, yield to uphill traffic, and when riding or driving, please yield to horse riders and pedestrians!
Thank you for your continued interest in colorado.bike! Please email us at alex@colorado.bike if you would like to learn more and grow with us this year. Let’s get out there and ride!
-Alex
iTenemos una página nueva!
Posted January 25, 2021
icolorado.bike tiene una página nueva en español! Tenemos objetivo de translatar todas las páginas de nuestro sitio de ingles a español en los días adelantes. Vamos a translatar en mas idiomas en el futuro también. Escoger la página aquí: http://www.colorado.bike/espanol. iGrácias por su soporte!
colorado.bike has a new page in Spanish! We have the objective to translate all of our pages from English to Spanish in the days ahead. We also have the desire to translate into more languages in the future as well. Find the page here: http://www.colorado.bike/espanol. Thank you for your support!
-Alex
Ride dirt tracks, parks, and race courses to improve your skills
Posted January 23, 2021
Here at colorado.bike, we’re fans of riding on BMX tracks, race courses, and at bike parks to improve overall confidence and skills used on cross country, downhill, and even road bike rides. You might ask, “How do park skills translate to other styles of riding?”
There are many ways park and jump riding skills translate to other types of dirt or even paved riding. For one, I notice when I ride predictable, groomed courses, I have more time to focus on my position on the bicycle. When approaching a known obstacle, you can stand more, or shift your weight back or forward, to better clear the obstacle or land the air you’ve just caught. Knowing when and how to move on the pedals and handlebars can keep you out of trouble on gnarly, rocky trails or slippery roads out in the wild.
Park riding also keeps me focused on getting the most power out of my pedal strokes, leading to a more focused riding style on pavement. If I see I have 2 obstacles back to back on a park course, I plan my pedaling power accordingly. Similarly, when I ride my road bike, even on flat or gentle slopes, I keep my pedal cadence in mind and focus on one section of the path at a time. Road bikers can also benefit by knowing when it’s ok to push through a corner (you need plenty of grip) or when it’s better to coast and roll.
Please give park/dirt jump/and slalom-style courses a try this year if you’ve never tried them! Learning to become a better rider often requires us to get out of our comfort zones and experience new sensations on the bike. Whether you typically keep both tires on the ground or love catching air, give parks like Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado a shot in 2021! The pictures above and below are from a BMX course in Marietta, Georgia, close to my hometown and alma mater The University of Georgia.
Happy trails, riders!
-Alex
Spring is just around the corner: get ready!
Posted January 18, 2021
Good morning and hello to all of our biking fanatic followers out there! Have you been exercising indoors this winter? Get your bike and gear prepared for warmer temperatures and outdoor riding soon! Air up those tires, clean and lubricate moving parts on your bike, and pack a riding backpack with safety and comfort gear!
Colorado typically has beautiful spring days starting in late April with abundant sunshine and explosive green growth! Of course, it can still snow in higher places in the state in April and May. Typically Denver and flatter, lower parts of the state (still a mile above sea level or more!) will not get snow after mid-April. However, I’ve experienced an 82°F May 1st and a 32°F May 2nd that came with 8 inches of snow in Fort Collins, Colorado! They always say: “If you don’t like the weather in Colorado, wait 5 minutes!”
Be prepared with a variety of clothing for spring Colorado bike rides. Start the day with layers you can remove as the day warms and brightens. One April day, I started a morning hike in 17°F sunny weather and was removing layers by midday as the temps climbed well above freezing!
Thank you for your interest in bicycling in Colorado. Please do not hesitate to ask us for any recommendations about your biking adventures in the Centennial State. Check out our new Services page to see all the benefits colorado.bike can bring to your bike life!
-Alex
Thank you, teachers!
Posted January 8, 2021
Please thank a teacher in your life today! Whether it’s your teacher or that of a student in your life, there’s no doubt that teacher has made a difference in many lives! Many teachers are out of the classroom due to illness or social distancing protocols, but they are there for their students no matter what. Here at colorado.bike, we offer a huge thanks and all our support to teachers around the world!
-Alex
colorado.bike accepts payments on CashApp, PayPal, and Zelle in multiple currencies
Posted January 2, 2021
Good evening, cyclists! Moving ahead in the new financial landscape this year, we find 2021 offering more ways to pay than ever before. New web applications make paying for goods and services easier than ever.
As we aim to offer bicycling tours, training, new merchandise, and vacation rentals, we are now accepting payments on 3 widely used financial apps and in US and Canadian currencies.
colorado.bike now accepts USD ($) and CAD (Canadian Dollar) on PayPal.
We now accept USD ($) on CashApp with the account $coloradobike.
colorado.bike is now also accepting USD ($) payments through Zelle at alex@colorado.bike.
Please e-mail us if you would like to pay for any goods or services with any of these alternate payment methods. Look for support on other popular payment apps soon, such as Facebook, Square, Stripe, and Venmo.
Thank you for your business and we hope to see you on a ride in 2021. Happy New Year!
-Alex
Welcome, international guests!
Posted December 30, 2020
colorado.bike has recently received traffic from Internet users in Canada, France, Pakistan, Germany, China, Chile, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Welcome and thank you for your interest in bicycling in Colorado! Please connect with us on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to keep up with our most current adventures! 2021 will be a big year here at colorado.bike! Only a few 2020 colorado.bike t-shirts and decals remain; get yours while they’re still available!
iHablamos español si tienes algunas preguntas que quieres preguntar en español! iFeliz año nuevo, todas personas internacionales y hispanohablantes!
-Alex
Current plans for colorado.bike
Posted December 28, 2020
As 2020 comes to a close, here at colorado.bike, we’re planning and improving every day! We’re shifting gears (like you’ve got to do to get up a big Colorado mountain) and developing our business plan for 2021 and beyond. This means canceling our planned community meeting at Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs, Colorado in January 2021. A new date will be announced when plans are more defined and can be presented effectively.
Our headquarters on Virginia Canyon Road in Idaho Springs will start small instead of with a large rental accommodation building. We want to remind our guests that although the headquarters will be surrounded by Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, a 400+ acre biking and hiking trail park built by the City of Idaho Springs, it is still located in a heavily residential area that will stay residential in the future. Please be respectful of our neighbors when visiting us next year by not riding on their property, observing the 15 mph speed limit and not speeding in your car or on your bicycle, and not leaving any trash. The road that will pass our headquarters is a through road for many residents who commute to Central City, Colorado or Idaho Springs for work or necessities.
The road is also vital to mining operations further up the canyon and the mountain moving equipment employed for this work is often large and slow-moving. If you encounter large trucks or bulldozers while biking or driving, please only pass when safe to do so and no opposing traffic is nearby.
Thank you to all of you following our early growth journey and for your patience while we learn and grow sustainably! Big things are coming, but they will take time and innovation!
-Alex
Wild theft of historic bicycles in broad daylight
Posted December 17, 2020
Thieves in California have stolen historic one-of-a-kind race bicycles from cycle manufacturer Specialized’s headquarters. Read about it here. If you or anyone you know has any information about the theft, please contact authorities or Specialized. Thank you and please stay safe out there during the holiday season.
-Alex
Short rides more often
Posted December 14, 2020
Good evening, bikers! It’s the time of the year here in the Northern Hemisphere when wind, cold, and darkness tend to dominate our days. Don’t let the season be the reason you stop riding this winter! Although officially still 1 week away, it certainly feels like winter in Colorado and the majority of the United States.
I prefer shorter rides in the winter. An hour, maybe 2 at the most. I like to take these shorter rides more frequently throughout the week. In the summer, I may ride 3 days of the week, 2-3 hours at a time. In fall and winter, 4 or 5 30 minute-2 hour rides seem to work better. And, with the huge leaps ahead in stationary bike technology, most riders have some way to hook up a bike or mount a stationary exercise bike for indoor training. If you do opt for the outdoor ride, don’t forget the gloves!
Try to avoid riding through high snow, water, and over ice. Not only will it be slippery, but dangers like rocks and stumps may be hidden below the frozen stuff!
Wishing you all the best. Let’s get out there and ride!
-Alex
Check out our new Video and Image Gallery
Posted December 1, 2020
colorado.bike has just posted our Video and Image Gallery! This will be the future location of all our uploaded videos and images from biking adventures across Colorado and the United States! Also, email us to have your favorite bicycling photos and videos featured in the gallery! We enjoy seeing our followers representing their blue and white colorado.bike shirts and durable decals!
-Alex
Autumn riding is here
Posted November 28, 2020
Enjoy the trails, paths, bike lanes and roads this season! Remember, leaves and pine needles on top of dirt or moist roads can be as slippery as ice! Do not worry if you have to slow down or put down a foot while maneuvering on slippery surfaces encountered during your autumn rides. Wooden boardwalks tend to be very slippery when wet, even without a layer of leaves.
Also, autumn ground cover can obscure large rocks, roots, and stumps. If you notice a pattern of large, hidden objects when riding off-pavement, remember it’s alright to slow down and reposition yourself on the bicycle for more technical riding. Biking is a very dynamic activity; you don’t have a very good time if you stay seated in the same position on the saddle throughout your ride, regardless of the riding conditions. Stand up, lean, switch your pedal and foot positions, and adapt to changes in terrain, riding surface, and lighting. With leaves off trees this season, it actually tends to be a bit brighter in the woods than in the spring and summer.
Please leave no trace; pack it in, pack it out; and tread lightly! Congratulate yourself for making it through another hot summer riding season and enjoy the cool-down before winter! Check out our Riding Tips and Strategies page for more info.
-Alex
colorado.bike wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Posted November 26, 2020
From the colorado.bike family, Happy Thanksgiving! Hug your family for us today. Eat a lot. Then go for a family bike ride, even if it’s just around the block!
-Alex
colorado.bike is on YouTube
Posted November 21, 2020
colorado.bike has new bicycling videos uploaded to YouTube. Our channel is coloradobike. We aim to bring you videos from every location we feature on our site. This will be an ongoing project as our video camera is now back in action! You’ll notice the first two videos are filmed in Georgia. I’m originally from GA and moved to Colorado in 2012. Between building our website and preparing to build our headquarters in Idaho Springs, CO, I’ve been driving back and forth from GA to CO this year!
Thank you for your viewership and we look forward to meeting bicyclists throughout Colorado and across the country!
-Alex
2020 worldwide bicycle shortage
Posted November 11, 2020
Wired recently published an article detailing how a slowdown in global manufacturing and increased demand for bicycles this year has left many manufacturers, distributors, and shops short on supply of bikes. Read it here. Please contact us before you decide to junk any bicycle. It’s more valuable than you may think!
-Alex
Spotted us yet?
Posted November 9, 2020
Good afternoon bikers! Some of our shirts have made it out into the biking, hiking, and adventure environments. Have you seen one out there yet? Grab yours today while they’re still in stock! We have men’s small through large and women’s extra small through medium. Children’s and other sizes can be special ordered by contacting us at alex@colorado.bike.
About 9 women, 6 kids, and 15 men have their blue and white colorado.bike shirts. You can be next! Find them here. Thank you for your support! Your purchase will directly fund this website, our efforts to bring you more content (pictures, videos, road and trail details, recommended restaurants and businesses, and more), and our journey to construct a bicycling-focused vacation rental property near Virginia Canyon Mountain Park in Idaho Springs, CO!
-Alex
See what has colorado.bike excited for the future of riding in Colorado
Posted October 31, 2020
The Colorado Sun, a reader-supported publication covering the entire state of Colorado, wrote an incredible article about the plans for Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, a 400+ acre biking and hiking trail park, in our home town of Idaho Springs. Read all about it here and please remember to respect private property when you ride, leave no trash behind, and take only pictures when you ride through the glorious Rockies! Please note trails are not yet open and will be constructed next year in 2021. While you wait for Clear Creek County’s new trails to debut, check out the nearby Floyd Hill Open Space Directional MTB trails!
-Alex
The early days riding in Colorado
Posted October 27, 2020
Biking in Evergreen 7.5 years ago. This bike is still my primary trail rig! Specialized makes a great bicycle.
-Alex
colorado.bike merchandise is here!
Posted October 22, 2020
Our very first colorado.bike t-shirts and decals are here! Check them out for sale on the Merchandise page. Thank you for all of your support thus far!
-Alex
Hello, fall and winter!
Posted October 16, 2020
As colder temps become the norm here in Colorado, it’s important to keep building on your summer training gains. This often means getting creative. I believe sometimes it’s more harmful than helpful to exercise outdoors when the mercury has dropped below freezing.
Set up exercise bands in a lightly used room of your house. Find an old stationary bike for sale online. You don’t need a gym membership with a multi-machine weight room to stay fit all winter! Sometimes push-ups and pull-ups are your best bet; they’re each body weight exercises that are 100% free!
Smoke, haze, ash, and high winds have also kept most people indoors more than usual. If you have been consistently working on improving your fitness and riding, transitioning to indoor exercises is a great way to keep up the gains from your spring and summer adventures.
Small steps every day! I rode at Valmont Bike Park in Boulder yesterday and although the smoke from the north and west did make my eyes a bit irritated, I still feel I gained skills and fitness pumping and jumping on the park’s expertly constructed dirt jumps!
Keep it rubber side down, riders! Best wishes to you all and I hope to see you on the trails and roads of Colorado soon!
colorado.bike shirts and stickers are coming soon! Look for our new Merchandise page in the next few days.
-Alex
The next steps
Posted October 5, 2020
colorado.bike is working tirelessly to come up with new products, ideas, and even bicycling games for our users. The next few weeks will see us hitting the road and discovering new roads, trails, paths, and parks to ride and enjoy!
Remember, you can list your vacation rental properties with us and build income with one of the lowest rental listing fees on the Internet. Renters will be background checked at the time they sign up for our platform and will be removed if negative interactions with property owners occur.
Thank you for your patience and excitement while we aim high for the future of bicycling in Colorado!
-Alex
A community introductory meeting will be held soon
Posted September 26, 2020
Good afternoon, bicyclists! colorado.bike is planning a community introduction meeting to share our vision with the Idaho Springs community and the general public.
colorado.bike is holding a community information event on a soon-to-be finalized date in January 2021. The vision of our founder, William A. Otto, will be presented and discussed with the community. A brief presentation of goals will be followed by a question and answer session allowing attendees to express concerns and have their positions heard. colorado.bike will also be seeking investments from companies and individuals with a desire to help shape the future of Idaho Springs and maintain community standards.
A brief history of colorado.bike is available on our website, www.colorado.bike.
We maintain at our company’s core the belief that development should have a minimal impact on the environment. We recognize the non-human residents of our region, namely wildlife and plants, as the foundation for a healthy future for Colorado, the Front Range, and the Earth.
colorado.bike further recognizes the vital role of mining and resource extraction to the history and future of Colorado and the United States. We aim to partner with local miners, ore processors, and businesses to mitigate any impact our development will have on the region’s established economic activities. Further, we believe industrial/commercial, recreational, and residential interests are equally important and not mutually exclusive.
While the colorado.bike development will be physically close to the forthcoming Virginia Canyon Mountain Park, we are in no way associated financially or administratively with the project or Mighty Argo. We are a private company not associated with the city of Idaho Springs, Clear Creek County, or the State of Colorado. We aim to work with our neighbors to ensure a mutual benefit to the area and all of its residents: human, animal, and plant alike.
colorado.bike requests a confirmation of your attendance. Please provide your name, company name (if applicable), a brief statement of your interest in the project, and e-mail address to alex@colorado.bike. Any individual 16 or older needs to submit their own attendance confirmation.
The session will be held at Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs, located at 1517 Miner Street. Please ask the restaurant’s host to direct you to the meeting upon arrival.
Thank you very much for your interest in colorado.bike and the future of our community!
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