This 5-day road ride will take you to 12,000′ feet high on an incredible experience through Rocky Mountain National Park, and Berthhoud Pass. A must-do for your Colorado Bucket List.

Description: A moderate to hard road cycling tour taking in the best route in Colorado’s Front Range Mountains. This adventure cycling tour is a Colorado Classic 5-day road bike tour. The route involves the infamous climbs of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park (the highest continuous road in the United States), Berthoud Pass above Winter Park, and Oh My God Road above Idaho Springs.  There will be lots of climbing.  This ride will cross the continental divide two times, contains some long fast descents, has some intermediate climbs, and long flat sections.  The scenery, views, and terrain make this ride one of the all-time best rides of your life.  The elevation gained and lost over these 5 days is impressive.   This is an amazing adventure cycling tour and supported bike tour. Join Colorado’s best cycling guides for a road cycling travel trip of a lifetime.

Itinerary:

Day 0: Travel to Colorado.  Meet your guides and get fitted for your bike (if you are renting a road cycle), go over itinerary, food, gear, and logistics. Enjoy of a night out walking Boulder and the Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. If you arrive early, you can cruise around Boulder Creek Path and explore some easy and fun cycling in the heart of the town.  If you bring a personal road bike, we will help assemble bikes this day.

Day 1:  The day starts of with a drive to the old Gold Mining town of Nederland. From Nederland we ride the original Colorado scenic highway – Peak-to-Peak Scenic Highway to Estes Park. This ride has great views of the plains to the east and Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and Rocky Mountain National Park to the West.  The day ends with a descent to the town of Estes Park Colorado, which is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. We will stay at local Estes Park lodging.

Day 2:  Get ready to traverse the highest continuous road in the United States. Our ride ascends 5000 feet to slight over 12,000’ around Lava Cut and the roof of the park. From the Alpine Visitors Center, we have a long descent to the town of Grand Lake and the largest naturally forming Lake in the state of Colorado. We will be stay at lodging in Grand Lake Colorado.

Day 3: Now that we are on the western side of the continental divide and Rocky Mountain National Park, we will ride south in the Grand Lake Basin to the town of Winter Park. Being surrounded by mountains and big views, this is a great stretch of terrain. This day is meant as a recovery day to recover from yesterday’s ride and to prepare for tomorrows uphill.  Stay the night at Winter Park Lodging.

Day 4:  Starting in Winter Park, we ride south and then northeast to Central City.  Two sizable climbs with two fast descents linked together by a relatively flat road make this one tremendous Colorado cycling day.  The end of the day finishes with a ride into one of Colorado’s historic gold towns.  We will be staying at lodging in Central City.

Day 5: Our last day will bring us back to our starting location and the cycling hub of Boulder. A gradual climb in the morning is followed by lots of descending into town. There are several variations on roads back to Boulder and depending upon desires and how everyone is feeling, we generally adjust our final days cycle route. This final bike tour day cumulates with returning from the higher Front Range Mountains to the foothill rock formations locally known as the Flatirons. We will go out for a celebration dinner in Boulder this night.

Included in our rates: The services of professional road biking guide(s), all round-trip transportation between hotel or central meeting location and Colorado cycling route (Day 1 – Day 5), bike shuttle support in case of assistance is need and to transport all clothing / gear between lodging locations, national forest and national park permits, entrance fees, lunches (day 1- 5), water and snacks, education, lodging nights 1-5, about local and natural history, bike repair kits (floor pump, hand pump, patch kits, medical kits, etc.) and mechanic support.

Not included in our rates: Gratuities for guide (while this is at your discretion, the recommended gratuity is 20%), laundry, alcoholic beverages (for adults >21 years old), personal road cycle (with pedals and shoes), personal cycle clothing, lodging before and after trip, alcoholic beverages (for adults >21 years old).

Special Notes: Bike Upgrade! We can arrange for entry level or performance road cycle rental.

Hotels: We can make all hotel reservations. We have three stars to four star hotel options to recommend for this trip (pre or post trip). For those that want more options, we can also send a list of recommended hotels upon request.

Difficulty Description: Moderate Hard: 35-65 miles and 1600-2500′ of elevation gain. For very active riders. Hard: 65- 95 miles and/or 2500-3500′ of elevation gain. For very avid riders

What to Bring: Sent with trip confirmation