Lookout Mountain to Idlewilde to Red Rocks and back to Golden

The road up Lookout Mountain, as seen from the top

Back home in Austin after 475 miles and 42+ hours of riding in Colorado. I am so fortunate! I'll detail some rides here, rather than try to summarize all 42+ hours. 

Let's start with my go-to loop in Golden (link to Strava file at bottom). 

I ended up cycling up Lookout Mountain three times and down once. It's a great climb with mild grades that pretty much anyone can do with a decent level of fitness. The ride is especially good once you hit the pines, which happens in the last quarter of the climb (or so). 

Grapevine: pretty but be ready for gravel and rough pavement

Most go right down the way they came up but I prefer dropping down the other side via Paradise Rd or Charros, crossing over I70, then taking Grapevine down to Bear Creek Rd.

You'll drop down on Grapevine from I70 with a fun, short descent, then climb past some fancy homes. Soon the good pavement turns to gravel and crappy pavement and you'll descend sharply down to Idlewilde, through a hodgepodge of homes and some gorgeous views. I did it on smooth, 25mm tires and it was just fine; gravel tires would be better. 

The descent on Bear Creek Road is a beautiful blast through a canyon. I was grinning ear-to-ear the whole way down. This is one of the rides that got me hooked on Colorado road biking and I still love it.

Red Rocks!!

Rather than go through the Morrison tourist hell, I take the second entrance into Red Rocks, tooling around and taking in the majestic beauty that surrounds. There are various paths and roads in Red Rocks and, depending on your time, I recommend forgetting about your destination and just checking some out. The rock formations are amazing and the road provides different vantage points. You can also get close to the performance space and stage. I need to do more exploring here...

Finally, I steel myself for the last 6-7 miles back to Golden on Hogback, US40, Heritage Rd and the bike path. The latter's pretty nice but, as great as the first 19 miles were, those 3-4 miles on Hogback and 40 have me thinking about calling the wife for a pickup. I don't but I think about it. Hogback is a grinding ascent and then 40 to Heritage is a high-traffic descent so be aware.

I don't think I've been on a more diverse, 20-30 mile ride anywhere. If you're in the area, give it a whirl!

Here's that Strava file: