Does anyone have any advice about biking to Telluride? My friend and I live in New York City, but want to ship our bikes to CO and spend a few days biking to TBF. Any suggestions on routes, tips or info on groups that are also riding would be greatly appreciated.
Howdy! :wave
I highly recommend biking to Telluride!
How much time do you have? What kind of a pace are you trying to keep? What kind of bikes will you be riding? how much gear are you hauling? Have you been to the festival/SW Colorado before?
Some friends and I biked in 2007, rallying riders under the banner “Bluegrass By Bike” and it was literally the time of a life! I was planning to bike in from Crested Butte this year, but I’ve since gotten a new job and can’t take the entire month off to pedal around some of the most spectacular mountains in the country. I know my friend Elliot will be riding in and around the San Juan range for festival. Hit him up on the forum…his handle is “elliotsiff”…and see what his plans are.
Depending on how much time you have, flying in to Montrose, Gunnison, or Grand Junction would probably make the most sense. If you have more time and want to ride further, Denver’s a good option. Pretty much any place you fly into tho will end up putting you in Montrose and heading south from there on HWY 550 to Ridgeway…here’s a link to my planned route from Crested Butte…
It takes you through Ouray, Silverton, Durango (the Million Dollar HWY…spectacular!!) and then you come into Telluride over Lizard Head Pass…another amazing spot! If you don’t have as much time, or aren’t wanting to pedal that many miles, you could head west out of Ridgeway on HWY 62 over the Dallas Divide, and then turn back east up to Telluride on 145 in Placerville.
Does this help? Feel free to hit me up if you got other questions.
Also, bikers are always welcome around our camp! If you’re camping in town park, or you get there early come find us. Last summer we adopted a bike tourist that just happened to come in to Telluride the week before the festival. He had no idea Bluegrass was going on, but had just heard that Tride was a place to be seen. He planned to stay for a night and then hit the road…well he ended up having so much fun and making so many new friends that he ended up volunteering for a 4-day pass and sticking around for the whole festi! Telluride magic right there!
Best of luck to you…see ya in June!
I have to say… I was thinking about bringing my bike to get back and forth between Lawson and Town Park, but decided against it because it would be too much work at that altitude.
Looking at that map, you guys are absolutely nuts (in a good way, of course)! :eek
awesome idea! I can only imagine airfare/shipping costs to grand junction much less montrose or gunnison. If money isn’t an issue tho, flying in closer would be well worth the saved time and climb to get a taste. I’ll assume your talking denver, tho. keep in mind the altitude and plan a few days wherever you fly in to acclimate. best bet: quit your job and bike the whole way - the vert will come natural 
be prepared for some interesting weather up here, even potentially in May. a trailer is certainly possible depending on route and time. I think 285 SW to 50 is the most straightforward route; if the least scenic (still amazing!). Heading further south (24-285-50) may be the least treacherous. a bit longer but great views. Another option is down to pueblo and west 50, which is arguably even more scenic and mellow, but will add some extra miles. The last major option i can think of would be 285 briefly, then cut up to hwy 6 and south on 133. That one would be my favorite of the bunch, but pack light and watch out for anything over vail pass! Its steep, gnarly, and unpredictable. 133 is fantastic!
To be clear I’m no expert racer, and I’ve never ridden the length of any of those routes. I’ve driven them all, biked parts of them, and just kinda know the area - but I’m usually off road :horsey Definitely grab a good book for the side routes unless u find a group :thumbsup
Good luck my friend. You’ve got my respect even considering it from sea level!! ToHelluRide!!! I’ll be waiting there for ya by the Gondola! :cheers
PS: My group is bringing our MTB’s. Lets get some riding in Festivarians! mornings or I’ll be around after fest for a bit. Would LOVE for some folks who know the ropes to spread some T-ride singletrack love if its not too soupy, or even cruisers… Takers?
Thank you very much for your advice! My friend and I decided that since this is our first year attending TBF we’ll keep it simple and arrive by plane. However, we would really love to meet as many cyclists as possible and learn about the logistics of the ride so that hopefully we can do it in 2012! We both have road bikes and are experienced on long-distance rides, however neither of us have ever hauled a trailer–we’ve been lucky enough to have additional gear transportation. We look forward to meeting you in June. Thanks again! Nell.
We’ll definitely have to meet up and talk bike routes at the festi :thumbsup
But just so you know, gear transport is easy enough to arrange for this festival with so many kind accommodating folks in attendance! It wouldn’t take more than putting a line out on this very forum and you’d find some friendly festivarian willing to lend a helping hand (or pickup truck bed).
I didn’t use a trailer the year I biked in…our group was running solely on rear panniers and a handlebar bag. We had people drive the rest of our camping gear in from the front range. Geppetto makes a good point on giving yourself time to get acclimated - that no-oxygen-having air is a force to be reckoned with! But if your an active cyclist with good lungs, it wouldn’t take much to get there.
Be well Nell! :cheers
The wife and I plan on bringing bikes. We camp in Lawson Hill. Would bikes be A: a good idea B: a hassle or C: the best way to see T Ride before and during the fest?
I believe the correct answer is D: both A & C! :thumbsup :medal
There’s a great bike trail that runs all the way to town along the valley floor - this is an easy, beautiful ride coming from Lawson. there is the shuttle option if you don’t feel like riding or want to catch the ride late nite - but with your own bike you can come and go as you please and not have to wait around in shuttle lines.
But of course Telluride is one of the most beautiful places to _________________ (fill in the blank…in this case “ride a bike”)
:cheers
Me and my Girlfriend camped in Lawson last year and LOVED having the bikes as an option. We pretty much rode them daily. There are a few options:
If you’re too tired after the fest, you can shuttle back and retrieve your bikes the next day. You can also put them on the gondola which opens up another fun option!
Koodos to the guys wanted to bike tour TO the fest. I did the TransAm in 2002 and the Great Divide in 2007. Good times.
HI
Yes, bikes are an amazing way to get to town/festival from camp without wasting time. Great for the gondola too.
Here are my current/updated bicycle touring plans for this summer. I will arrive in Telluride super early and spend the week before ABGAT riding the surrounding mountains. Something like this: Telluride over Lizard Head Pass to Rico (hot spring!), then rico through dalores towards Durango, Durango to Silverton, Silverton to Ouray/Ridgeway (more hotsprings!) Then back over to Telluride.
Join me wont you? Or if you live on the way let me know and we can have coffee or something.
elliot
I’ll be in T-RIDE on tuesday. Would love to do some ridin’. It will be the wife and my honeymon though. She’s only interested in bike paths. Hopefully there will be somethings ie. shopping, hanging out with festi folks, partyin’, so I can get some riding in. Do you know the the area? I will not be used to the elevation, so would like some easy rides. I have seen some videos of people biking around the fest and it looks fun.