moving to Denver / Aurora

[knapplaura]

Hi,
I am moving to Denver this summer; will be working at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora. I want to find a place to live where I can bike to /from work and a masters swimming group.

Any ideas what areas would be good for this? I will most likely rent a house or condo/apartment.

thanks for the help,
Laura

[Kathi]

Check out DBTC. org (Denver Bicycling Touring club). They sell a map with cycling routes which includes Aurora and Buckley AFB.

The map is sold in bicycle shops here in the Denver area. We used it to chose our location when we moved here.

[solobiker]

I would agree with the above post. When are you moving out here?

[knapplaura]

Thanks; i should be moving to CO in July.

I am starting to get nervous about the weather; I have always lived where I can ride outside year-round. How do you manage in the winter?

Is a cross bike or a 'hybrid' a good option for winter riding?

I am going to look for winter bike clothes on sale now to start increasing my inventory!

thanks,
Laura

[solobiker]

For the most part riding in the winter is not too bad. I usually have to wear windproof tights, jacket, and a hat under my helmet which keeps me warm. There is usually only a week or two when I wont ride as the temps are only in the teens or single digits. That does not last too long though. Let me know when you get to town and we can go for a ride.

[knapplaura]

Thanks! I will PM you when I get there. I have a few questions hopefully you can answer.....

I am looking at houses or townhouses that are South of Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, near Cherry Creek Park. The ones that look best to me are in the "Foxfield" area.

Is this a pretty nice area for a single woman to live?
Would I be able to bike to work on Buckley from there?
Also how bad is traffic to get to some good riding from that area?

thanks for your advice!
Laura

[Kathi]

I'm on the wrong side of town to really know much about the area, but we have a friend who lives over there and our thoughts are that it is a pretty nice area.

On the DBTC map it looks like it would be 10-15 miles depending on your locations. Also, depending on location, the route appears to be a combination of bike lanes and paved paths. According to the map there are pretty many options.

I don't ride in the winter, mainly because I'm skiing and I also have asthma which is bothered by riding in cold weather. When I do ride I tend to find that layers work best. Keeping my feet and hands warm is my biggest issue and one that I haven't resolved to well.

The sun is warmer due to the higher altitude and on cool, sunny days I still tend to overdress because of it. I don't get as chilled here due to the lower humidity.

Summers are nicer here due to the lower humidity. Yes, it gets hot but not the sticky, sweaty hot that you find in the east.

If you're near the Cherry Creek trail you can ride, by paved path, to downtown Denver, REI and Confluence park are favorites, to Golden, Chatfield state park, Bear Creek state park, etc. Just riding around Cherry Creek Park is a nice ride, with some easy hills. There are lots of choices.

The riding is flatter on the eastern side, we have more hills on the western side of Denver.