cycling Ft Collins

[TsPoet]

I may have a potential job in Ft. Collins (is that waffling enough for you?), and I'm wondering about cycling around that area. I love ~20-40 mile slow rides on weekends and the occasional weeklong trip (supported). I'm also afraid of hills. So, is it as hilly there just around town as I expect? Are there many bike lanes and/or MUTS.
On a side note, is it too much of a college town for a 40-something woman to be comfortable with?

thanks!

[BadgerGirl]

Hey Poet, I read your message. Ft. Collins is on the front range, meaning if you ride east, you will have hills, but they aren't so bad and if you go west, you hit serious hills and mountains. Even though it is a college town, there is plenty to do for all people. I think it is a wonderful city. I can't comment on the bike lanes because I haven't ridden there much. I live about 40 minutes south of Ft. Collins, but I have been to the city many times. There are several LBS's that have many different rides for all levels. Here are a couple of good LBS in the area.

http://leescyclery.com
http://fullcyclebikes.com

Hope that helps. If you have more questions, feel free to ask, I have lots of friends there!

Heather

[TsPoet]

Heather,
thanks so much. I'll let you know when/if I ever get there. Looks like it could be awhile if at all.
Nice to know there are some good bike shop choices!

[bouncybouncy]

OH MY!!!!! There are (I guess what you would call) MUT's everywhere!!! I mean everywhere!!! Hubby and I were there for a week visiting my aunt & uncle...we hoped on there cheapo Wally bikes and rode & rode & rode till our butts ached from the icky saddles...so we stopped and got the pizza (no idea what it was called)
And it seemed that every new development had trail plans layed out...we ran into alot of dead-ends that would someday lead somewhere. We rode from one side of the city to the other...and if our butts were on our own saddles we would have ridden around the city...with very few miles being shared with cars.

All I have to say is that if I had to live in a "big" city that would be at the top of the list!!!

here is a bike map that helped me significantly in my adventure

http://fcgov.com/bicycling/pdf/bike-map-200711.pdf


***oh yeah...there are all kinds of cyclist EVERYWHERE!!!! and yes...it is FLAT! haha...we joked we thought it was flatter than Florida cause there are very few overpasses!

[Geonz]

I know some folks from there online, and I keep up with news about cycling, and judging from that, Fort COllins is really good for cycling. They plow the bike paths... they have winter bike-to-work days... it's good stuff from what I can tell.

[nic840]

I went to Colorado State 93-94 and I too was expecting hills/mtns...not so!! In fact I remember driving into town in tears because it was so darn flat!

I was coming from California and was expecting the Rockies. Not to say the Rockies aren't right there but the town is so FLAT!
I think it offers the best as far as riding. You have your long flat stretches in farm country and then just West of town you get rollers...just beautiful!
I didn't want to move but my exchange program ended and my units wouldn't transfer...meant another two years of school. So back to Cali I came.

Definitely worth a visit....and its only an hour drive to Denver.

Great community, great beer, lots of recreational activites! Fun Fun Fun!

[five one]

What Nic840 said.

BS from CSU 1974 here. I LOVED Ft. Collins! I grew up in the Denver area. I've been in CA longer than CO now, but if the opportunity ever arose (not likely ), I'd move back to Ft Collins in a heartbeat. Got married in the CSU chapel on the oval in 1975. Moved to CA soon after, but visit from time to time when we are in CO visiting family. The Fort has grown SO much since the mid-70s, but it's still a great place.

I was only a casual bike rider in college. Just to and from class and errand running. I bought my 1973 electric green Schwinn 10-speed (with cheater brakes!) from Lee's Cyclery. It took me until I was 50 to get serious about cycling!

[ginny]

hi, I live in the mtns outside of Fort Collins, and I work at the university. First of all, it is a GREAT place to live! There are nice, mellow rides (fort collins itself is pretty flat), and good, wicked hill rides. I was unsuccessful riding through winter, but I am SO stoked to get back on my bike soon! You can PM me if you want to know more about the area and/or if you want to check out some rides when you come to town for an interview or whatever (I haven't been on TE much lately, so sorry I haven't responded to this post earlier).

Ginny