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Apr 26, 2008 8:05 pm US/Mountain
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Colorado Cycling 'Bible' Author Shares Excitement
This spring brings a new printing of what just might be the cyclist's bible in Colorado. "Road Biking Colorado" has information about riding on every paved road in the state.
Michael Seeberg is the author and an avid cyclist who knows those roads first hand.
"I love being in the mountains and climbing the mountains," he told Colorado Getaways producer Doug Whitehead.
"There's nothing like screaming down a pass at 50 or 60 miles an hour out in the fresh air, the wind in your face."
Seeberg certainly is not alone on his road bike on Colorado's roads.
"Over a million people come here every year, just to ride their bikes."
The soaring Rocky Mountains are the attraction.
"We have the highest paved roads in the world," said Seeberg. "I believe the highest pass in Europe is maybe 8,000 feet, that's a short guy for us here in Colorado."
But road cyclists can find much more than just mountains. "There's an infinite amount of terrain choices. A place like Durango for example, it's the ultimate. You don't have the crowds of the Front Range, you have every kind of terrain you can imagine. You go north of town you have the high passes, you go south you have rolling upland desert. It's just beautiful varied terrain."
But cyclists don't have to go west to find great cycling. There is plenty along the Front Range and on Colorado's plains.
"There's a lot of climbing in Golden Gate but it is also a rolling climb. The first part is a good sustained grade and then it starts rolling a bit, the hill get smaller, you get some downhills in there then you have choices."
And the plains offer their own challenges. "What I found when I got out there was the amazing beauty of the rolling prairie and talk about remote. It is more remote than many places in the mountain. There are many challenges, not the big passes but long, long big rollers all day long. There can be headwinds. It's not to be underestimated for its beauty or its challenge."
But Seeberg does offer advice for all cyclists on paved roads, avoid riding during the commutes.
"There's more and more traffic on the roads and more and more distractions for drivers," he said. "Certainly you should always be wearing a helmut and paying attention to where you are."
Seeberg's book "Road Biking Colorado, The Statewide Guide" is available at bookstores.