Urban + Cycling (Denver, Aurora, Boulder: apartments, condos, house)

[suzco]

Originally Posted by providmike

I assume light rail does not go from boulder to Englewood, correct?

That's a correct assumption. Light Rail does not yet go north of Denver, although plans for the future include a route to Boulder. There are good rtd bus connections between Boulder and Denver, and light rail does go from downtown Denver to Englewood.

[providmike]

Looking at the maps and listening to what everyone is saying.. Looks like its going to hard to find urban and biking with the amount of sprawl. Is a drive commute from Boulder to Englewood rough?


I think downtown Denver would great if I could find a way to cycle... work wise light rail into Englewood from downtown would be perfect...
.

[Augie Daugie]

I think the Boulder to Englewood commute is about 1 hour by car in light traffic. On a snow day, expect 2-3 hours.

[Shuffler]

Originally Posted by providmike

Looking at the maps and listening to what everyone is saying.. Looks like its going to hard to find urban and biking with the amount of sprawl. Is a drive commute from Boulder to Englewood rough?


I think downtown Denver would great if I could find a way to cycle... work wise light rail into Englewood from downtown would be perfect...
.

Look into the RTD bus schedules...you can probably take the bus part of the way, with your bike for the rest. Depends on how 'hard core' you are with bike commuting. There are plenty of freaks around here who commute year 'round (I used to be one of them, but no more).

The downside to commuting from Boulder is Hwy 93. It's busy, hilly, and when the wind is howling, it's miserable and dangerous (ground blizzards are common during the Winter months).

[providmike]

Woob -

If I were to move to cap hill, downtown, baseball district etc how bad is it getting to good ride worthy roads? Are we talking two miles or twenty? Where I am now takes between 5-6 miles of crud before you get to beautiful country riding. I tend to get up early and ride before work- sometimes in the evening... the weekends of course I can simply drive somewhere.

Living in the suburbs would be awful. I really enjoy having things within walking distance.. one drawback most of CO seems to have. Can anyone else think of areas that have a "downtown" center that would also allow for my love of cycling? ( An hour drive from Boulder everyday I think is out ) Thanks everyone for the post so far. Very helpful.

[Augie Daugie]

Littleton and Golden both have small downtowns. Downtown Littleton is surrounded by suburban sprawl but is really close to Englewood, on the light rail, and closer to the edge of development than Downtown Denver. Golden sits on the edge of the metro area, similar to Boulder, but closer to Englewood by about a half hour.

[2bindenver]

try Englewood.

[woob]

Originally Posted by providmike

Woob -

If I were to move to cap hill, downtown, baseball district etc how bad is it getting to good ride worthy roads? Are we talking two miles or twenty? Where I am now takes between 5-6 miles of crud before you get to beautiful country riding. I tend to get up early and ride before work- sometimes in the evening... the weekends of course I can simply drive somewhere.

I've only been here about a month, but I can tell you this-
Downtown denver to the golden foothills is 12 miles. I haven't done this ride yet, but you will probably be going through suburbs for most of this, but traffic is light i think. Once you get to golden there is some spectacular riding. You could try looking for a place west of I25 (west highlands, etc) you will be somewhat closer to the foothills but still easy access to the city. if you are willing to drive 20 minutes outside of denver, the riding is great, but for me this defeats the purpose of riding a bike.

The light rail to golden in currently under construction and is supposed to be finished in about 3 years. When this happens it would be very easy to bring your bike on board and be in golden for a ride in half an hour.

I think boulder is what you are looking for with absolutely beautiful riding and an active downtown. Commuting by express bus to light rail would probably take about an hour. Golden would be a good closer alternative, but there are more McMansion subdivisions there and a much smaller downtown core.

Hope this helps. Unfortunately denver is a sprawling city on the plains. The mountains are a short drive away, but not easily accessible otherwise.

[livecontent]

Originally Posted by providmike

Hello Everyone,

I could be moving to the Denver area for a work opportunity soon. The company is located in Englewood (area code: 80112 )

Where would everyone recommend living that is both urban, hip ( I live in the downtown of a small city now ) and also allow access to the great road cycling CO has to offer. I ride almost 4,000 miles a year and consider myself an avid cyclist so bike paths are not what im looking for. Right now where I live- it does take a little navigation out of the city but I can quickly get on quite country roads.

Thanks for the feedback!

I think we need to get one thing straight. Zip Code 80112 is not near Englewood. It is not Englewood. I know that the Postal Address says it is Englewood, as I also worked in that area--Inverness Park. The City of Englewood is a very small urban municipality at Broadway and Hampden. The zip code is not contiguous with Englewood; why do they do that and use that address--I do not know.

The area you will be working is the farthest Southeast Corner of the Metro Area. It is a 20 miles from Englewood.Most of the zip is in Arapahoe County--some incorporated. I assume some could be in the nearby cities of Centennial, Lonetree etc.

So, all these suggestion of you living in Englewood are all wrong. You do not like community bike trails; you like the open road. I would suggest very strongly that you consider living in the Southeast metro area, perhaps in the area of Parker or unincorporated Douglas County etc. In that area you can easily fine many country roads on the plains that will give you the open road. In addition, the bike paths that run along 470, are less used and you bike to work from the southeast.

When, I worked in that area about 20 years ago, it was not as dense, as it is now. It was before the building of the mall and the bigger growth of businesses and homes.

I do not think you would enjoy urban Englewood and commuting from Boulder by car is well, hilarious. I lived in Arvada and I actually biked to work, once, only once, down the Platte and across town to Inverness. However, many of my cohorts did live southeast near Elizabeth. Now, this will give you the bicycling road experience of the plains and the area is nicely set with some trees and hills, especially as you get into the Black Forest. Colorado is not only about the mountains.

Livecontent

[2bindenver]

Actually is mostly Centennial, and close to Greenwood Village & Lone Tree.

Click for a Zip Code Boundary Map.

From Arapahoe to County Line/Lincoln & Quebec to nearly Parker Road.

If OP wants country roads - head east on Arapahoe Road, past Parker Road.

I still think OP would be happy in downtown Englewood. Highline Canal. Halfway between work and deer creek canyon or waterton canyon - or country roads in Aurora or Parker....