May move to FC, Cheyenne commute question (Denver, Fort Collins: neighborhoods, closing)

[mariainlv]

Hi, I have read the threads warning against the commute from FC to Cheyenne. I may have to commute one way or the other so whats smarter?

I will work in Cheyenne but DD will do gymnastics from 3:30 to 7 4 days a week in FC. It seems it would be safer to commute for work rather than making that drive at night, no?

Thanks for your opinions,

Maria

[sunsprit]

No.

Making a required daily commute in adverse conditions to Cheyenne will give you a much higher exposure to the risks than a voluntary activity in Ft Collins will.

When the roads are icy and the snow is blowing and the visibility is almost nil and you can't see where you're going or the road ... what's more important? Your safety to a local Cheyenne commute to work in town, or your DD's gymnastics class in a white knuckle drive for a hour or so each way 4 days per week?

Either way, when the road is closed, you'll not be making the trip on I-25.

[new2colo]

From what I hear I-25 between Fort Collins is only closed a couple day every winter at most. Thousands of people commute from Fort Collins to Cheyenne and back again in the evening without issue. I met a guy from Windsor who commuted to Cheyenne for nearly 20 years. He told me that he barely missed work. Keep in mind that snow does not stay on the ground long in these parts, it all blows into Nebraska and Kansas.

To be completely honest, Cheyenne is just nowhere near as attractive as Fort Collins. It has little in the way of recreation when compared to Fort Collins, is windy nearly constantly, is signficantly smaller, and has next to no shopping. You'll be coming into Fort Collins so often if you live in Cheyenne that it might just make sense to live in Fort Collins.

If I-25 is closed, take US 85. If the weather is SO bad that you can't see a foot in front of your face, I doubt gymnastics practice will be going on. Tumbling is really not that serious. Cheyenne and Fort Collins are basically in a desert, so it's not like blinding snowstorms are a very common occurrence.

Also, it takes 45 minutes to get between Fort Collins and Cheyenne, not an hour or more.

[Davros]

There's no gymnastics in Cheyenne ?

If you insist on doing gymnastics in Fort Collins, then ...

I agree with sunspirit that it's better to have to miss the voluntary activity (gymnastic) due to bad road conditions than to have to miss work.

Live in Cheyenne

[Davros]

Originally Posted by new2colo

Thousands of people commute from Fort Collins to Cheyenne and back again in the evening without issue..

Why ? Is Cheyenne a bad place to live ?

I agree bad roads are going to be pretty rare, but I think it's better to have to only miss gymnastics due to bad roads, not work.

[mariainlv]

Thanks for the input! New2Colo, many of the employees of my prospective company live in the FC area and commute to Cheyenne.

Yes, there is 1 gym in Cheyenne but it is not on par with the gyms in Colorado.

We are not accustomed to a small town, nor do I think I would enjoy one so I think that will also factor into us living in FC and me commuting.

[sunsprit]

Originally Posted by new2colo

From what I hear I-25 between Fort Collins is only closed a couple day every winter at most. Thousands of people commute from Fort Collins to Cheyenne and back again in the evening without issue.

Perhaps a few hundred people do this trip, but "without issue"? All you need is one round trip on I-25 when the road is solid polished black ice over the rise South out of Cheyenne and then next 15-20 miles to FC to have a little different perspective. It's a treacherous drive many days of a typcial winter even when the road isn't closed.

I met a guy from Windsor who commuted to Cheyenne for nearly 20 years. He told me that he barely missed work. Keep in mind that snow does not stay on the ground long in these parts, it all blows into Nebraska and Kansas.

Yes, I know people who have done similar commutes in the area for many years. That doesn't lessen the fact that it's a treacherous drive. I had employees who worked for me in Cheyenne and lived in Laramie, too, that's another difficult drive in the winter months.

What new2colo isn't telling you is that the highways in the area get littered with vehicles off the road at just about every one of the major storms that comes through the area. With slick roads and very strong abrupt gusty winds, vehicles get blown off the road ... and that's before you factor in the blinding snowfall conditions that prevail in the strong winds. The snow doesn't gently fall, it blows almost horizontally ... obscuring your vision as well as hiding the road surface.

I've got neighbors who make the living in the winter as a salvage crew for all the semi's that crash and need to have their cargo picked up and reloaded onto another truck ... and they keep the damaged products as part of their compensation. They're on call 24/7 to the highway patrol and police departments in the area ... and have been kept very busy for the decade I've known them to be in business.

What new2colo also isn't disclosing is that those folk that did this commute for 20 years did it in a time when the Highway Patrol wasn't very aggressive about closing the road in adverse conditions. The prior attitude was that if you think you're capable of driving in that circumstance, go for it. The new attitude is to be more pro-active about managing the first responder/emergency services ... who are the folk that put their lives at risk to rescue idiots who think they're invincible in all the conditions and overdrive the conditions. So there's more road closures, done sooner, than the authorities used to do.

To be completely honest, Cheyenne is just nowhere near as attractive as Fort Collins. It has little in the way of recreation when compared to Fort Collins, is windy nearly constantly, is signficantly smaller, and has next to no shopping. You'll be coming into Fort Collins so often if you live in Cheyenne that it might just make sense to live in Fort Collins.

We can agree here ... Cheyenne is an old railroad town in the plains ... not very big, and without a vibrant downtown or all the shopping/entertainment choices of FC. But there is enough shopping to meet your needs in Cheyenne ... box stores, auto dealers, supermarkets ... that to say we have "next to no shopping" is true only if you're a big window shopper and need to have multiple choices for your shopping trips for everything. As a Cheyenne area resident, I do go to FC for restaurants ... but shopping for stuff that I can't get in Cheyenne? No ... the only thing I can think of we've gone to FC to get that wasn't available in Cheyenne at the time we wanted it was a collectable rifle at one of the gun shops in FC that wasn't in stock in Cheyenne (and we could have ordered it, so there would have been a week delay). Certainly not "so often" that it would make sense to live in FC ....

If I-25 is closed, take US 85.

Sometimes, that's an option. But area storms tend to be widespread, so if it's an upslope condition, you'll likely see poor road conditions on 85, too. There's many times when ALL ROADS out of Cheyenne are closed.

If the weather is SO bad that you can't see a foot in front of your face, I doubt gymnastics practice will be going on.

The weather is changeable and variable enough that a matter of hours and a few miles can present greatly different conditions. It could be clear in FC and just hammering away 10 miles South of Cheyenne.

Tumbling is really not that serious. Cheyenne and Fort Collins are basically in a desert, so it's not like blinding snowstorms are a very common occurrence.

In comparison to what? Last winter, we had over 30 such storms. Some are a matter of a few minutes, some last for hours.

Also, it takes 45 minutes to get between Fort Collins and Cheyenne, not an hour or more.

Again, you mislead ... yes, it's 45 minutes on good roads in good weather conditions at 75 mph from Cheyenne city limit to I-25 at FC exits (not West into FC, that's another 5 miles at slower speeds). Even some of the rainstorms and hailstorms in the area during warmer months are violent enough to make a prudent driver slow way down ... the grooved road is only capable of diverting so much water, and you will still find hydroplaning conditions in this area. In the winter, and in slick conditions, it may take you a bit longer at much slower speeds. I've had a few trips that took me 2 1/2 hours to make it from FC to Cheyenne ... and I wasn't under the pressure of a work or recreational commute, as I was coming back from a much longer business trip in Colorado. Normally, when the conditions are that poor, I can postpone my trip until conditions are better. The key to this drive in the winter is not deep snow ... it's the black ice, which does not require much moisture on the road to form. All it takes is a bit of sunshine during the day to melt the snow on the surface and freezing temps to freeze that and you've got the ice layer conditions. Vehicles driving over that remelt the surface and polish it ... and the snowplows on the road cannot remove the ice when it's a thin layer on the highway surface; the only tool they have is to sand the road or use chemicals. With the frequency of storm passages, the plows cannot always keep up with the conditions.

OP, you might want to consider coming out here in the dead of winter for a week or so to see for yourself if the commute you are contemplating is worth the exposure to you. The risks some folk are willing to deal with on a daily basis and what you consider justifable may not be the same.

[mariainlv]

Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity to wait until winter to decide.

I will be in Cheyenne next week, landing in Denver and driving. I will ask employees who make the drive if there is a carpool, and how many days on average they miss work or are stuck in Cheyenne due to weather. I think since they do it daily, they should have a good idea.

[docwatson]

Check out VanGo for carpools/vanpools.

Also, you may want to consider if your company has a telecommute policy fyou can use on iffy winter days, or even once/week to reduce stress. In the past with winter commuting, I've even had a back-up room to stay in case conditions were bad.

Not sure I would relish the commute but I understand why you would prefer to live in Ft. Collins.

There are several both older and new attractive neighborhoods in North Fort Collins from which you can access I-25 via Vine. Also, if you don't mind being a 15-minute drive north of Fort Collins, you may want to check out Wellington.

[sunsprit]

marianlv ... please see my response under the snowfall and winter driving thread.

Perhaps that will give you some insight into the risks involved with the driving conditions around the area. Consider, too, that just because some other folks do this trip every day doesn't mean that it won't be difficult for you to do for a number of reasons.