I’ll take you on a tour of some of my favorite cycling routes in Colorado and around Northern California. I know many of you have your own special places as well and I would love to hear about them. Cycling during these COVID times have been almost more for my mental health than for exercise. It is my special escape in the outdoors, to breathe in the fresh air and the beauty of nature. My old Eddie Merckx titanium road bike has a broken frame and I’ve been waiting for delivery of a new Trek for over 6 months. In the mean time I’m riding my grandson’s mountain bike.

On this route the majestic 14,115′ Pike’s Peak looms majestically in the distance.

Looking west I can see the beautiful 14,264′ Mount Evans.

A favorite route from the house is the Cherry Creek Bike Trail.

I have missed this favorite cycling route from the town of Vail heading east up to the summit of Vail Pass at 10,666′. It is a challenging ride due to the altitude and with some grades over 15%+. I can’t wait to return!

My daughter Stacy took this photo of me huffing and puffing up the pass.

“Ahhh…the summit!”

This is a view of the Vail Pass cycling path heading east toward the town of Frisco.

Dillon Lake at an elevation of 9017′ is only an hour and a half from Denver and has a few very nice bike trails.

Not far from Dillon Lake is the semi-ghost town of Montezuma at 10,312′. It is a beautiful ride from the ski area of Keystone. The road is paved until you enter the dirt streets of the little town. The old mining camp still has about 70 full-time residents.

I love riding with the family!

When I feel motivated for a challenge I love riding the route up Deer Creek Canyon toward “Highgrade”, west of Denver.

A tough but beautiful route I rode during the week long “Ride the Rockies” is cycling up “Trail Ridge Road.” It is Colorado’s highest paved road at 12,183′.

While on a trip to Maui Stacy and I booked a one-day cycling tour on the slopes of the Haleakala.

Sonoma County is one of my treasured places for cycling. While on a week long tour we stopped for lunch in the amazing Armstrong Redwoods in Guerneville.

This a view while cycling Westside Road up to Healdsburg, CA.

“Hmmmm,….I wonder how many bottles of Silver Oak I can carry on the bike?”

A quick stop at the Ferrari Carano winery near Healdsburg.

I love cycling around the Russian River. My grandparents first took me here when I was a little boy.

After leaving the Russian River we cycled south on Coast Route 1 toward the town of Bodega Bay.

Coast Route 1 is truly stunning but a little dangerous for cycling as the road is narrow with too many tourists looking at the sea. I would love to cycle it again, but Marla said “absolutely NOT” when we drove on it in the car a few years ago! Oh well,…there are other great rides.

I’ll share some of my favorite cycling routes in Europe on a future post.

Photos: Dick Gentry. Not to be used without permission.