chado445510

Hello all,

I am considering attending college at Colorado School of Mines, in Golden, Colorado. I do a lot of racing here on the east coast (NH, MA, etc), so early season training is important. I know Colorado is one of the best spots in the states for training during the summer, but I do not know how it goes between September and May. Is there so much snow all of the time that early year training is impossible? Snow on the roads would probably mean mountain biking, which I can do. How often does it go below 10 degrees F? How many of you race and are able to train in the winter?

This is not necessarily a deciding factor, but knowing that I could train in the winter would certainly be a plus. I am a lover of all endurance sports, so maybe cross training is an option.

Thanks for your help!

colorado dale

Greater Denver plows most MUP's as well as roads except for the yr there was a major storm on shortest day of the yr you will find roads/trails clear within 24 hrs of the end of the storm plus denver has over 300 days of sunshine one jan day a few yrs ago I woke up to 5 inches of snow in the driveway when down to bike trail to snowshoe to find the trail was already plowed by 2pm i was riding in shorts in near 60 degree weather

DnvrFox

Extreme variability in weather - sometimes 65F in January at times, snow in May, and in the mountains in August. They plow our MUPS the same time they plow the roads - but ice under bridges. Our MUPS go for scores of miles. Average annual moisture is 15 inches - a high desert, actually. Yes, it gets cold - layers are the dress of the day.

chado445510

I suppose that is comforting. Definitely better than running through 3 feet of snow every day!

Thanks!

DataJunkie

It's definitely interesting here. Last winter we barely had a winter and I rode a ton.
Numerous racing clubs as well.

valygrl

You can ride all winter. Not every day. But almost every week. You can't do much climbing in winter b/c the descending is icy/cold. It almost never gets below 10F. Road race season starts in March. There's a lot of cross racing, Oct-Jan.

People train indoors in winter, but if you have a flexible schedule you can train outside too.

Lots of race teams here.

Breathegood

I ride year round. Some winters are harder than others, but snowpacked and icy road conditions rarely last more than a couple of days. The shoulder seasons and obviously the winter months can get pretty chilly though. Depending on your personal tollerance for the cold and you level of prepairedness riding year round is no problem.

Speaking as a CSM alumni, Golden is a FANTASTIC place to ride both mountain and road, and there is no better school in Colorado....maybe even the nation! That's just my completely unbiassed opinion.

mje

When I was there, I had friends that seemed to by majoring in cycling.
GP '87, '89

Breathegood

I was there when student passes to all the front range ski areas were dirt cheap. Many of my friends seemed to be majoring in skiing/snowboarding.
GE 2000

chado445510

That's good news. I'm going to have to find space for my three bikes though. The essentials: Road, Mountain, and Cross.

Typically I will ride base if it's over 20 F, under that, it certainly won't be very long. I'm mostly just concerned about being holed up inside for weeks on end, but from what I'm hearing, that won't be a problem.

DnvrFox

It can happen, but rarely. In the 80's, one year it snowed and snowed and froze and froze.

oldskoolwrench

Only if it's of your own choosing. With the Trinity you have, you'll be able to find a place to ride no matter what the weather. BTW this week (the 21st) it's going to be in the 70's and pretty fair!

gps_dr

The air is a lot drier here than the east coast. So, you don't have to bundle up much to ride most of the time.