Fort Collins Bike Trails and Why They Rock!

Okay, I admit it.  The "it" being that in order for a bike ride to feel like a real bike ride I had to have a destination, an adventure, a goal, whatever you like.  For this reason, I had always viewed riding on the local paved bike trails as something to do on a mellow Sunday, on my cruiser, when working up a sweat or covering some territory was not really the goal.  I also admit I was only partially right or partially wrong depending on your world view in regards to the premise I mention above. 

I set off to enjoy the amazing MLK day weather we were having in Fort Collins with a bike ride.  Now, to make it an adventure and worthy endeavor I decided to ride the bike trails from Bellvue to Spring Canyon Park.  (To digress, any endeavor on a bicycle is worthy, I should clarify by saying a worthy endeavor that works up a sweat and leads to some gains in overall physical health and endurance).  This is by no means the entire paved trail system in Fort Collins, but it is a good chunk.  It was quite a ride and some absolutely amazing scenery for being within and in an urban/suburban area of well over 140,000 living, breathing souls. 

I chose to start my ride from the northwest most terminus of the bike trail system in Bellvue, CO, which is incidentally only yards (maybe 53 yards) from the Bellvue Bean.

 

 

Bellvue Bean Coffee Shop

The Bean is an excellent place to fuel up pre-ride or recover post-ride depending on the direction you ride.  It is also a great halfway point for an out and back from Fort Collins and it is on a bike trail the whole way.  However, in the interest of time, I passed up The Bean (one of the very few times my will power has been strong enough) and headed straight to the start of the ride. 

Yep, that is the start just 47 yards down the road from The Bean.  The trail has excellent infrastructure throughout its entire length including dedicated bridges over waterways (Poudre River, Spring Creek, etc) and underpasses for major roads.  One warning- it does not have the best signage when feeder trails enter or leave the primary trail, so if it is your
 maiden voyage take a look at a map or have one with you for the periodic consultation.  On the other hand, if you are out for exploration, don't take a map and enjoy all the little miscues that make the journey special. 

I used the Strave app to track my progress and you can see my route here. 
https://www.strava.com/rides/38273488

Basically, from starting in Bellvue and heading east and south to the River Bend Ponds area is all on the Poudre River Trail.  At that point I headed west along the Spring Creek Trail.  Including my ride to the trailhead (which was not on a dedicated bike path) and my trip home from Spring Canyon Park (again, not on a bike trail) I covered nearly 30 miles. 

If you have questions on the trails in Fort Collins, drop me a line.

Ride on,
E