Sometimes it is so nice to be in wide open spaces where you can see for miles and miles. We rarely travel East to ride and it was a pleasant surprise to enjoy the vast views.
Doing this ride in late spring expect to see beautiful purple prairie flowers everywhere!
It would be relatively hard to get lost on this ride. This Deer Trail gravel ride goes East/West for 45 miles with very few turns (and usually where the road dead ends).
It’s always a little nerve wracking going on a new gravel ride because the road surface can be variable. The Deer Trail gravel ride has a great road surfaces. There were only a couple of miles of deeper/thicker gravel but otherwise it was smooth and fast.
About 12 cars passed us the entire ride and everybody waved and seemed friendly, if not surprised to see bikers on the road. (FYI: The speed limit on the road is surprisingly 55 mph so when cars do pass you, they are moving quickly).
No loose dogs (Rose nearly has a panic attack before any new ride thinking of the potential loose dogs that we may encounter!).
The 52 mile drive from central Denver out to the start was a bit lengthy.
We had a 10 mph head wind traveling West and it was a minor nuisance (but fun on the way back!). We imagine that if the wind was any stronger, it would become demoralizing.
Do this ride if it’s 55-70 degrees out with slight cloud cover and light wind. This is a great training ride for a gravel grinder with miles of rolling hills that range from 2% – 14% grades!
There are no bathrooms or places to stop for water along the route so plan accordingly.
This route is part of a longer 90 mile ride starting from the Aurora Reservoir. (You can see the full Route here: https://www.strava.com/routes/18717958) We plan to scout out the other half soon!
We began this ride and parked on the road right by Deer Trail’s Elementary School. There are also gas stations by the highway (Shell on Cedar St., and a Phillips 66 on 7th) if you should need supplies or bathrooms before or after your ride.
Laura & Rose
Laura Karpinski and Rose Barcklow are the creators of Gravel Bike Adventures. Click on the About page to learn more about them.
