Please click here to jump to the Overview section with all tour details including pricing.

Telluride to Taos Bike Tour: Highlights

Having a great time on the T2T trip. The route is great and Leslie and Deanne are doing a fantastic job. They are very tuned in to the group and have been aces. I personally appreciate the early and efficient starts to all of the mornings so far. And a special thanks to Leslie and whoever else was involved with making arrangements for my wife to join me in Taos Thursday. The Lizard Head spirit of flexibility and accommodation is very much appreciated. Cheers. – Jon

Telluride to Taos Bike Tour: Dates

Potential tour dates are listed below and not all tour dates will run. Lock in your preferred tour date early as unopened tour dates will be closed. Please see the Spring/Autumn Tour Calendar and the Summer Tour Calendar for confirmed departures. Any unopened date can be a Custom Week (9 riders required). Please contact us via email or call 970.728.5891

2019 Summer Tour Dates:

• August 11 to 16, 2019 – TOUR A GO!
• August 18 to 23, 2019
• August 25 to 30, 2019

2020 Summer Tour Dates:

• June 7 to 12, 2020 (Book Now!)
• June 14 to 19, 2020 (Book Now!)
• June 21 to 26, 2020 (Book Now!)
• July 26 to 31, 2020 (Book Now!)

Telluride to Taos Bike Tour: Overview

Tour Length: 6-Days Cycling/6-Nights Lodging

Starting Town: Telluride, Colorado, Fly into Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) in Montrose, Colorado. The tour meets on the morning of Day 1 in Telluride, Colorado.

Ending Town: Taos, New Mexico (Fly out of Albuqurque, New Mexico). Guests are on-their-own to arrange the Saturday morning shuttle from Taos to Albuquerque.

Total Miles: 350-470 (Can I keep up on this tour?)

Mileage Range: 41-111-miles NOTE: 111-miles is the E.F.I. option (Every Freaking Inch)

Ability Level: Intermediate (2/3) to Advanced (3/4) 
The Telluride-2-Taos bike tour includes easily assessable mileage options for the EFI’er to the Intermediate level cyclist. We have previously run the T-2-T with mixed rider abilities and had good success.

Tour Includes: 6-nights of lodging, 5-days of meals, guide service, entrance fees, daily lunch en route, energy food, liquid refreshments, mechanical support and special gift. Alcoholic beverages, massage & bike rental are additional.

Tour Cost: $2,690 per person.
Group discount of $200 per person for groups of 4 or more. Please see our Tour Discounts Policy.

Non-Riding Spouses & Partners on Tour: If a non-riding spouse or partner would like to join you on tour and they have their own transportation, they can stay in your room for the cost of the tour's single room supplement. Non-Riding spouses and partners can join a tour's meal plan of three meals a day for $85 per day.

October Early Bird Pricing: Take $200 off 6-Day 2020 Road tours plus a $75 bike rental discount, or $150 off 2020 MTB tours for reservations made thru October 31, 2019. (NOTE: Western US tours only; this discount is not stackable with other discounts)

Single Room Supplement: Add $590 to the Tour Cost for a private room each night of the tour (6 nights).

Bike Rental

Road Bike Rental: Lizard Head Cycling Guides is proud to rent Scott CR-1 Pro and Scott Solace carbon road bikes with full Shimano Ultegra components for only $250/week, or $150 for 3 or 4 day tours. Both the CR-1 and Solace models are sub- 17 lb comfortable, high performance bicycles geared for climbing hills. In addition we also have electric bikes available for rental at $375/week. And finally we have a selection of straight bar road bikes and kids bikes in our rental fleet. Just let us know what you need and we can probably find it.

Please also see this blog post for more information on bike rentals.

Electric Bike Rental: We now have a limited selection of SCOTT electric bikes that can be reserved for our tours. These are road bikes with straight bars that make the slowest rider the fastest rider in the group. Rental Price is $375/week.

Couples Bike Rental Discount: Sign up as a couple and receive one free bike high performance rental per couple ($250 value. Ebikes excluded, pedal bikes only).

Tandems and Recumbents: Lizard Head Cycling Guides happily accommodates both tandem and recumbent bikes on its tours.

Read more on our Road Bike Rental FAQs page.

Lodging Includes: (subject to change)

• Night 1: Strater Hotel, Durango, CO
• Night 2: The Springs Resort, Pagosa Springs, CO
• Night 3: Branding Iron Motel, Chama, NM
• Night 4: Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa, Ojo Caliente, NM
• Nights 5 & 6:  Taos Inn, Taos, NM

Meals On Tour

Lunches: Lizard Head Cycling Guides prepares healthy lunches to keep you going. We will serve you fresh organic fruits and veggies, salads, hummus, sandwich fixings, nuts, gourmet cheeses and of course plenty of salty/sweet snacks such as chips and cookies. We pride ourselves on being able to cater to specific dietary requests, so rest assured that you will be able to get the nutrition that works for you during the week. Gluten Free, Dairy Free or a someone who loves it all – we will keep you well fed during the tour!

Dinners: Lizard Head Cycling sources our favorite restaurants in each town that we visit. Our guides focus on establishments that offer fresh and local ingredients. Guests choose whatever they desire to eat off the menu: including appetizer, salad, entree and of course dessert... yum! Also, while on tour if a guest wants to dine early before the group and go to bed, this is fine. We understand that on some days sleep is the most important post-ride element.

Overall Route Map

Telluride to Taos Bike Tour: Itinerary*

*Tour itineraries are subject to change and modification based on the group, available accommodations and other unforeseen circumstances including weather, wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, landslides and/or other acts of nature. Please view this itinerary as an outline as to what to expect on this tour.

Day 0: Arrival in Montrose, Colorado

Cyclists fly into Montrose, Colorado and take a shuttle up to Telluride to check into their first night’s lodging. See logistics for driving above.

Bikes can be shipped to Lizard Head Cycling’s office near Telluride for pre-tour assembly.

Day 1: Telluride, Colorado to Durango, Colorado
Standard: 65-mile “warm up” to Dolores, Colorado 🙂
Optional E.F.I.: Ride all the way to Durango (111-Miles with 5,970 feet of climbing)

Day 1 offers a spectacular ride from Telluride over Lizard Head Cycling;s namesake pass and then mostly downhill for 50-miles to Dolores, Colorado. The E.F.I. option is a full century ride of 111-miles with a point-to-point ride from Telluride to Durango. Both routes follow the Rio Dolores from Lizard Head Pass to the town of Dolores. From Lizard Head Pass it is a near 50-mile net descent to Dolores making for a cruisy ride through the San Juan National Forest.

 

Day 2: Durango, Colorado to Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Standard: 30 miles with up to 2,245 feet of climbing
Optional E.F.I.: 71 miles with up to 4,895 feet of climbing

Starting from downtown Durango, cyclists start the day pedaling up into the Florida River Valley to Lemon Reservoir and then down through the Los Pinos River Valley to Bayfield, Colorado for the first 30 miles. From here the remaining 41 miles are optional as the route heads due east over Yellowjacket Pass through parts of the San Juan National Forest, past Haystack Mountain and ends at the body and soul refreshing hot springs of Pagosa Springs, Colorado.

 

Day 3: Pagosa Springs, Colorado to Chama, New Mexico
48 miles with up to 3,300 feet of climbing

With a shorter ride day on tap, we start mid-morning from Pagosa Springs heading south and as we near the New Mexico border, you can almost get a whiff of the state’s famous and fragrant green chile. We soon cross both the New Mexican border and the continental divide while pedaling a remote and hilly route to Chama, New Mexico.

 

Day 4: Chama, New Mexico to Ojo Caliente, New Mexico
Standard: 65 miles with up to 3,100 feet of climbing
Optional E.F.I.: 95 miles with up to 4,900 feet of climbing

Today’s ride climbs the formidable Brazos Pass to 10,000-feet and descends into the Rio Grande Valley to the exclusive Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & Spa. Steeped in myth and legend, these ancient springs have been a gathering place and source of healing for thousands of years. The use of the waters can be traced back to the earliest human migrations in the region. Ancient peoples, the ancestors of today’s Native American Tewa tribes, built large pueblos and terraced gardens overlooking the springs. Surrounding the springs are the ruins of the cities populated before the birth of history.

 

Day 5: Ojo Caliente, New Mexico to Taos, New Mexico
41 Miles with up to 2,000 feet of climbing

After a relaxed morning at Ojo we’ll ride from the Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs to Taos, New Mexico. This ride is on a newly paved section of quiet road across the Rio Grande rift valley. Taos is an artist’s destination of international acclaim and home to the Taos Pueblo Indians. Along the way we’ll cross the spectacular Rio Grande Gorge Bridge.

 

Day 6: “The Enchanted Circle Ride” – Taos, New Mexico Loop
Standard: 48 miles with up to 3,225 feet of climbing
Optional E.F.I.: 79 miles with up to 4,600 feet of climbing

Ride the Sangre De Christo (Blood of Christ) mountains between Taos and Red River, New Mexico. The Enchanted Circle Loop is New Mexico’s premier mountain ride offering exceptional beauty. Standard route is 48 miles from Río Grande del Norte National Monument, over Bobcat Pass and then end in Eagle, New Mexico. E.F.I. riders continue from Eagle, over Palo Flechado Pass, and then end back in Taos.

 

Day 7: Post Tour 

Post tour following Day 6 cyclists wake and shuttle from Taos to Albuquerque (2.5 hours) and fly out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Southwest and Delta airlines (among others) service Albuquerque.

NOTE: Guests are on-their-own to arrange the Saturday morning shuttle from Taos to Albuquerque.

Telluride to Taos Bike Tour: Logistics & FAQs

Bike Shipping

Lizard Head Cycling recommends shipping with BikeFlights.com. Bikes can be shipped either to our partner bike shop in each meeting town for professional assembly or directly to the meeting hotel for self-assembly. Bike boxes can generally be left at the meeting hotel during the tour. Bikes shipped across the continental US should be shipped 8 days prior to your tour.

General Tour & Cancellation Policies

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with all of our tour and cancellation policies, which can be found by clicking here.

Travel Insurance

Lizard Head Cycling Guides highly recommends clients purchase Travel Insurance through MH Ross Travel Insurance. A policy can be purchased individually through the sales link below or Lizard Head Cycling Guides can also set-up a policy for its clients.

The estimated cost for a 50-year old buying insurance for a $2,500 tour ranges from $100 (standard plan) to about $200 (cancel for any reason plan).

Lizard Head Cycling Guides Custom Sales Portal Link is:

https://www.mhross.com/index.php/consumer/portal/LIZA0855CO

• The best options for our clients are either the Asset or Bridge plans.
• The Asset-Plus & Complete plans both include a Cancel-For-Any-Reason option.
• As a result these plans cost more.
• The Cancel-for-Any-Reason option is only available when insurance is purchased within two weeks of initial deposit.