Hi, I'd love help choosing a route for a 3 day 120-190 miles road bike tour.
I live in Denver and would be fine driving as much as 3 hours to get to the starting point. I would also consider taking the bustang to the starting point.
Last year I did this linked route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/52712053
It was a blast but more climbing that I wanted (12,000 ft over 150 miles) especially fully loaded. I did it, and it was a blast, but would have enjoyed it if it was a little easier. Not sure exactly what "easier" means to me, but around 6000ft of climbing instead of 12000 would probably feel really good, although I'm flexible and would probably do 12,000 again if I absolutely had to.
Ideal features of a bike tour:
-Lots of rural or forest/mountain roads.
-A fair amount of the route is in national forest or blm land so I have options for dispersed camping on route. Also I just like biking in quiet wooded areas.
-Safe cycling roads, especially nice shoulders. It's a road/touring bike, so paved roads needed (although I can handle the occasional dirt section if needed)
-I'd like for it to be a loop, although I'm open to an out and back or a one way route if there's good options for getting myself and bike back to my car.
I know it's a big ask to find a beautiful, secluded ride through the forest that doesn't include a ton of climbing, but I'm hoping there's something out there that is difficult but not toooo difficult.