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My bike without any gear on it weighed in just below 25 pounds. I'm assuming the panniers fully loaded added another 50 pounds (I usually take 35-40 pounds backpacking, so with stuff for bike repairs and extra water I just guessed on that one). You could certainly feel every extra ounce going up mountain passes (hardly took any food to the top of Rocky Mountain National Park, but carried dinner and breakfast to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass and there was a huge difference just with an extra 2-3 pounds). Over the two weeks I spent on the bike, I lost 12 pounds, and my pace along relatively flat roads went from 8mph to 13-15mph, it still takes me forever to climb hills.
I started in Colorado Springs, rode to south Denver, then got a ride to Boulder, and continued on to Steamboat. After that my goal was to head to Calgary, and then across to Vancouver. I cut my trip short in Rawlins, Wyoming to accept a job offer I couldn't resist. I'm planning to continue the trip next summer from Jackson Hole and make it to Missoula, Montana.
From Boulder to Steamboat my friend joined me for the ride. After Steamboat I was on my own, but met a few other people and would usually ride with them for half days or full days.
As far as the roads... Rocky Mountain National Park was great, no shoulder, but everyone is driving slow, and quite a few people are cheering you on. It was great when I was getting exhausted, and someone with a Massachussetts license plate drove by yelling "You're My Hero!!!" That gave me a nice boost of energy for a few more minutes. The worst stretch of road was Highway 40 from Kremmling to just before the climb up Rabbit Ears Pass. No shoulder, lots of semi's and county road maintanence vehicles driving past well over the speed limit and not always giving you any room. From what I saw in southern Wyoming the shoulders are large and roomy, people were extremely friendly, hardly any traffic, but the further I seemed to get into the state the blander the view became, and the harsher the headwinds were.
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