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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127855
(Left) A motley crew of more than 200 participants say "Cheese!" before the st art of the ride . , Thor honcho Bob Maynard (left) and trail boss Don Riggle (above) made the ride run smoothly. (Far left) Donnie Book, Ty Davis, Rodney Smlth, Moose boss Gary Gibbs , Dick Burleson and company part a stream at altitude . Seasons Lodge parking area and set out o n th e ISO-mi le trek to th e town of O u ray, w he re lod gin g w as sc he d u led for the next tw o nights. The firs t leg of Wedne s d a y' s rid e tw isted down to the town of Gunnison, w he re gas w as availab le at the La Mesa campgrou nd jus t outside of town. Th e ride to the first gas stop, however, wa s not as eas y for some as it sounded . Those who opted to take the "A" ro ute known as Green Lake Trail, from Mount Cre sted Bull e to Gunnison - got a tast e of roc ky, tight and muddy Colorado single-track trail. The awesome trail wound up and down rolling hills and thro ugh thick forest for close to 20 miles before hopping o nto a d irt road which led to m ore of th e same. Some riders wis hed they would have taken an easier route, as electric-starter batteries began to die, levers began to break, tires began to flatten, and even some injuries were recorded. As a resu lt, m any made it to the La Mesa gas stop very late, but had plenty of good tales to tell their buddies when the day w as over. Those riders lucky and experienced enough to make it to Gunnison on time w ere treated to even better trails for the secon d leg fro m Gunnison to O u ray. Trail guides Riggle, Larry Toby an d Jeff Slovens too k a select few south through th e Col o ra do d esert to the in fa mo us Alpi ne tra il, w hi ch ru ns through th e Unco m pa hg re N at io nal Forest a n d heads up in to a ltitudes of ove r 13,000 feet. The trail co nsists o f grassy m eadows, eng ine-deep water and mud crossings, rocky, rooty single- track tra il, and 102 tight uphill and d ownhill sw itch backs. It is lon g, and it is not for the faint of hea rt. The sce nery is beautifu l, but less than 40 ride rs got to experience it due to the rigors of the Alpine trail. Those who did, however, will never forget it. From Cunnison, some chose to dual spo rt to Lake City and then over Engineer Pass, with its breath taking views. Regardless of which route was taken to Ouray, riders tallied up approximately ISO mil es of adventu re on the first day of rid ing . Food was served in Ouray so eve ryo ne co ul d re ga in mu ch -n eeded strength as th ey swap ped stories w ith one another abo ut their lon g day in the sadd le. Hotel- room assignments were rationed out, and riders met up with their favori te trail guides to arrange pl an s for th e free d a y of e xploring whi ch was to follow . Afte r breakfast at th e hist oric Elk s Lod ge o n Th ursday m orning, rid ers were g iven a free d ay . There was no route chart for th e day - just the chance to go explore th e trails a nd jeep tr ail s a r ound th e town of O u ray . Se v eral g ui ded tours too k riders to Silverton, Annimas Forks and the ski-resort town of Telluride. There wer e many sights to see, such as the Yankee Boy Basin Mines and the Box Canyon Fa lls . Everyone wa s impressed wi th th e breathtaking surroun d ings of s o u t h w este rn Col- . orado . . For some , though, the day was not all pl ay. Thor-, Alpin estars- or Moosesponsored professional riders - such as Burleson, Smith, Davis and Book - spent half the day doing photo shoots with photographer Kinney Jon es. The group did, however, have fun wreaking havoc at an aba ndoned mine that tliey found at the top of Box Canyon . Before all of the photos were finished, Moose ho ncho Gary Gibbs man aged to lose his helm et pads to Smi th, Davis a n d Boo k . All alo ng, Gibbs kept reminding Davis an d Smith tha t he is the one who sends out their paychecks; nevertheless, the practical -jake-playing d uo p roceeded to re move the lens fro m Gibbs ' goggles. Gibbs d id m an age to get revenge later on , however, by tossi ng Davi s' goggles into a freezing-cold stream. Th e day of ex p loration was topped off by dinner at the O utlaw Steak River Cookou t. Riders were sh utt led up Box Canyon in trucks to the cookou t, which lay on the Gunnison River. Tepees kep t th e hungry crow d dry as rain shower s passed through the canyo n duri ng dinner. Friday m orni ng - the fina l day of the ride - saw the gro up leave Ouray after a two -n ig h t s ta y a nd set back to wa r d Mount Crested Butte. The rou te over the jeep trail s of Engineer Pass an d in to Lake City seemed to be the hot ticket for gas. From Lake City, riders had several choice routes from which to choose in order to ge t back to the 3 Seasons Lod ge. Riggl e guided a sm a ll g ro up ba ck through th e dese rt to La Mesa cam pg ro und fo r gas. Afte r gassi ng u p, th e grou p headed for some fun, fas t twotrack trail which proved to be treacherous for so me . Scott Forwa rd from Scott's Per forman ce ca rtw hee led hi s KDX220 off the side of a jeep trail when he got sideways on a water-drai nage di tch which was cut into th e road . H is bike landed upside down, and Forward just m is s-ed hitting a rock the si ze of a microwave oven by inches . He did suffer a banged-up sho ul der, as well as a. two-inch gou ge in hi s fo rearm wh ich had to be patch ed up wi th d uct tape on th e trai l. Forwar d sol d iered on for th e remaining 30 m iles of the ISO-mile day an d m ade it bac k to M o u n t Crested BUlle, receiving the group's unofficial award for best cra sh. As all of th e ri d e r s cruised i n to Mount Crested Bu tte in sm all grou ps, there w as great satisfaction showing on everyone's faces. Everyone had experienced m ore than 300 miles of excellen t riding in Colorado over the three days of riding. After the bikes a nd bo dies were cleaned up, the Parts Unli mi ted Award Banquet cocktail and din ner part)' started at the Grand Butte Hotel. For most of the participants, the Thor /Alpinestars /Moose Rocky Mo un tain 300 was the best business trip they had ever gone on. ell Until next year's ride, that is. 15