Team Dirty Work in Crested Butte 2001
by R.C. Morton

This is the 12^th year that some of the Team Dirty Work mountain bikers have traveled to the Mecca of mountain biking, Crested Butte, Colorado.  For those mountain bikers who haven’t had the opportunity to experience Crested Butte, I offer the following brief recap of our adventure there and why we keep going back year after year.

In 1989, after reading an article about a mountain bike festival in Crested Butte, four riders from our group decided to go.  Pat and I were part of that foursome.  We drove about 900 miles from Riverside to get there.  The scenery just kept getting better the closer we got.  After we arrived, I remember stopping our car at a vantage point from which we were presented an overview of the town.  I was just “taken” by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and this small town nestled in a wide valley.  The view struck me as if I was looking down at a model railroad display on a board.  On the board was a town built to resemble an old mining town.  It wasn’t long before we learned it was an old mining town.  We also learned the town’s inhabitants strive to maintain that “old mining town” aura. 

The next day we signed up for what was billed as the oldest mountain bike festival in the country.  We were not alone.  Several hundred other riders signed up also.  It was a great experience! The festival was well orchestrated by a sizeable crew of guides, sponsors, registration aides, and other helpers.  They provided no less than six guided rides each day ranging from a “cruise” through the prolific wildflowers to a “hammer-fest” with the “locals.”  I emphasize the word “locals” because our numerous guides lived in Crested Butte year round and were fully acclimated to the thin air at 9,0000 feet.  We were not. For us “hammer-fest” was an overstatement.  We gasped a lot but did pretty well at keeping the “locals” in sight.  The festival had a variety of daily events besides guided rides.  There was something new to see or do each day.  They had a chainless downhill race with a Le Mans start, a dirt bike criterion through the alleys of the town, a cross-country race, a ski slope slalom competition, a bicycle limbo contest, a who-could-go-the-slowest race, and an introduction to mountain bike polo.  They also staged a trials competition as well as a trials workshop.  They held a mountain bike rodeo at town center bringing everyone together for fun, food, and drink.  There was never a moment during our stay in which we weren’t doing a mountain bike activity. 

We rode hard every day in Crested Butte.  The rides were on some of the best single track we had ever seen.  Many of the trails took us through Rocky Mountain wildflowers higher than our handlebars. The trails were all accessible from town.  We didn’t ever need our car for any reason.  Mountain bikes and cruiser bikes were everywhere, in the streets, on the sidewalks, leaning against poles and parked against storefronts.  We also saw about as many dogs roaming the streets as we did bikes. The beauty of all of this was that no one seemed to give one “hoot” about the roaming bikes or the roaming dogs.  Everyone was relaxed and friendly, as were the dogs.  We also noted that none of the “locals” ever bothered to lock their bikes.  We loved it there. 

We’ve been back to Crested Butte every year since 1989.  For some logistical reason, the festival date was moved from July to June.  Although, we couldn’t participate in the June festivals, we continued to go to Crested Butte in July.  Besides, by that time, we knew all the trails and didn’t need guides.  Over the years we kept bringing more and more people with us until we sort of had our own fat tire festival.  For example, this year, we had a total of 19 people in our group (only two were not mountain bikers). 

As the organizer of these Crested Butte trips, I felt this year’s adventure was one of the best of the last 12.  We had a great bunch of people with us and we had a great time together, on or off our bikes.  We rode hard together almost every day.  We ate great meals together almost every night.  Best of all, we laughed together every day about any and all events.  An added bonus was we stayed in the best rental house we have ever had in the 12 years we have been going.  We all loved the place!  It was big and airy, had many large windows, came with a spa on the deck, and even had on-board caretakers. 

Crested Butte 2001 also presented us with almost ideal biking weather.  Unlike Southern California, when you’re in the Rockies at 9,000 feet, almost anything can happen.  We have seen it all over the years - snow, sleet, rain, thunderstorms, lightning, hail, and wind.  This year, our rides were greeted with cool morning temperatures, mostly clear skies, and the few afternoon thunderstorms that developed, happened after our rides.  Only one ride-day out of ten was cancelled because of rain and, even on that day, some of our tougher participants climbed on their dirt rigs and gave it a go anyway. 

We stayed in Crested Butte ten days this year.  I think it was hard for all of us to pack up our “stuff,” load our dirt rigs on racks, and drive away from it all.  Now we’re left with just rifling through the photographs.  These pictures do bring back good feelings about our adventure but they can’t quite capture the real Crested Butte.  A person has to be there to know what it is really like.  I am as “taken” by Crested Butte today, as I was in 1989.  For me it will always be the Mecca of mountain biking – the best place in the universe to ride dirt!