Dirt Bike Magazine - December 2013

Rain intermittently moistened the Colorado landscape. It would be impossible to order better conditions.

Trail boss Paul Krause shows the way. Unfortunately, he didn’t come back on the same road or at the same time as the rest of his group.

drawing riders from both coasts. The typical rider is somewhere in his 40s or 50s, he rides a KTM 990 and has a long off-road history. There are also BMWs, Suzukis and even a Ducati or two, but the most common sight is a guy on a big KTM. It isn’t like a typical adventure rally, because the riders tend to be a little more experienced and a lot more skilled. Very few of them transferred from a Harley, and some have held National Enduro numbers. Even the riders with no extensive off-road background are there for the dirt. You don’t travel to an event where the guides are Kurt Caselli, Mike Brown, Paul Krause, Jimmy Lewis and Andrew Short if you have a bad attitude. These riders came to let the adventure unfold around them. The rain came and went, then came again over the course of the weekend, making the dirt moist and the sky cinematic. The floods provided a dramatic backdrop that enhanced the experience. I’m sure the people of Boulder had a different take, as their cars were washed away in spontaneous rivers of mud, but that was 100 miles away. The area around Steamboat Springs is blessed with hundreds of miles of excellent dirt roads that are well-maintained because of the hunting business. I was there during the brief elk hunting season, which brings in tourism and supports the summer economy. The local government knows this and keeps the network of access roads in good shape. Good for us.

High-quality dirt roads are essential to the adventure bike thing. Adventure riding requires a slightly different mentality from traditional off-road riding, which thrives on ugly trails. When you ride something with multiple cylinders and a fairing, your scale changes. It takes an adjustment period, but eventually a 1000cc bike on a dirt road is equivalent to a 200cc bike on a 2-foot singletrack. An occasional washout, stream crossing or mud puddle just adds to the challenge, like an extreme enduro section. Having the right setup is important, just as it is with regular dirt bikes. Knobby tires like Conti TKCs are the best, and having a bike that was designed for dirt roads is essential.