The “Rocky Mountain Bicycle Boys” is a fun-loving mountain bike club located in Denver, Colorado. For over 25 years the group has sponsored annual multi-day trips to favorite places around Colorado over the Independence Day holiday centered around the 4th of July. For the summer of 2018 the club rented a spacious vacation home near Durango, Colorado to be the headquarters for several rides and a day of hiking among the ancient Indian ruins near Mesa Verde National Park. Fellows from as far away as Kansas and California – and two from Oaxaca – took part in the adventure. A raging forest fire north of Durango that began on 1 June threatened to disrupt the annual trip, as highways, local trails and even the San Juan National Forest were closed at times due to the wildfire. Happily, though, the trip took place as planned. The heavy smoke that saturated the hills for many days had dissipated by the time club members arrived on 3 July and we had excellent weather for mountain biking. The fire actually worked in our favor, as there were not nearly as many summer tourists crowding the bars and restaurants in the area, and we pretty much had the hiking and biking trails to ourselves. The first day’s mountain bike adventure took place on the excellent trail network of “Phil’s World” just outside Mancos, Colorado. The second day’s ride took advantage of the complex of loop trails in Boggy Draw, a few miles from the town of Dolores, Colorado. Blue skies and mild temperatures offered ideal conditions for our rides, and a great time was had by all.
Trail map of Phil’s World near Mancos, Colorado.
Trail map of Boggy Draw near Dolores, Colorado.
