Rich's Most Excellent Best of the COBDR Ride

Name: Rich's Most Excellent Best of the COBDR Ride
Start: 2025-08-23T07:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-08-27T18:00:00-06:00
Location: Estes Park Colorado

Schedule

Sat, 23 Aug, 2025 at 07:00 am to Wed, 27 Aug, 2025 at 06:00 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

Estes Park Colorado | Longmont, CO

Join me for my "Best of the COBDR" Ride!
Intent of the Ride:
Showcase the best that the Colorado Backcounty Discovery Route has to offer, while adding some "must see" Colorado riding. In addition, I want to create an opportunity for riders to network with each other, finding future riding partners for additional adventures.
This is a nearly-all abilities ride for ADV riders with a minimum of dirt riding experience. That is, while this should not be your first dirt ride, I can give you a progression of roads / trails in the front range to build your skills.
Day 1, 8/23 -- Estes to Gypsum / Eagle, via Fall River Road in Rocky Mtn National Park. Camp south of Eagle / Gypsum
Notes:
- We'll start early from Estes to avoid the time entry requirement but you will need a park pass.
- Very, very scenic and easy day, with the exception of the final push into Gypsum, where there is good bit of silt. I will provide tracks for an Alternate route.
Day 2, 8/24 -- Gypsum / Eagle to Buena Vista, camp in Four Mile, dinner in Buena Vista.
Notes:
- Hagerman is one of the beefier passes on the BDR route, but our direction, north to south is generally easier. The up is loose and chunky and the down is jeep-road-ish. We'll work together as a team to get everyone through it. I'll provide tracks for an Alternate route.
- Weston is easy.
- You'll go through some burned areas on the way from Weston to Four Mile.
- Four Mile "builds" in difficulty and there is some fun sand and a water crossing or two between camp and dinner. We'll setup camp, ride into town for dinner, then return to camp with firewood.
Day 3, 8/25 -- BV to Lake City area, camp along the river about 30-45min from Lake City. Setup basecamp. Dinner in camp.
Day 4, 8/26 -- Breakfast in Lake City, Alpine Loop Plus, lunch in Ouray or Silverton. Dinner in Lake City.
Notes:
- This is the highlight of the tour and we'll ride it with unweighted bikes to ensure that everyone has a good day out there.
Day 5, 8/27 -- Camp to Hwy 285 north of BV, via Black Sage, Monarch, Salida, Aspen Ridge. Ride ends at the pavement.
Navigation:
I will provide GPS tracks for each day, with Main and Alternate options for those who may want to bypass some of the more difficult terrain.
How the Ride will "Work:"
We will not ride together as a massive group. Instead, the group will organically break into small subgroups of similar riding abilities and pace, with informal, intra-group rally points identified as GPS waypoints.
Admin:
- NO HARD PANNIERS ALLOWED, NO EXCEPTIONS
- In addition to carrying whatever tools you need to make simple repairs or fix a flat on the trail, all riders must have a tow strap, and a 2-way radio dialed to 462.600 (Baofeng) or Ch17 (Rocky Talky), InReach or similar, with online tracking, and Life360 on their phone.
- I will lead a mandatory Zoom call before the ride, to get everyone on the same page regarding the itinerary for each day, expectations, etc.
Cost and Registration:
- $150
- 100% refundable if you cancel 30+ days before the ride. No refunds if cancellation less than 30 days before the ride.
- If you're in, RSVP as Going, then PM me. I'll ask you a few questions to determine your suitability for the ride, then I'll give you Venmo instructions if we're a good fit.
About Me:
I'm a former Marine artillery officer and coached over 10,000 Ironman triathlon finishers from 2001-2017, leading a virtual team of over 800 athletes. I've lead multi-vehicle military convoys through the desert, countless day and multi-day ADV and DS rides in CO, CA, NV, AZ, and NM. I've conducted nearly a dozen 5-7 day point-to-point cycling training camps, with 100+ miles of cycling each day, support vehicles, etc.
In short, I have a great deal of experience leading groups of people across challenging terrain, ensuring a good rider experience, safety, and accountability.
My mission is to create an epic motorcycle adventure for all of us!