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Gateway Off Road Cyclists ( GORC ) with St Charles County Parks invites children (8-14) and parents to celebrate International Mountain Bike Association ( IMBA ) sponsored “National Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day”.

On this day, the GORC vacationers opted to ride from GORC HQ at Mount Crested Butte up Gothic Road to the 401 Trail. We rode the sweet downhill back to the house and never stopped smiling. Matt and Lisa headed out earlier than the group so I don’t have any group shots in this photo set.

GORC reunited with an old friend from St. Louis, Ken Keister, and we all headed out for a long ride in the backcountry – this time the famed Doctor Park Loop. This 20+ mile ride consisted of a steady gravel road climb and turned to a steeper pitched jeep road before leveling out in the Black Forest.

Most of us are tired so words seem hard to come by. Here’s a quick photo dump of the day’s events. The crew of 19 rode between 19 and 24 miles.

Heading out a week earlier than the GORC crew, Matt and Lisa hit Santa Fe and Taos before basing out of Durango for a few days to catch up with Durango Doug and Dianna while riding the best stacked trail system in the region – Phil’s World, located just outside of Cortez, Colorado.

On the last day, several groups split up and did their own thing. Some hit Mount Crested Butte, others did another backcountry ride and a few did both! Matt and Lisa ended up taking the day off the bikes and checking out Judd Falls just above the tiny town of Gothic.

On the second to last day, GORC piled into our respective vehicles and arrived in Gunnison, Colorado about forty minutes later. Today was a treat… Hartman Rocks!

On what was the traditional GORC rest day – Wednesday – someone came up with the idea of attending the free Pinnacle Race Series held at Mount Crested Butte. Featuring both a cross-country and downhill event, costing no money, and get this, free beer and food at the finish, it was a no-brainer for the race kids

Anyone who rides a single speed long enough will soon find themselves looking for replacement cogs and chainrings. I had since moved to a splined hub about a year ago and found swapping the rear cog to be much more friendlier.

Yesterday I went out to Greensfelder to see how the forest was holding up and to preempt any downed trees in case the work week picked up. I threw on the Dakine Builder Pack with chainsaw (not included) and rode Eagle Valley onto the Northern end of the Green Rock to cut out a known downed tree.