Ouray, CO is surrounded by roads and trails in every direction. The town is tucked into a box canyon that’s a low spot in a swath of country where the topo lines are almost solid, because the country surrounding Ouray is that steep. In just a few short miles you can climb more than 5,000 vertical feet to the top of the second highest drivable dirt road in the United States. So yeah, there’s some proper elevation to be gained here. The San Juan Mountains are laced with all sorts of dirt roads and tracks, thanks to the area’s mining history, and today those roads are great fun on a dirt bike.
For our first ride day, we put together a loop that would take us to Telluride and back using Black Bear and Ophir pass. Black Bear is a one-way road down the Telluride side, known for its exposure and one narrow technical section called The Steps. Yet, once you make it past The Steps, the road switchbacks all the way down to the bottom of the of the valley, so it’s great fun to click your bike into neutral, kill your motor, and ride it like a downhill bike. Get a few buddies involved, and you can have an impromptu race that gets very entertaining as you mix it up trying to out brake and carry more speed than your buddies in a race to the bottom. Last place buys lunch.
Ophir Pass is part of the BDR, and for good reason. The top of the Ophir side of the pass cuts across a massive scree field at the end of the valley, and it’s always worth it to stop for a minute near the top and take in the view. The other side of the pass is essentially a dirt road, so it’s really not much to talk about, other than it makes for quick access to the country around Silverton. There are so many roads and tracks around here that reward exploring, so if you have the time, go run that road to the end just to see where it goes. You may find a cool mining site, or a gate. Unfortunately, much of the high country is covered in old mining claims and when new owners come in, so too do gates across roads that have long been open. Yet even if you do find a gate, you’ll be riding in incredibly beautiful country, so make sure to slow down and take it all in.
It all starts with the event basecamp – what Mosko Moto calls the Dusty Lizard lounge. With hundreds of square feet of comfy couches, shade netting, and gas fireplaces, the Dusty Lizard lounge is the gathering place for everyone at the event. Off to one side of the lounge is a stage where bands play on Friday and Saturday nights. Off to another side of the lounge is a giant box trailer that’s covered with maps of the surrounding area and flanked with coolers full of all sorts of ice-cold beverages. The Moto show trailer, and a few other brands create a third side of the lounge. The Lounge is where you want to be when you’re in camp: There’s excellent Bivouac Coffee and breakfast in the mornings. There are cold beverages to kick back with in the afternoons and recount the day’s riding adventures. And the Lizard lounge is where everyone eats dinner and enjoys live music at night. The net effect is that the Lizard Lounge is that it brings everyone at the event together, and that’s how communities are built.
Everyone is welcome at a Dusty Lizard. Take a look at the bikes parked near the Lizard lounge and you’ll see just about every size and color of bike. You’ll see GSAs parked next to Stark Vargs, and Enduro bikes parked next to ADV touring bikes. The folks that ride these bikes are just as unique, yet they are all stoked to be here because Dusty Lizards are choose your own adventure style events.
Mosko Moto provides a handful of suggested routes for every appetite – there are options for twisty windy apex hunting, and everything from graded easy dirt tracks, to challenging technical single track. Remember those maps on the trailer I had mentioned earlier? They’re another clever aspect of these events. Riders congregate around these maps, and it’s cool to watch conversations strike up, as riders swap notes, share experiences, and in many cases make plans to go check out a track they’ve been eyeing together. Other rallies that have one route for a day with a few optional harder splits if you’re lucky feel constraining in comparison. Riding in a conga line with hundreds of other riders isn’t as cool as getting to check out a map and choose your own adventure.
Ouray, CO, is surrounded by roads and trails in every direction. The town is tucked into a box canyon that’s a low spot in a swath of country where the topo lines are almost solid, because the country surrounding Ouray is that steep. In just a few short miles you can climb more than 5,000 vertical feet to the top of the second highest drivable dirt road in the United States. So yeah, there’s some proper elevation to be gained here. The San Juan Mountains are laced with all sorts of dirt roads and tracks thanks to the area’s mining history, and today those roads are great fun on a dirt bike.
For our first ride day, we put together a loop that would take us to Telluride and back using Black Bear and Ophir pass. Black Bear is a one-way road down the Telluride side, known for it’s exposure and one narrow technical section called the steps. Yet, once you make it past the steps the road switchbacks all the way down to the bottom of the of the valley, so it’s great fun to click your bike into neutral, kill your motor, and ride it like a downhill bike. Get a few buddies involved, and you can have an impromptu race that gets very entertaining as you mix it up trying to out brake and carry more speed than your buddies in a race to the bottom. Last place buys lunch.
Ophir Pass is part of the BDR, and for good reason. The top of the Ophir side of the pass cuts across a massive scree field at the end of the valley, and it’s always worth it to stop for a minute near the top and take in the view. The other side of the pass is essentially a dirt road, so it’s really not much to talk about, other than it makes for quick access to the country around Silverton. There are so many roads and tracks around here that reward exploring, so if you have the time, go run that road to the end just to see where it goes. You may find a cool or mining site, or a gate. Unfortunately, much of the high country is covered in old mining claims and when new owners come in, so too do gates across roads that have long been open. Yet even if you do find a gate, you’ll be riding in incredibly beautiful country, so make sure to slow down and take it all in.
For our second ride day, we opted to go off-menu for a little single track mission. Colorado is the land of single track trails to nowhere, so simply riding one single track trail end to end meant that we would also get to do a quick highway blast, ride a couple dozen miles of gravel and blue groove farm roads that would be an absolute riot on a Super Enduro or an Adventure bike, and get to ride several 50” ATV trails. This variety of trails just comes with the territory, and honestly, it’s all fun – especially the ATV trail and the single track. Colorado has some truly impressive trails, and this single track was no exception. The trail flows through aspen groves and stands of mixed conifer timber before switch-backing its way straight up a ridgeline at nearly 11,000 feet. On the backside, the trail falls off the ridgeline and feeds you onto ATV trails that take you to a high alpine lake. It can be hard to keep your focus on the trail, even if you’ve been here before – the views and the whole experience are just that good.
Riding in the San Juans never gets old. It’s truly an awesome place to ride, and when you combine all of the good things that are a Dusty Lizard, you get an awesome event that’s arguably one of the best ways to get to explore a new riding destination. Anyone on any kind of bike can have a great time at a Dusty Lizard, so if you’ve been dreaming of riding in Colorado, Moab, UT, or any other location the Dusty Lizard Lands, it’s a great to experience the area for the first time. Even if you’ve ridden in these places before, a Dusty Lizard is still a great use of your riding time. You’ll get to meet new like-minded folks, and you may even have the opportunity to show some of these people around. After several years of attending Dusty Lizards, I now look at them as a chance to ride with folks that I otherwise wouldn’t get to ride with – and that’s what its all about: riding in awesome places with outstanding people.
The next Dusty Lizard is in Clayton, ID on September 26th. For more information visit https://moskomoto.com/products/dusty-lizard-campout-sawtooths
