A DIRTY GOOD TIME: DUSTY LIZARD - RIDGWAY, CO
Words: Chad de Alva Photos: Chad de Alva, Johnny T. Young
The calendar is full of motorcycle related events. With Expo this, Rally that, Festival there, and (insert name) of event here, there is no shortage of moto gatherings where riders can pay to play. Mosko Moto is no stranger to this show circuit. Attending so many of these events has given them a unique perspective on what resonates with their customers, and what feels more like a commercial shopping experience. By combining these lessons learned with a healthy serving of Mosko Moto culture, the company has come up with their own unique series of events: a few weekend gatherings in choice locations that are focused on riding, camping, and spending time with like-minded riders. In a world full of corporate shopping-centric shows, Mosko Moto’s Dusty Lizard events are a most welcome change of pace.
Mosko Moto has held several of these Dusty Lizard events all over the western United States this past year, and their most recent event was held outside of Ridgway, CO. What’s great about this part of Colorado is that it’s surrounded by awesome riding. Within an hour in any direction, riders have access to everything from high alpine passes and singletrack to open desert OHV riding and endless miles of dirt roads. Whether you’re on a dirt bike, dual-sport, or an adventure bike, there’s no shortage of outstanding riding nearby.
The first thing you notice on arrival to a Dusty Lizard is how low-key things are. Other events are typically bristling with feather flags and the other instruments of brand and booth identification, but save for a few Mosko Moto flags that mark where to turn to enter the event, it looks just like a bunch of folks gathered in a field. In vehicles of every shape and size and on all sorts of bikes from choppers to dirt bikes, folks come from all over to attend these events. The guy on the chopper sleeping in a tent is within throwing distance of a dude in a fancy van – yet instead of staying in little camping cliques like you find at other events, everyone hangs out in what Mosko Moto calls the Dusty Lizard Lounge.
With a trailer load of strategically placed couches, propane fireplaces, shade netting, an assortment of drinks, live music, and catered meals, the Dusty Lizard Lounge is the gathering place at a Dusty Lizard event. From making new friends over dinner to sharing a drink and swapping stories about the day’s riding adventures, the lounge is the place to be when you’re in camp. Live music and tasteful lighting help set the mood, and it all makes for a great place to relax and connect with friends both new and old.
When it comes to riding, the Dusty Lizard is a choose-your-own adventure type of event. While other Rallies require that their riders have kickstands up by a certain time to complete a guided and swept route, at a Dusty Lizard, things are done differently. Riders are offered a selection of GPX tracks and they are free to create their own self-guided rides. Mosko works with local riders to develop an assortment of tracks that run the spectrum from easy, scenic cruisers to much more challenging trails. Instead of having to start at a certain time, make it to the one lunch spot during the few hours that it’s open, and make it back to base before a certain time, riders at a Dusty Lizard are free to ride whatever and whenever they please.
We chose to spend our first day riding some of the famous high alpine passes in San Juan Mountains. Thanks to the region’s long history of hard rock mining, there are dozens of narrow, rocky dirt tracks laced all over this tightly clustered part of the Rocky Mountains. Riding these passes takes you through multiple biomes as you climb multiple thousand feet of elevation to the summit. Starting in a valley or drainage, you’ll typically be riding by wetlands (keep an eye out for moose) and through thick stands of timber as the road starts to climb. As you move higher, things will start to open up and you’ll cross through fields of wildflowers and avalanche paths, some of which are still holding snow. Moving higher still, you’ll start to reach timberline where the trees can only grow to a few feet tall. Above timberline is where you cross into the Alpine tundra – a fragile biome where flowers are measured in mere inches. As you near the tops of many passes, you’ll be riding straight into the sky. At the top, you’ll have an impressive view of the world around you. There’s something about riding up, down, and around the tops of the Rocky Mountains that never gets old.
Many of these passes link the towns of Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, and Lake City together, and it is fun to ride to the next town over for lunch or just experience each unique little town. The passes accomplish in a few miles what takes a few hours by paved road.
After a leisurely departure from camp, we spent the balance of our morning playing on all of the rocks and named obstacles on one of the more technical passes in the region, before dropping into Silverton for a late lunch. Back on the bikes, we set off out of Silverton a different way with our sights on a couple more passes that would ultimately loop us back to our starting point.
Another factor to contend with when riding in these mountains is the weather, and so far we managed to avoid the scattered rainstorms that were all around us. The weather can change instantly in this part of the world – you can ride up one side of a pass in full sun, only to find the darkest, wettest thunderstorm waiting for you on the other side. Fully exposed while above timberline is the last place you want to be in a thunderstorm, but when the storms are a safe distance away, they make the landscape that much more dramatic. Thankfully for us, our rain gear wasn’t required as we bagged two more passes on our way back to our starting point. That evening at the Dusty Lizard Lounge, with live music, a cold drink, and a plate of food it was awesome to just kick back, talk to other riders, and listen to their stories from the day’s ride.
After dual-sporting the previous day, we decided to sample some single track for our last day at the Ridgway Dusty Lizard. After a short drive to the trailhead, we set out on our 300s for an afternoon of quintessential Colorado single track. A perfect narrow ribbon of giggles that climbed and descended through endless stands of timber, down high alpine valleys, and through miles and miles of wonderful contour lines. That’s the beauty of Mosko Moto’s Dusty Lizard. Other riding events constrain you to “the route,” and while the official way is usually carefully curated to be a fun route, it just isn’t the same experience as getting to go off on your own adventure.
Mosko Moto is on to something with their Dusty Lizard events. There are so many Expos, Rallies, and Festivals that choosing which one to attend can feel like choice overload. Some events are super commercial, corporate, and carefully designed to separate you from as much of your money as possible. Others are much more brand centric, and if you’re not a fan of the Kool-Aid, you’re not going to have as much fun. The Dusty Lizard is about as mellow and welcoming as a riding event can be, where everyone who likes to actually ride, camp, and hang out with like minded folks is welcome. This relaxed, no pressure, run what you brung, let’s just hang out and see where the weekend takes us vibe is such a welcome change of pace. If you’re a solo rider looking for an event to attend, the Dusty Lizard is the kind of event where you can show up by yourself, and leave with a bunch of new riding buddies.
I’ve been to countless other events where small groups of folks just hang out in their individual camp cliques, and the sense of community isn’t anywhere near as prevalent as it is when everyone is hanging out together. Thanks to the Dusty Lizard Lounge, almost everyone in attendance at the Ridgway Dusty Lizard was hanging out as a community, swapping stories, and just enjoying each other’s company. If you want a different moto-event experience – one where you can ride whatever you want with whomever you want whenever you want, and you want a mellow base-camp to come back to where you’re actually going to want to hang out and talk to other folks, then a Mosko Moto Dusty Lizard is where you want to be.
For more information on Dusty Lizard Events, visit www.Moskomoto.com
