Westfest 2013

Thanks a bunch! Now I better get on the list!!

Some info from the regional WF thread:

So there are no official rides at Westfest that as an organizer I am putting on. I have no idea of the difficulty, or really about any of the rides people are going to go on, other then what is discussed ahead of time. It really is just people going out riding, a lot of which know the area and people can tag along with them. For that matter anyone, even if they are not attending westfest, can go out with any of the groups. None of the fees paid are for any rights to ride, only for the use of the campground and associated activities, if that makes sense to everyone


However, to help facilitate riders getting together and knowing people to ride with and what routes they are doing we are going to do this:

In the pavilion area there will be a table with maps, atlases, a big 44-36in printed MVU map of the Gunnison NF area hanging on the wall, markers for people to highlight routes, and then a white board.

The plan is people can use this area to discuss routes and see the rides on paper. Then guys that are going on a ride and dont mind people tagging along will put their ride up on the white board, listing ride type (dirt, street, DS, etc) difficulty, approximate mileage or time needed for the ride, number of people they want in their group and the time they are leaving. Everyone can then look at the board to see if there are any rides they want to go on and write their name in the sign up area of the white board. Any questions about the route can be talked over with who ever is leading the ride.

I hope this methods helps people link up, meet new riders, and get in on the riding they want. As well as letting them know details about the rides and what to expect.

There are several people that said they will be leading a ride already and we will make sure they are listed on the board Thursday Night, so I think there should be a pretty good choice of rides right from the start from street/gravel to dirt.

Anyone that has specific questions about the area, wanting route suggestions, people to ride with, or whatever can certainly ask me and I'll give you any info you want, or if I dont know direct you to someone that will.

Clear as mud

Also a little about registration and what to expect when you get there:


As I have said before I hope most people will be able to get in Thursday evening.

In the pavilion there will be a registration table were people need to sign in, get their raffle/meal/shuttle tickets and pick up their T-Shirt (YOU DID ORDER A TSHIRT RIGHT). This will be from about 5-7. You can ask any question about whats going on, check out the ride board, etc.


For the people getting in Friday, when you get in just set up camp, check out the board and get in with whatever ride you want, put your own ride on the board, just hang out, or go out and ride on your own with a group of friends. Around 3-5 we will be doing registration so you can sign in and pick up your stuff. We still need to finalize the shuttle times, but it will probably be 4-9.


Then Saturday we will have the BBQ around 5:30, the raffle and then music from 8-10.

I doubt I will be doing much riding so I will probably be there most of the time if you need anything or have questions, if I am not my wife and parents are helping with the event and someone will be there. In camp site #2.......................

I though you were taking me riding again Ben

Just kidding, I don't think anyone will have trouble finding some rides to go on or folks to ride with. I suspect there will be all skill levels represented and plenty of opportunities to get in over your head

I may be doing a little riding, your free to tag along

Just so people know if this is your first event, most rallies are done as I described above. I can assure everyone that people are very friendly and more than accommodating. This works really well and gives plenty of riding options, but helps keep the size of groups down.

There is a lot more discussion in the Rockies WF thread about route planning, but here is one example of a single track ride that will be happening....

For anyone that wants to do a ride or has a specific route please post up. I know there are some guys with really cool routes and any new comers would like to hear who they could tag along with:hear



EDIT

Just some clarification:

Paul gave me some advice, so I wanted to pass it along about how the white board will work with setting up rides.

We will use it in two fashions:

-If people want to lead a ride and already have a route in mind they can write the info down on the board so people can tag along.

Also,

-There can be "suggested routes" gathered from ride info people post up here. For example a few pages back there was a great Big bike DS ride suggestion. That route will be high-lighted on the map and anyone that wants to do that ride can put their name next to it if that sounds like something they want to do. Then we will have an easy way for people to group together that want to do the ride and it's easy for someone to step up as the "leader" (a relative term) even if they have not done the route before and.........we have a ride set up. There are always more than enough people from any riding discipline that are willing to be the leader, nothing wrong with the leader being the group as a whole either.

So another example would be a hardcore single track day on timberline and star, etc, with the route highlighted on the map. Anyone that wants to do this just sign up and the "group" is formed.


So maybe in addition to my last post of asking people willing to lead a ride to post up, lets throw out some route suggestions and start getting an idea of the kinds of rides people want. Maybe you have not ridden in this area but you like doing Engineer Pass, or whatever, post up a ride you liked and were comfortable with and we can offer up some suggestions of similar riding around BV.

For example, I think a great DS ride would be riding Peal Pass, into Aspen for Lunch, ride up the ski Mtn and back via Taylor Pass.


I will have maps etc, at the table but it would be nice if some of the suggested routes could be made into GPS tracks that people can download at the "ride" table. Just thinking out loud, but does anyone have an old laptop (that they dont mind leaving out) that we could run base-camp/mapsource off of and have any of the suggested routes available for download from the laptop????? I have tracks for just about all the stuff in the area and can upload the routes people would like to ride on Thursday night and then people can grab the tracks for the ride they want at any time during the event????

That would make routing and navigation a lot easier for people and open up some riding options if there is no one familiar with a specific route........





Also I printed off the big MVUM for the Gunnison Ntl Forrest, but does anyone know of a source for a full scale PDF map of all the roads around BV (more like an atlas), that would be easier to use for DS, Street and Adventure riding?

Driving up to RMAR in my Sportsmobile with a trailer and two bikes in tow. I am actually flying back home for a week between RMAR and Westfest. My wife will be joining me for Westfest. I plan on parking my van at the Santa Fe airport for the week in between but am looking for a safe place to park the bike trailer for a week in New Mexico, Taos or Santa Fe would be preferred. It is a small three rail trailer and will have a DR200 and a XR650R tied down to it. Certainly willing to compensate with cash, food or good whisk(e)y or barley pops.

Oh yeah and Oddfellow + the Mrs. are in and registered!

PM sent to Oddfellow
Parking available
The Whiskey offer might have persuaded me jes a tad......LOL

Got you down See you in Auguest

This is from a Taylor Park ride Yesterday I did:

So I just did a Longggg day at Taylor yesterday. I was amazed at how few people there were for a holiday weeend:huh

Some absolutely amazing single track.........

No real order of pictures, but I hit most of the main trails from Timberline on over, I missed the loop north of block and tackle around Mt Tilton, becasue the connector I was relying on was DH only so I would not have had enough gas and did not want to ride all the way back to Almont.

Then I also found how shitty YZ forks are for Colorado single track. HARSH does not even start to describe them.......I knew they were stiff, but I guess I have really been doing alot more desert and the Mtn stuff I have ridden is not as rocks as TP. I was beat to death, by the end of the day I was praying for any smooth dirt and I really was starting to wonder if the forks even moved, the smallest rock became a nighmare

I think I am putting the WR forks back on till I can get those worked out. My shoulders and back cant take any more of that:eek1



(Im pretty sure I might have broken my pinkey toe right around here. Careful with the rocks)


Some cool mines in the area:







The wildflowers were amazing, my camera did not do them justice



For those that dont know this can turn into the norm for alot of TP trails



The views are amazing:




Fun day......(minus my smashed radiator again) anyone know of radiator braces that will work with oversized radiators on a WR???

Parking offer accepted, thanks Captain Rick! Only one question, Bourbon, Rye or Single Malt?


Oddfellow

This was posted in the regional WF thread and I wanted to share it with anyone from out of town:

I have ridden with Pat and I can tell you she knows how to ride a bike. This will be a very cool opportunity to learn some stuff and network.

Try:
http://www.scorpionracing.ca

Thanks for the suggestion, that looks like some nice stuff. I found some used OEM radiators on ebay last night though so I got enduro engineering cages to go with them.

Did you get stuff from them for the gas gas?

No, but have heard good things from the GasGas guys. They say the cages are the best out there and you will never bend a radiator.

I bet Ben can find a way.

Sounds awesome! I'll check out the other thread and participate!! Thanks for posting here Ben--I would have missed it otherwise.


Sent from my device upon which I can access nearly all knowledge in the world, yet which I actually use to look at pictures of motorbikes and cute dogs.

I will be sending the registration list to Rocky Mountain ATV this week so we can participate in their Race Gas Program. They give every person registered a $10 gift certificate to use online.

So if you are planning on coming, get registered in the next day or two so you can get the free gift card and save some money

***Remember, we have the free shuttle running into town on Friday for specials at Deerhammer Distillery, and live music and the BBQ on Saturday Night!!

HUGE thanks to Dubinky!!!!!

$10 pledge per rider to COHVCO is appreciated!!!!


As the new President and Chairman of the Board of COHVCO (Colorado Off-Highway Vehicle Coalition), we need all the support we can get to keep our trails open.

I will do my best to attend the event on Friday or Saturday evening to represent COHVCO.

John thanks for the support and what you are doing at COHVCO, especially as the new president, congrats BTW! We would love to have you down for the BBQ!


I just want to be upfront with people and 100% honest. I have no problems donating proceeds to COHVCO and plan on doing just that. However as I stated on the registration page, I have to cover the expenses for Westfest first before we donate, and unfortunately that has not happened yet. I thought we would have a lot more people registered than we have so far......Just a lot going on during Colorado Summers

Rest assured as soon as the expenses for Westfest are covered money will go to COHVCO.

This event is not about making a profit, but about doing what many before me have done and making a fun weekend for ADV members to get together and be able to do it affordably. I know money is tight for folks and we tried to make this as cheap as possible so people can enjoy it.

We have worked really hard to bring in some cool stuff for the weekend and I hope people have a blast

Ben

Ben,

I think everyone understands that you have built a "dirt cheap" event. $45 is absurd...... Most events like this are upwards of $250 a rider.

I hope that everyone understand the hundreds of hours that Ben has put into the planning, work and logistics.

Additionally, I hope that everyone understands that "free federal land access" ......isn't free. Between the TPA and COHVCO and others.....upwards of $100,000 have been spent (this year) on legal fees to keep our trails open.

Guys on the front range that ride private tracks, pay $10-$20 a day for a couple of hours of riding.....yet they do not understand the need to invest in the trails that COHVCO works to keep open.

I will be at the event to answer questions relating to these issues. We all ride the Collegiate's and the Taylor Park area, thinking it is free....without understanding the heavy lifting it takes to make these trails available to all of us.

Thank you all for your passionate interest in the sport that you love and thank you for considering......"GIVING BACK"!