Gnarly Routes Rico/Mancos Tour 2026
Rico/Mancos Recap
We have to start this trail recap with some big news: Gnarly Routes co-owner Russell Bobbitt was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame over the weekend! Russell was in Ohio to receive the honor, so he was definitely missed on this ride, but we couldn’t be more stoked to see him officially become a member of the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.
We just wrapped up our 2026 Gnarly Routes Rico Tour, enjoying perfect weather and high-alpine riding with a group of six riders. We based out of a house in Mancos, Colorado, and spent the first day getting acclimated to the terrain around the Chicken Creek Trailhead.
This area doesn’t have the same high-alpine views we’d experience on days two and three, but it’s a great way to start the trip and gives our riders a chance to get a feel for the bikes, terrain, and altitude. After lunch, we came across a stubborn bull that absolutely refused to get off the trail. We followed him for about five minutes before he finally reached a split in the trail, moved out of the way, and let us continue our ride.
Day Two
For day two, we made the drive from the house through Dolores and out to the parking area. The ride starts with a pretty good climb right out of the gate before connecting to a section of dirt road.
The Colorado Trails Preservation Alliance had recently completed a hitch in the area, and the improvements to the first section of trail were immediately noticeable. Once we finished the dirt road section, we arrived at the well-known Priest Gulch Trail and headed north, eventually connecting to Calico Trail.
If you’ve ridden Calico, you know it’s an absolute treat. Riding at 12,000 feet requires plenty of focus, but the 360-degree views are breathtaking. We eventually connected to another trail that dropped us down to a road, which we followed to the very north end of Calico. From there, the plan was to ride Calico all the way south—but first, it was time for lunch on the trail.
During lunch, we noticed a red helicopter flying low through the valley above the town of Rico. We watched as it appeared to drop out of sight, almost as if it were landing somewhere near the highway in town. As we wrapped up lunch, another helicopter—this one a different color—appeared on our western side and was also flying low. At that point, we figured they had to be looking for somebody.
We put our helmets on and continued down the trail until we reached a section where we require all of our riders to dismount and walk their bikes. It’s a very high-exposure section, and we always prefer to err on the side of caution.
Cole was leading the group, and after making it through the crux of the section, he realized one of the helicopters had landed in a high clearing about a tenth of a mile farther down the trail. Looking around, we spotted roughly ten people below us rendering aid to a rider who had gone off the side of the trail a couple of hours earlier.
Because of our position above the rescue, we didn’t want to risk knocking any rocks loose and sending them toward the group below, so we stayed put for about an hour. After briefly communicating with the people below, we decided we would wait until they had moved the injured rider out of the path of any potential falling rocks before proceeding down the trail.
Once we were able to move through safely, we helped carry the mountain stretcher to the helicopter for the evacuation.
It was a wild experience and a reminder to everyone in our group of just how important it is to carry an inReach or satellite phone when riding in the backcountry. Fortunately, we later received word that the injured rider is expected to make a full recovery.
With the rescue taking up a significant portion of the afternoon, the remainder of day two was simply about getting down the trail safely and making it back to the truck.
Day Three
Day three ended up being our biggest trail day since we had run out of time the previous afternoon and weren’t able to complete the full planned loop.
We started with a climb featuring a couple of tricky switchbacks before being rewarded with some beautiful trail flowing through aspen groves with hardly a rock in sight. The next section changed things up considerably, with plenty of first- and second-gear technical riding and a lot of sidehill trail.
The final push before lunch was a rock- and root-infested climb up to our lunch spot with a view. From there, we tied into a section we had ridden the previous day before finally getting to enjoy the 16-mile loop we had missed on day two.
It was a dig, but everyone got through it. By the end of the day, we had knocked out 60 miles of trail with hardly any road sections mixed in.
Pizza was definitely the move for dinner, and afterward everyone was busy packing up at the house and getting ready for departure the following morning.
A huge thank you to all of the riders who joined us and made this another memorable Gnarly Routes trip. Between incredible trails, high-alpine views, a few unexpected adventures, and plenty of laughs, Rico delivered once again.
A Few Highlights
The stubborn bull leading the way on day one
Eli Tomac sighting
Bobby and Darryl providing endless entertainment
Cutting it a little close on gas during day three
Helping Search & Rescue with the evacuation on day two
Tommy ripping on day three
All of the incredible trail work the locals and Colorado Trails Preservation Alliance have put into this area
Until next time, Mancos and Rico!