While Arizona has some of the best dual sport riding around, every once in a while you need to get up in the high country.  The really high country.  We're talking so high you can barely breathe.  That's Colorado.  Ouray is a picturesque little town high up in the Rockies that has some amazing trails at what seems to be the top of the world.  But first, we had to get there...

We loaded up the "little bikes" in Carl's serial killer van and started the long trek north out of Arizona. Given that most of the riding areas in Arizona are temporarily closed due to wildfires, I was itching to get up there and take the 525 project bike out for its first "real" ride.  While the drive up would normally take about 9 hours, we had some problems with the van overheating, and it took a total of about 12 hours before we pulled into the campsite. 

Given that Devin and Scott had arrived there the day before, they were up and ready to ride at 6am. But considering Carl and I didn't pull in until after 2am, we were a little less than enthused to be up that early.  The only saving grace was that Devin cooks up a nice breakfast.  So after some good food and a lot of yawning, it was time to hit the trails...

Cooling off the van	First dirt in Ouray	Discussing options	Watch that first step...	It's a doosey
Guard rails are for sucks	Looking back at the valley	Even higher up	First snow of the day	Amazing views

The trails around Ouray are nothing short of amazing. It doesn't take long before you're riding at around 12,000 feet, looking down at the world below. At this altitude, I was a little concerned that the thin air would seriously hinder the performance of the bike. (I didn't have time to change the jetting before leaving Arizona.)  However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the bike only had a slightly noticeable loss of power.  You had to work at it a little more, but the front tire would still come off the ground when you blipped the throttle. (At the beginning of the day, I was still riding in 640 Adventure mode, where you try to reduce the amount of impact with obstacles in the trail by slowing down or finding a line around.  With the 525, it's much easier to simply wheelie over obstacles without losing speed.)  I'm amazed at how much fun I'm having riding the 525.  I often catch myself laughing out loud while zipping along the trail on one wheel. I feel like a kid out there...

After exploring the trails for a while, we encountered our first road-block -- one of many snow banks that would prohibit us from completing a lot of the loops in the area. But that doesn't mean you can't have fun... Devin quickly established a high mark on the hill that the rest of us aspired to.  It was absolutely hilarious to watch each of us in turn head for the snowy hill at speed, and immediately biff it in the soft snow.  That was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Carl gets into it...		And gets off it	Our first road block of the day	Making the best of it
Devin sets the high mark	Check out the roost	Carl misses the high mark	But enjoys a nice refreshing swim	The approach
Backtracking down the hill	Looking a little beat	H.D. Thoreau's Cabin		One of the many old mines

Then came the real fun... Poughkeepsie Gulch. For those who have ridden it, you know what we're talking about.  For those who haven't, you can look forward to a 1/2 mile of nothing but baby-doll head rocks loosely sitting on wet, slick mud.  Traction?!  Who needs it.  Momentum is the key here.  Once you slow down, you're gonna get stuck.  On the way up, we encountered some quads who were creeping up the trail. We quickly learned that passing a vehicle is easier said than done when your front wheel gets constantly thrown 12" to each side.  But Carl showed them...   

Poughkeepsie Gulch	Nothin' but large, loose rocks	Carl getting going	Working it up	Puking out coolant
	Finally getting going	Only to run into some quads	Literally, running into quads	At the top, you definitely feel a sense of accomplishment

What amazed us most about heading up Poughkeepsie was how quickly you get exhausted with even the slightest bit of exertion.  The air is so thin up there that you really have a hard time catching your breath. 

Once at the top, we played around for a while and headed back down to explore some other trails.  But one after one, we were turned back by snow drifts blocking the trail.  Still, though, it was some pretty amazing riding. We then headed back to town for a great lunch, and made an early night of it.  (Sleeping was not difficult that night, that's for sure.) 

The next day, we hit the trails early looking for a loop we could actually complete.

On approach	And launching the XR (yes, it's fake)	Attempting Black Bear Pass	And getting stopped	View from Black Bear
Trying another trail	Some of the best views...	Scott taking it in		Devin taking a break
Simply amazing			Yet another killer view
Having to squeeze by two vehicles			More fun in the snow	Carl bombing down

After getting repeatedly stopped by snow, we were hell-bent on completing a loop, and decided to take the back way into Poughkeepsie Gulch.  This turned out to be one of the best trails of the weekend, providing some great views, fun trails and a little spot to test your trials skills...    

A bit of highway	Tired of these views yet?	Scott finds a mine	Beautiful mountain runoff lake
The "trials" area			Scott showing off
Devin blasting up the hill
Carl getting dirty...		Dumping the XR	Picking it back up	Scott lends a hand and walks away
And down it goes again...	Quads getting in on the fun	Devin gives the salute

Thanks to Devin and Scott for putting this ride together.  I couldn't think of a better way to break in the new 525!  It also allowed me to properly evaluate a lot of the mods made to the 525 project bike.  Look for product reviews and accessory write-ups on the 525 project pages by clicking HERE.