It's hard to count the ways that I'm amazed at the collective experience and wisdom of the MTF membership. So, given the task of a newsletter article, it occurred to me that "tapping into" this wisdom might be a good way to go. What better source than the MTF Charter and Gold members? Using the MTFTA database, I emailed all of these members who were in the database (If you're a Charter or Gold and you're not in the database, you should be!!), and I asked them, "I suspect that we all have one or two things that we do in preparing for a trip that we feel will contribute to a safer journey. I'd like to know what your top one or two things are?" By the way, my system was manual, so I'm sure I missed somebody, and I apologize in advance.

I did this last Wednesday and requested a response by Sunday. Fortunately (for them), many of our members were out riding, but, nonetheless, I did receive a good response. I wasn't sure what I'd do with this information as it came rolling in, so I just began logging and categorizing to see where it might lead. One of my early revelations was that the primary beneficiary of all this was going to be me. It's always great communicating with MTF members, and this was no exception. If you get a chance to offer your services to the group, do it. If you're like me, you'll be the winner. Read More...

We are looking for articles for upcoming issues of the MTF Newsletter. If you'd like to submit an article contact us at photos@mctourer.com with your ideas.

ROLL YOUR OWN TO GUNNISON

Grab your calendar and highlight the week of August 20th for a Colorado adventure you won't soon forget. The first MTF Western Mountain Ride will be held Thursday through Saturday in Gunnison. Join old friends and meet new ones for some tire-kicking, tale-swapping, and great riding. Thanks to Dan Huber (MapMaker) expect exhilarating rough road rides for dirt lovers as well as day ride routes guaranteed to keep Flower Sniffers' cameras clicking. Crested Butte, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the headwaters of the Rio Grande, Ouray and the Million Dollar Highway are just a few of the nearby attractions.

Make the Western Mountain Ride the centerpiece of a Rocky Mountain tour this summer. Getting there will be at least half the fun. From every direction, awesome roads cross high mountain passes, twist through rocky canyons and follow sparkling streams to Gunnison.    Read More...