Are you into serious off-road riding? Here's your chance! Sam Carrero is a driven and determined man. Like Sidney Dickson, he sees no use for paved roads, especially when it comes to motorcycles. Because of this, and apparently a lot of time on his hands, over the years he has put together a duel sport/dirt bike route that he calls the XC Monkey Butt. The Monkey Butt is an off-pavement dirt bike route across the United States, from Alabama to Nevada. This past July, Sam guided eight riders across the Colorado section of the route. The group rode for six days, and over 1000 miles of just about any kind of riding conditions possible in that state. Starting and ending in Salida, Colorado, they rode a series of loops in the Gardner and Ouray areas, returning each night to a motel, where they had a support truck carrying luggage, supplies and tools for bike maintenance (thanks Rudy!). On the day that they rode from Salida to Ouray, Sam and his crew had support from Zan Smith and Greater Colorado Trails Rides, Inc. This day's ride was about 180 miles, and took the group 11 hours of hard riding. Finding gas was not a problem, though since the longest section was about 100 miles. Finding food wasn't a problem either. From the pancake at Susie's café in Westcliffe to an elegant entrée at the Bon Ton restaurant in Ouray, the riders kept themselves well fed! For the group, six days of riding a dirt bike off-pavement in Colorado was heaven. There is such a wide variety of riding terrain that any situation is possible. You can have easy jeep roads or the toughest mountain trails. If you have ridden in Colorado in the past, then you can relate to this group. If not, you should start making plans now of next summer in the Rockies. Riding this much of the state, it was inevitable that some private lands had to be crossed, although the group did so with written permission. XC Monkey Butt wishes to thank all the land owners, and special thanks to Chris Spera and John Leck. It was natural union that Sam Correro and Sidney Dickson have gotten together on the American Earthen Trails Project, and together they are working on completing a coast-to-coast, off-pavement bike route. For any questions, comments or regional help, Sam can be reached at 72 Chestnut Drive, Madison MS 39110.