Rampart Range Annual Fall Poker Run

Douglas County, CO - The Rampart Range Motorized Management Committee continued its support of Stay The Trail by hosting the education trailer at its annual Fall Poker Run this past weekend.  This event, held twice a year, is an amazing family-orientated ride, taking advantage of all the hard work that has gone into the Rampart Range OHV trail system.  For those unfamiliar with the RRMMC, this organization was formed in 1972 to assist the South Platte Ranger District of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest with the localized OHV management in the area.  Since then, it has continued to work to maintain the 100+ miles of riding opportunities, mixed between singletrack and 50″ routes.  More information can be found here: www.rampartrange.org

Sunday started off chilly, with nighttime lows in the 30′s.  Riders began arriving a little before 7am, thankful to find coffee and donuts courtesy of Performance Cycle of Colorado.  The committee had set up two different courses, one longer for the more adventurous riders, and a shorter course for the families or those just out to enjoy the day.  As the morning warmed up, riders began to head out, stopping to get checked by USFS staff for Spark Arrester compliance (note: it is illegal to ride on any public lands in Colorado without a USFS Approved spark arrester).

As the hundreds of participating riders began to filter in later in the morning and early afternoon, the RRMMC volunteers began to cook up a tasty lunch of hot dogs.  With everyone hanging around the registration area, it was a good opportunity for enthusiasts to chat with the USFS staff and have a look in the Stay The Trail trailer.  Corey Corbett and I started doing sound testing around 1pm, as a chance to give riders an idea of where their bikes sit in preparation for the new sound law going into enforcement on July 1, 201o.  Out of the 44 dirtbikes we tested, 32 passed with flying colors.  This left 12 bikes that didn’t pass, although many were within a couple decibels.  We recommend keeping the packing clean and properly packed on those bikes, and it should pull the decibels back below the limit.  Remember, all machines built after January 1, 1998 will have to be at or below 96 dB(a) and all machines built before that date will have to be at or below 99 dB(a).

All-in-all, a great day out on the trails with a great group of people.  Much thanks to the participating riders, the Rampart Range Motorized Management Committee, and the South Platte Ranger District!!!