So we started off from Ashcroft around 1:00 pm in the afternoon with a tarp, a couple power bars, and some cash, figuring we could make CB by nightfall. We missed the Pearl Pass turn off and continued towards Montezuma when a jeep coming down pointed out that we had missed our turn-off, he gave us a turkey sandwich, a peach, half a joint, and set us back on course. We arrived at the top of Pearl Pass at 9:00 pm and slept under the tarp.

The next morning we woke to the sign that said Crested Butte 22 miles. We didn’t even know how far the ride was until then! We continued to CB, ate breakfast for 4 at the Paradise cafe, repaired my bike and rode all the way back to Ashcroft that day.

On the way back up, as we were pushing our bikes more and more we instantiated what became known as the Pearl Pass Rules. It started with, “ok, if you have to push, you don’t have to get back on the bike until a flat section”, then “the flat section has to be at least 100 ft”, and “ok, the road has to actually go down”, and so on. These probably seem silly compared to the shape most of us are in today, but for a couple college kids whose biggest ride to date was probably Porcupine Rim…

We arrived to a dead car battery and we were just as drained. It was all we could do to light a stove, cook some hot dogs in bread with cheddar cheese and pick-a-peppa sauce. Probably the most memorable meal we have ever had.

We repeated it again in 2002, doing Taylor/Star over, and Pearl on the return to Aspen. This time I at least had front suspension.