The parking lot of the Three Seasons Resort in Upper Crested Butte converts to “Performance Alley” for all of the RM400 pre- and post-ride activities.

Plenty of goodies await every RM400 participant on Performance Alley. Brad Cameron (right) of Renthal hands out some grips they were giving away.

Thomas Berry of Carl’s Cycle Sales (left) and Jesse Groen of Canyon Honda are checked, teched and ready to ride.

Plenty of goodies await every RM400 participant on Performance Alley. Brad Cameron (right) of Renthal hands out some grips they were giving away.

MotoComm, maker of on-bike and helmet digital cameras and communications systems, was a first-time sponsor of the RM400 this year. Eric Lewis (left) hands Parts Unlimited’s Mark Woodward one of the complimentary communications kits they gave to every rider.

Bob Maynard (far right) with his crew from Thor. From his right to left are Jason Lockett, James Zomerdyke, Allison Watson, Jim Whitehouse and Ivan Penchansky

Two of the celebrity riders this year were Team Kawasaki’s Nathan Woods (175) and Destry Abbott.

A large part of the Colorado experience is absorbing the great scenery around you. After crossing over Engineer Pass, riders on the left head down a Jeep road towards Ouray. The rider below speeds past a section of Aspen trees turning yellow for Fall. People have been known to plan their whole vacation to come see the Fall color of Colorado and it’s thrown in free of charge for the RM400 riders.

I had a chance to ride this year’s RM400 with one of MotoComm’s DSR-100 Digital Recorder & Camera Systems seen ready here ready to go. The DSR-100 comes as a complete kit (seen on the right) with parts and connections that allow for the helmet camera option that I used, or the unit can be mounted to the motorcycle. All of the other parts, including the microphone and recorder unit are in the backpack. It was simple to setup, worked great and I now have some great video clips from the ride. Parts Unlimited carries it, of course.

The sign at the top of the 12,800-foot Engineer Pass is a must-do photo opportunity.

Parts Unlimited sales rep Steve Dickinson (3rd from left) keeps his group of dealers from the Los Angeles area together on the ride. Just about every year he has the largest turnout of Parts Unlimited dealers on the ride.

Jim McGarvie of Cycle Parts West heads towards Ouray on a fun Jeep trail that has just enough rocks on it to make it interesting.

It helps to be a little mechanically inclined. Seen here (L-R): Tom Pannone of Goodfellows, Terry Blocker of Blocker Enterprises and, on the far right, Steve Hyde of Mount Holly Powersports assist Craig Bear of B&B Cycles as he fixes a flat on his KTM.

Joe Keifer of Pro Source brings his Suzuki DRZ up over the spectacular Hurricane Pass near Ouray.

Mike Boliver of Joplin Motorsports wheelies his Yamaha WR450 past a lake in the high country.

Kawasaki Team Green has been a great supporter of the RM400 over the years. They’ll work on, or assist riders of all brands, with money collected donated to the COHVCO fund.

The sign at California Pass reads 12,930. If you’re willing to get off and hike a bit you can get all the way to 13,000 feet.

Animas Forks is one of the most famous ghost towns in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains and attracts thousands of tourists annually. This is the Walsh House, former home of the daughter of Tom Walsh, who discovered the Camp Bird Mine in Colorado and once owned the Hope Diamond.

Benny Richards (77) of Richards Honda/Yamaha enjoys the view with Marvin Siano of Performance Plus Motorcycle Specialties.

Terry Blocker (left) and Craig Bear waste no time getting through a stream between Telluride and Ouray.

When the ride was over, Parts Unlimited’s Greg Blackwell rode his Harley back to Wisconsin. He didn’t let a little rain and snow get in the way.

Bob Maynard (right) presents the prestigious RM400 Dealer of the Year award to Tony Pulliam of Rider’s Choice in Lancaster, California.

Thanks to the 2006 sponsors: Alpinestars, Cambridge Metals & Plastics, DP Brakes, Dunlop Tires, FMF, Helix Racing, Moose, Motion Pro, MotoComm, NGK Spark Plugs, No Toil Air Filters, Parts Magazine, Parts Unlimited, Regina Chain, Renthal, Smith Sport Optics, Sunstar, Thor Moto, Thor Helmets, Toyota Trucks, Wiseco and Z1R Helmets.

Jocelin from Motorcycle Gear in Santa Cruz, California was recognized with the Rookie of the Year award.

Thousands of dollars were raised for various off-road organizations thanks to generous participants in an auction at the banquet. Ross Reed of Mid America Motorsports was the biggest spender, seen here with the autographed Travis Pastrana Thor jersey he won.

Scott Link of Alpinestars was the recipient of this year’s RM400 Rider of the Year award.