This September marks the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Pass Klunker Tour. The tradition continues as it has for five decades: a motley peloton gathering on Crested Butte’s Elk Ave to pedal toward Aspen over Pearl Pass in pursuit of glory, adventure and high times.
Born in 1976 from an act of wild one-upmanship, the ride was driven by the sheer determination of 15 locals who conquered the route on townie bikes. After Aspen motorcyclists wreaked havoc at the Grubstake Saloon, the bar’s regulars decided to ride their “klunkers” — single-speed, steel 1940s newspaper bikes — over the pass to the rival ski town to give it a taste of Crested Butte. That two-day journey became a legend.
More than an act of revenge, the original tour became a defining event in the advent of mountain biking. In 1978, cyclists from Marin, California, joined the local riders, further galvanizing the nascent sport. Fifty years later, the event is enjoying a newfound surge of enthusiasm.