VIDEO: Meet the Mastermind Behind Crested Butte’s World Class Trails

While most people agree that mountain biking really started on Mt. Tam in Marin County, California in the 1970s, a separate origin story can be traced back to Crested Butte, Colorado. There, also in the 1970s, pioneering rider Don Cook started riding bikes on the vast network of high-alpine singletrack hiking and mining trails. Cook laid the groundwork for what has become a world-class mountain bike destination with hundreds of miles of stunningly beautiful riding.

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As part of Anthill Film’s Return To Earth, the story of Cook’s work – way ahead of its time – comes to life. If nothing else, watching these guys rip rough singletrack in bell-bottom jeans and collared shirts is worth the watch. But the real story lies in how just a generation ago, mountain biking as we know and love it today came to be.