EAGLE-VAIL — If Mark Bryant had his way, his job would include a lot more research. As it is, the owner of Vail-based Maverick Motorcycle Adventures doesn’t quite get his fill — try as he may.
“We had to do the R&D to determine the best rides around,” Bryant said. “Ultimately we had to ride all the routes. It’s been a lot of fun, and the visitors really love it.”
In its second season of operation, Maverick (970-390-3072) specializes in Colorado custom motorcycle tours for licensed riders age 25 and older. But don’t be mistaken. This isn’t a guided affair. It’s self-service, with all the tools a rider might need to get himself there and back, wherever “there” may be.
“It’s just a different way to see things that’s not too intense,” Bryant said. “It’s a way for everyday folks to just get off the beaten path a little bit. They can take a bike out — whatever kind they are comfortable on — and take off for a day, or multiple days.”
While Maverick offers the classic Harley-Davidson (and Buell) rides that many have come to associate with Colorado biker culture, it’s a stable of state-of-the-art dual sport BMW 650cc and 1200cc bikes that distinguish it as an adventure outfitter. Just as mountain bikes are for fitness fans and dirt bikes for daredevils, dual sports are for anyone who wants a no-worries ride over and around the high country in high comfort, whether on asphalt or off.
Never is the advantage of a dual sport bike more evident than in autumn, when it isn’t uncommon for the best leaf-peeping routes to turn to dirt right before a rider’s eyes. Having ridden everything imaginable since being introduced to a dirt bike by his father at age 5, Bryant knows this as well as anyone. And the Colorado Springs native who moved to the mountains more than 15 years ago has done all the research necessary for those interested in living like a local for a few days.
“Nobody ever does the same ride. That’s the neat part of it. We’ve been building routes and plugging them into the GPS units, but everybody has the opportunity to build their own ride,” Bryant said. “One guy’s only requirement was that he had to be somewhere he could watch the Texas-UTEP football game on Saturday night at 8 o’clock. Another group wanted fire pits every time they stopped. The last group wanted to do a ride all on dirt. We try to provide that extra service. . . .”
Already, Maverick trips are custom to the degree that each bike is stocked with a preprogrammed GPS unit and a coinciding “Adventure Guide” listing worthwhile sights, lodging, watering holes, fuel stops and the like. Planning the ultimate motorcycle leafing tour, for instance, would merely be a matter of deciding how long a group wants to ride and linking the right routes in the unit, Bryant said. A full tank of gas and a complimentary breakfast at the partnering Route 6 Cafe in Eagle-Vail are a part of every package, and lodging arrangements or camping gear can be provided on request.
“We don’t want people to lose that sense of independence. We give them enough info to empower them to go out and have a free spirit and know they can make the trip back,” Bryant said. “They can follow a road even if they don’t know where it goes and make their own adventure, but the GPS will always route them around and bring them back home.”
