YOUR AD HERE »

Craig to Maybell on 2 wheels

23rd annual bike ride and breakfast to take place Saturday

Nicole Inglis
Becky, left, and Kaci Meek, of Craig, take a break during last year's "Where the Hell's Maybell?" bike ride. The ride, which is in its 23rd year, takes off at 7 a.m. Saturday from Northwest Storage and 7:30 a.m. from Western Knolls. It ends in Maybell.
Courtesy Photo

If you go

What: Where the Hell's Maybell bike ride and breakfast

When: 7 a.m. Saturday

Where: Departs from Northwest Storage at 7 a.m., Western Knolls at 7:30 a.m.

Cost: Breakfast tickets $6, T-shirts $15, transportation back from Maybell $5

• For more information or to arrange a ride back from Maybell, call Pam at 826-2004

If you go

What: Where the Hell’s Maybell bike ride and breakfast

When: 7 a.m. Saturday

Where: Departs from Northwest Storage at 7 a.m., Western Knolls at 7:30 a.m.



Cost: Breakfast tickets $6, T-shirts $15, transportation back from Maybell $5

• For more information or to arrange a ride back from Maybell, call Pam at 826-2004



Twenty-three years ago, doctors Thomas Told and Neil McCandless, and Mike Bauman, of the Division of Wildlife, were looking for a challenge.

They decided to ride their bikes from Craig to Maybell, a 30-mile trip that took them two hours and 45 minutes. They said it was the best way to see Moffat County in the spring, said Penny Bricker, of Craig Parks and Recreation.

Participation has increased every year of the Where the Hell’s Maybell ride, which boasted 70 people on that first May morning in 1986.

Bricker said this year’s bike ride could draw 200 to 300 people if the weather is nice.

“It’s really for anybody,” Bricker said. “Kids and their parents go, and we even had someone do it on roller skates last year. We also have biking groups from Cheyenne (Wyo.), and Steamboat use it as a warm up for Ride the Rockies.”

The ride will depart at 7 a.m. from Northwest Storage but if you want to avoid that first big hill, Bricker said, you can meet at Western Knolls at 7:30 a.m.

Participants should arrive early enough to sign a waiver, and bring along water, weather-appropriate clothing and sunblock. A station setup at the halfway point in Lay will provide orange juice and first aid supplies.

The ride culminates in Maybell Park with a $6 all-you-can-eat breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice and coffee, provided by Moffat County Young Life. All proceeds will benefit Young Life and help send a group of youth members to summer camp.

From Maybell, participants can either ride their bikes back to Craig or arrange a ride for $5.

Where the Hell’s Maybell helps promote outdoor fitness and wellness, while giving participants an opportunity to take in the natural beauty of Moffat County.

“You might see some antelope,” Bricker said. “And all the spring flowers should be in bloom. Kids of all ages are welcome, and it’s a just great activity for the whole family.”

Craig resident Bill Sawer will be participating in his fourth ride this year. For Sawer, the bike ride is a social event.

“You find people that go the same pace as you,” he said. “You spend most of the time having a conversation with them and trading off the lead.”

He said the breakfast in Maybell is “just too good,” and he likes to socialize in the park before heading back to Craig.

“It’s really like a celebration of spring,” he said.

Moffat County High School Principal Thom Schnellinger said he hasn’t missed a Where the Hell’s Maybell ride in his four years in Moffat County.

“It’s a great community ride,” he said. “You get all sorts of people that just jump on their bicycles and ride to Maybell.”

Although he has done the ride for fun in the past, this year he hopes to get some miles on his bike and prepare his legs for Ride the Rockies, a 380-mile, seven-day route through the Rocky Mountains.

He said the Maybell ride is a good time to look around and appreciate Moffat County in the spring.

“The 30-mile ride is non-committal, and people can just do it in their own time,” he said. “It’s good to just breathe in the fresh air, do something healthy and appreciate where we live.”


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.