Story and photos by Kurt Gensheimer

Since 1981, The Rising Sun 4 Wheel Drive Club of Colorado has celebrated the legend of the Toyota 4×4, and every April they kick off their season of wheeling with Cruise Moab; a three day event in Moab, Utah, running some of the most scenic and treacherous off-road trails in the United States. Although most of the club members own Land Cruisers, a fair portion of the club also own pickups, 4runners and Tacomas. And within the last two years, there’s been enormous growth with the new FJ Cruiser, a 4×4 which combines the legend of the FJ-40 with the latest in off-road technology.

Cruise Moab is to the Toyota enthusiast as Easter Jeep Safari is to Jeepers. Toyota 4×4 fanatics come from all over the country and beyond. In fact, the “Iron Butt” award for longest distance traveled in a non-towed truck was a guy from British Columbia, Canada. Over 2,500 miles in his diesel-powered BJ60 wagon, with his infant son riding shotgun, and we won’t even mention the pain of $4.50 per gallon diesel fuel. There’s no denying it, these guys are dedicated. Read the rest of this entry »

I admit it - I’m just a weenie when it comes to getting dirty and getting close to nature. Mountain biking may be one of my favorite sports, but a hot shower and wall-to-wall carpeting underneath my bare feet awaits me upon returning to my clean suburban home with its soft feather mattress and biodegradable citrus cleaners. Today I took the opportunity to shed my dirt phobias and got an intro to off-roading at the Toyota Trail Teams outdoor demo at the Sea Otter Classic in beautiful Monterey, CA. Essentially, the Sea Otter Classic is northern California’s largest cycling event and I was at Laguna Seca for four days covering the event for our sister sites - mtbr.com and roadbikereview.com.

Now, how does a bicycle race fit in with a car review site? Read the rest of this entry »