As a Colorado Springs local, I know how to chase adventure close to home. Our backyard offers many ways to explore the outdoors: lung-burning hikes up the Manitou Incline, mountain bike downhills through Cheyenne Cañon and winding loops in Ute Valley Park. But when I joined Endure Adventures on a mountain biking group trip to Guatemala, I quickly realized that adventure doesn’t simply change when you leave the country. It expands exploration, stretching a perspective of travel and deepening a connection to culture.
Endure Adventures began as Epic Adventures Bike Shop in 2023 and evolved into a nonprofit that blends global travel with microeconomic impact. Locally, they host free group rides on Colorado Springs trails and family events at their shop on Centennial Boulevard. Globally they guide adventure trips in Guatemala, Peru and South Africa that include service projects. From building homes for families in Guatemala to delivering donated school supplies to Peru’s rural communities, Endure Adventures exists to “Travel with Purpose.”
“When adventure and service are woven together, people usually discover who they are without comfort and without control,” says owner Travis Michaels. “Somewhere between the challenge and the giving, they realize they’re stronger than they thought — it exposes both their limits and their capacity to love.”
Discovering a New Kind of Adventure
The year my husband, Bryce, turned 30 was also the year we met Travis and Shelby Michaels, founders of Endure Adventures. Bryce first learned about their mountain bike trips in Guatemala: bike park days, volcano descents and urban downhills. There was no question how he’d be celebrating the start of a new decade.
That first Guatemala trip filled him with everything he’d been craving: adventure, culture and pure mountain bike paradise. And full disclosure: I then ran social media for Endure Adventures for half of 2024. When we received an invitation to Travis and Shelby’s wedding, hosted in Guatemala and built around the same experiences, I couldn’t resist joining him for round two along with a group of their closest friends and families.
At the end of January 2026, we spent five full days mountain biking, hiking and immersing ourselves in the culture of Guatemala through the all-inclusive trip with Endure Adventures. Every logistic was handled. All we had to do was show up with bike bags and a suitcase in hand.
Each itinerary is designed around a group’s appetite for adventure, from extreme mountain bike expeditions to leisurely tours and cultural immersion. I was stepping into the unfamiliar by joining a global group trip, but for Endure Adventures that feeling is intentional.
“Travis and Shelby not only built a bike shop, but they’ve built a family where riders of all levels feel welcome,” says Jay Gallardo, one of our our fellow travelers from the Springs and a U.S. Army retiree. “The [group adventures] helped us find our new community, and we’re so grateful for the friendships, sense of belonging and shared adventures.”
Ripping Guatemala Greens
We met our local Guatemalan guides, Alex and Nefta, at the airport in Guatemala City and loaded our bikes and luggage onto a brightly painted party shuttle affectionately known as the Chicken Bus. Our adventure had begun.
From the airport we headed to Antigua, a mountain town rich with history, lively restaurants and vibrant architecture. We checked into Hotel Camelias Inn, then walked to a rooftop bistro with views of Volcán de Fuego erupting in the distance. Lava lit the sky like a slow-motion fireworks show — and I watched each eruption knowing we were to see it up close the next night.
This trip was unique even by Endure Adventures standards. Travis and Shelby were set to be married on day three, and their family and friends filled the group. Typically, trips range from eight to 12 guests. Ours totaled 60.
Day two began early, and the group split based on interests. Bryce and I joined the mountain bike crew and shuttled to Carmona Bike Trails where Endure Adventures partners on trail work and events.
I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect riding volcanic soil through the dense terrain of the Guatemalan Highlands. I’d ridden Trestle Bike Park once and felt confident from five years on Colorado Springs trails. But Guatemala plays different.
Carmona’s trail system is rated similarly to Colorado standards, from green to black, factoring in steepness, roots, rocks, features and jumps. We started on what our group of Coloradans came to call a “Guatemala Green.” Imagine Cheyenne Cañon descents mixed with Ute Valley dirt. The trails were looser, steeper and surrounded by flourishing subtropical foliage.
The dry-season dust kept things spicy. I had a few low-speed falls that humbled me quickly, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Eventually, I learned that committing to speed and trusting the trail was far easier than sliding helplessly down dusty switchbacks. On our next lap, shuttle trucks pushed higher up the mountain until mud stopped us. The drivers shrugged, smiled and said, “Aquí.”
We dropped into a blue trail from a high overlook worth stopping for, where rain-packed dirt made the steep entry abundantly more manageable — and fun. Roots, vines and leaves bigger than my head flew past as I laughed and screamed, accepting how I was mountain biking through a volcanic jungle. This was nothing like my usual Colorado Springs loops.
After hours of riding, we regrouped at the base for fresh pizza, cold drinks and storytelling, the universal language of mountain bikers.
In the Presence of a Volcán
From Carmona, we loaded into Land Cruisers and trucks for the private off-road drive up Acatenango Volcano. After checking in with passports and signed waivers, we hiked roughly 30 minutes through foggy forest to our campsite at nearly 12,000 feet. Volcán de Fuego towered at eye level, just one peak away. It’s Central America’s most active volcano, erupting roughly every 15 minutes.
To see the glowing lava shoot into the night sky, hear the deep rumbles roll through the earth and watch burning debris fall back down the mountain was both humbling and hypnotic.
As the sun set, our guides and their families cooked kabobs over an open fire, followed by s’mores. Twice overnight, eruptions from Fuego rattled us awake — a reminder that nature doesn’t rest like humans do.
At 3:30 a.m., we rose for the optional sunrise hike — 3.5 miles with 2,100 feet of elevation, similar to our beloved Manitou Incline but double the starting elevation. We reached the viewpoint while the sky was still dark. The glowing lava was mesmerizing, the experience breathtaking.
As dawn broke, Travis and Shelby shared their first look in wedding attire woven with traditional Mayan patterns and Fuego erupting behind them. It was a fitting scene for a couple driven to make global impact.
“Adventure stopped being about what I could take from a place and became about what I was responsible for giving back,” Shelby says of Endure Adventures’ purpose. “When you’re given that much access, that much trust, you don’t just pass through anymore. You show up. You protect it. You invest in it.”
We returned to camp, and some riders, my husband included, opted to bike the dormant volcano Acatenango. The bikers beat the shuttle trucks to the bottom. By noon, we’d hiked an active volcano, witnessed live eruptions and mountain biked a near 4,000-foot downhill.
The day closed back at Carmona Bike Trails for Travis and Shelby’s wedding ceremony. As the sun set and Fuego continued erupting, we celebrated with barbecue, dancing and ice cream. It was a true adventure wedding.
Cultural Connections, Meaningful Impact
Day three took us to Tecpán and the Iximche ruins, once the capital of the Kaqchikel Maya kingdom and later Guatemala’s first Spanish capital. Nearby, we shared a meal with the family of our guide Alex, enjoying handmade black corn tortillas and elderberry-glazed pork.
Some members of our group arrived a week earlier to build two home-stays. We dedicated them to Alex’s growing family who will live in them and share authentic Mayan experiences with travelers.
“The home-building experience allowed us to give back to the people who deserve it,” says Springs local Dillan Harder. “The Guatemalan culture is so rich, and the people are amazing.”
After the home-cooked meal, we traveled into the mountains toward Lake Atitlán. All 60 of us boarded private lake boats with our luggage strapped overhead and arrived at La Casa del Mundo. This lakeside hotel seemed straight out of a storybook with its stone paths, colorful plants, hammocks and volcano-framed views.
Our final days there blended rest and adventure.
Riders tackled urban downhill in the town of Panajachel. Others kayaked, paddle boarded, zip-lined, paraglided or simply rested lakeside. We visited San Juan for weaving demonstrations, artisan shopping and coffee I still savor. On our final night, we gathered at Cervecería 14 — a brewery Coloradans can only dream about — perched above Antigua and celebrated with tacos, dancing and shared stories.
“My trip to Guatemala with Endure Adventures opened my eyes to a whole new kind of adventure,” says Springs local Kendra Bloos. “Being immersed in a different culture and terrain is what I live for.”
“Exploring in such a different environment showed me how awesome it is to step outside the familiar,” her husband, Joey Roberts, adds.
Endure Adventures is doing something rare. They make international travel accessible while ensuring every trip leaves meaningful impact. In 2025, they installed public bathrooms and water purification systems for rural communities. They’ve hosted enduro mountain bike expeditions in Peru and begun their adventure and service in South Africa.
“As a local mountain bike manufacturer, we seek to partner with outfitters like Endure Adventures that enrich our cycling community,” says Frank Perez, owner of Native Custom Cycles, based in Colorado Springs. “Our recent trip to Guatemala with Endure Adventures provided a very rich cultural and social interchange … a well organized, safe and life-changing experience.”
Endure Adventures offers mountain bike expeditions, family trips, wellness retreats and adventure weddings in each country. Each trip is thoughtfully designed so travelers simply show up ready to experience and leave a legacy.
“For Colorado Springs locals looking for connection, adventure and purpose, Endure Adventures bridges the gap between home trails and global impact,” Travis says. “Most people don’t leave feeling like heroes. They leave humbled, grateful and aware that fulfillment doesn’t come from what you conquer, but from who you show up for.”
Find a Mountain Biking Adventure Trip
Sound like your kind of fun? Most Endure Adventures trips are geared around mountain biking, but participants don’t have to ride. They can choose others activities or customize trips for non-riding groups. You can learn more and explore the options at endureadventures.org.
