After a Seven-Year Hunt, Man Charged in Death of Mountain Bike Pioneer Mike Rust

Rust had a passion for motorcycles and bicycles. His brother remembers him as “hell-bent on two wheels.” PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF CARL RUST

From Bicycling.com

The mountain bike Hall of Famer disappeared mysteriously from his Colorado home in 2009. Police finally have charged someone with his killing.
By Molly Hurford

Seven years ago, mountain biking pioneer Mike Rust phoned a buddy to say he was about to track the man who he believed broke into his house—and possibly had taken his gun. Rust disappeared that day, and it wasn’t until January of this year that his body was found.

But securing justice in what has been a legendary cold case is close: Police identified Charles Moises Gonzales as Rust’s alleged killer this summer, charging him on counts of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, tampering with evidence, and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. This week, at a preliminary hearing, the court felt the evidence against Gonzales was strong enough to send the case to arraignment and possibly trial.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation—which is working the case with the Saguache County Sheriff’s Office and 12th Judicial District Attorney David Mahonee—told Westword that it does not believe Gonzales and Rust knew each other.

Rust was a force in the development of mountain biking. He built his first off-road bike in 1965 and used it to tour across Colorado and Arizona. He continued to develop and tinker with early mountain bikes in the ’70s, and ’80s, and was a well known racer in the area. He also co-owned Colorado Cyclery in Salida, where he built and sold the first bike with elevated chainstays, the Shortie. In 1991 he was inducted into the MTB Hall of Fame, and he moved to Saguache County in 1994 to build a sustainable, recycled, solar home.

But March 31, 2009—the day he returned to his solar home to find it burglarized—would be the last day anyone heard from him. Rust took off by motorcycle on the trail of the burglar; his motorcycle was discovered soon after with blood on the seat.

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