Mike Rust (died 31 March 2009) was an American cyclist and bicycle framebuilder, and is considered one of the forefathers of mountain biking.
[2] During his teenage years, Rust enjoyed building and riding bikes and also built a motorcycle, hiding the chassis from his parents by storing it under his bed.
[5] During the 1980s, he and a group of friends set off on a 400-mile trek from Colorado Springs, crossing the Great Divide and aiming to get to Crested Butte.
After spending some time in Arizona working at Bisbee Bicycles he returned to Crested Butte and continued modifying bikes to make them more suitable for mountain riding.
[2] After calling the sheriff and reporting him missing, a search was commenced, with dog tracking teams, helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft taking part.