Wish We Were Here, Episode 14: Shorty—The Life and Disappearance of Mike “The Bike” Rust

‹‹ Wish We Were Here
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By Noel Black and Jake Brownell
April 15, 2016
Mike Rust
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust
"The Flying Rust Brothers" in Dublin on their hi-wheelers (Mike Rust is second from right)
Courtesy of the Rust Family "The Flying Rust Brothers" in Dublin on their hi-wheelers (Mike Rust is second from right)
Cover of the Crested Butte Chronicle featuring Mike Rust in 1981
Courtesy of Grit and Thistle Film Company Cover of the Crested Butte Chronicle featuring Mike Rust in 1981
Mike Rust on Pearl Pass ca. 1981
Photo by Frank Staub, courtesy of Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust on Pearl Pass ca. 1981
Mike Rust with his ordinary (aka hi-wheeler, aka pennyfarthing) and his Shorty
Courtesy of Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust with his ordinary (aka hi-wheeler, aka pennyfarthing) and his Shorty
Mike Rust with some of the many bikes he built
Courtesy of the Rust Family and Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust with some of the many bikes he built
Mike Rust
Courtesy of the Rust Family Mike Rust
Mike Rust and Don McClung riding their Shorties
Courtesy of the Rust Family Mike Rust and Don McClung riding their Shorties
Mike Rust's home in Saguache County against Copper Butted (looking West)
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust's home in Saguache County against Copper Butted (looking West)
Mike Rust and the makeshift shelter he lived in while building his home by hand, ca. 1995
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust and the makeshift shelter he lived in while building his home by hand, ca. 1995
Mike Rust's off-the-grid home in Saguache County (looking Northwest)
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust's off-the-grid home in Saguache County (looking Northwest)
Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking West)
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking West)
Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking Southwest)
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking Southwest)
The Front of Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking Northwest)
Screen Grab from THE RIDER AND THE WOLF by Grit and Thistle Film Company The Front of Mike Rust's home in Saguache County (looking Northwest)
Don McClung and Mike Rust with a Shorty in front of Colorado Cyclery in Salida
Courtesy of Grit and Thistle Film Company Don McClung and Mike Rust with a Shorty in front of Colorado Cyclery in Salida
Mike Rust doing a track stand on one of his ordinaries in Salida
Courtesy of Grit and Thistle Film Company Mike Rust doing a track stand on one of his ordinaries in Salida

UPDATE: On Monday, 4/25/16, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation officially confirmed that the remains found in January in Saguache County were those of Mike Rust. An investigation into Rust's death is ongoing. Stay tuned to KRCC for more information. 

On this special episode of Wish We Were Here: Tales and Investigations from the Shadows of America's Mountain, we worked with Nathan Ward at Grit and Thistle Film Company to produce an audio version of last year's documentary The Rider and the Wolf about the life and disappearance of Hall-of-Fame mountain biker Mike Rust. Rust went missing from his home in Colorado's remote San Luis Valley on March 31, 2009. On January 8, 2016, the remains of a body that may be Mike Rust's were discovered after a tip came in to the Saguache County Sheriff's Department.

If you're interested in setting up a screening of the documentary, or if you want to buy a copy of the DVD, click HERE.

Many thanks to Nathan Ward, Grit and Thistle Film Company, and to the family of Mike Rust.

Wish We Were Here is also available as a podcast on iTunes, and on Soundcloud,PRX, and Stitcher.

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