Highlanders: MTB High School Race Team in COS

Sam Cavin, joined Routes staff in Spring of 2022. Currently, he’s a sophomore with a 4.0 GPA at Palmer Ridge High School in Monument, CO. He races for Highlanders, a composite team of Colorado Springs area schools without their own mountain biking team programming. 

This year was Sam’s second year riding with the Highlanders, even though he was initially hesitant. Highlanders rides and races cross country (XC) events, which focus on distance and speed, while Sam has always loved bombing downhill and racing Gravity. Despite his hesitancy, Sam decided to race XC for Highlanders in order to stay in shape. 

There are 22 kids on the team, including three girls. They practice every Tuesday and Thursday, shredding the best trails across the Front Range - including Sam’s favorite spot, Cheyenne Canon. At any given practice, they have about 10 coaches coaching the racers. They ride for a couple hours and work on different skills together. They are responsible for their own transportation and often carpool - including to races, which are every other weekend. The initial cost for joining Highlanders is $295.

The races are divided by grade: 9th, 10th, JV, and Varsity. For the Fall 2022 season, Sam was stoked to place in the top 40 for his grade in races at Frisco, Leadville, and Eagle out of about 100 kids.

Sam would like to study engineering and ride competitively in college, and someday design bikes for a living. He recognizes riding for Highlanders can play a part in all of that.

To boot, four other RO Staff - Ben, Ethan, Cy, and Kier - all ride for Highlanders. Although Highlanders has allowed Sam to improve his skills as a rider and compete all over the state, his favorite part has been all the good friends he has made.

Ben, 2nd from left, Sam, 3rd from left, and Ethan, far right, all ride for Highlanders and work for Routes.

Living the Dream: Going to MTB Camp in Durango

Fort Lewis College MTB Camp

In the summers of 2021 and 2022, Ethan Werschky (RO Staff) attended the Fort Lewis College Mountain Biking Camp in the MTB heaven know as Durango. It was attended by forty other high school riders, both guys and gals. The Fort Lewis coaches and college riders have hosted the camp for over 20 years. 

The camp goes from a Saturday to a Friday. Ethan’s parents drove him the six hours to Fort Lewis from Monument. His parents gallivanted joyously throughout Durango and Ouray for the week while Ethan was at camp.

Ethan went with a buddy from home and they stayed in a dorm room together. Kids came all the way from Alabama, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Each morning, the campers were split up into 4-5 groups, depending on skill level, and led on a 2-3 hour ride. They rode a variety of trails around Durango - flowy, technical, grippy, or loose. Ethan was stoked to improve his technical skills like navigating through rock gardens, step ups, and drops. 

Ethan racing with his high scool team. He finished top 100 at XC States for his age group in 2022.

Their afternoons consisted of bike games, like foot down and bike tag, and free time. One hot afternoon, their instructors took them to the river to float on tubes. Their evenings were filled with speakers like Olympian Christopher Blevins and pro riders and married couple Cole Peyton and Savilla Blunk (who live in a van, but not down by the river). The guest speakers also rode with the kids in the morning.

Campers ate all their meals at the dining hall and Ethan thought the food was great (unlimited ice cream!) He has stayed in touch with a lot of the kids throughout the year and even saw some of them at races. He plans on going back again this summer.

Guerrillas Spotted On Trails Near Pikes Peak!

The time change this past weekend has ushered in a new warm weather riding season…and we here at Routes Outfitter are ready for 2022! We’ve got a brand new fleet of Guerrilla Gravity bikes ready to ride.

We’ve mixed things up a bit with some fresh new models this year. In addition to GG’s top bike, The Smash, we’ve brought in several Trail Pistols, a couple of Megatrails, and a Gnarvana.

Here’s a rundown of the bikes and sizes:

Routes demo bikes are outfitted with SRAM NX Eagle Drivetrains

The Smash - Guerrilla Gravity’s top seller with Revved Carbon front triangle and alloy rear. 230mm rear shock with 150mm front fork. Take on anything from epic big mountain days, to days in the bike park, to your rock-strewn after-work lap. Our two fleet bikes are a size 2 (medium), and size 3 (large) equipped with

• SRAM NX 11-50t 12-speed drivetrain with Descendant 6K cranks

• SRAM G2 RSC hydraulic brakes

• RockShox Deluxe Select 230x60mm shock

• DVO Diamond D2 150mm fork

• SDG Tells 150mm dropper

• Raceface Aeffect R stem and 800mm e*thirteen Race Carbon handlebars

• Front Maxxis Minion DHF 29x2.5 and rear Minion DHR II 29.4 tires mounted on Sun Single SD37 Comp wheels.

RockShox Deluxe Select and Super Deluxe Select shocks provide a competent ride for the backside.

Trail Pistol - Fully revved carbon, front to rear! GG’s full carbon short travel trail runner that’s 300 grams lighter and 50% stiffer it’s faster, more efficient, and more fun than ever. We have three Trail Pistols in size 2, (medium), size 3 (large), and size 4 (extra large) set up to fly with:

• SRAM NX 11-50t 12-speed drivetrain with Descendant 6K cranks

• SRAM G2 RSC hydraulic brakes

• RockShox Deluxe Select 210x50mm shock

• DVO Sapphire D1 130mm fork

• SDG Tells 150mm dropper

• Raceface Aeffect R stem and 800mm e*thirteen Race Carbon handlebars

• Front and rear Maxxis Recon 29x2.25 tires mounted on Sun Single SD37 Comp wheels.

A beautiful DVO Diamond D1 170mm fork in luscious green gloriousness.

Megatrail - best-in-class pedaling, next-level cornering, and downhill authority. The Megatrail is this season’s 27.5” wheeled addition to our GG fleet built for everything from conquering high-alpine adventures to shredding bike park laps. We’ve got two stunning Megatrail bikes in size 2(medium), and size 3 (large), stunningly equipped with:

• SRAM NX 11-50t 12-speed drivetrain with Descendant 6K cranks

• SRAM G2 RSC hydraulic brakes

• RockShox Super Deluxe Select 230x65mm shock

• DVO Diamond/Onyx D1 170mm green fork

• SDG Tells 150mm dropper

• Raceface Aeffect R stem and 800mm e*thirteen Race Carbon handlebars

• Front Maxxis Minion DHF 27.5x2.3 and rear Minion DHR II 27.5x2.4 tires mounted on Sun Single SD37 Comp wheels.

A Guerrilla at The Chutes Trailhead in Colorado Springs. Ready to shred.

Gnarvana - pairs 160 mm of Freedom Linkage-controlled travel with 29” wheels to create a bike fast enough to outrun your professional distractions and release yourself from terrestrial bonds. We’ve got a size 3 Gnarvana set up for you to rip down the steepest, chunkiest, fall-line trails with:

• SRAM NX 11-50t 12-speed drivetrain with Descendant 6K cranks

• SRAM G2 RSC hydraulic brakes

• RockShox Super Deluxe Select 230x65mm shock

• MRP Ribbon Air 170mm fork

• SDG Tells 150mm dropper

• Raceface Turbine R stem and 780mm Chester handlebars

• Front and rear Hutchinson Griffus R Lab 29.25 tires mounted on Sun Single SD37 Comp wheels.

We’re excited to continue our partnership with Guerrilla Gravity as an official Demo Center and Authorized Reseller for 2022! GG continues to impress with their Colorado made frames and super fast delivery times. Come ride yours today!

Reserve yours online at routesreservations.com