COS Racing with Cindi Brothers

Cindi and her husband, Michael

Cindi Brothers is a Monument resident and part of COS Racing - a local group of mountain, gravel, road, and track riders who race, train, and volunteer together.

Cindi had been a long time runner but with her husband’s encouragement transitioned to biking in recent years. She joined COS racing four years ago and now helps lead monthly gravel rides. Her husband, Michael, leads monthly MTB rides.

Already in 2023, Cindi repped COS Racing at the Mad Gravel race here in the Springs. For her age group, she placed 4th in the 21 mile circuit race for category B. The next day, she rode the 30-miler coming in first for her age group!

COS Racing is split into three teams. The Race A team consists of elite riders - some of which are legends and have won various state, national, and international championships in different disciplines. The Race B team, which Cindi is a part of, is the developmental tier of riders looking to advance their skills, fitness, and racing abilities. Lastly, the Club team is for new racers looking to get into competitive riding.

COS Racing has over a hundred members. Annual fees are $40 and another $40 for the COS kit. (Look good, feel good, ride good!) Along with other local businesses - Routes Outfitter is stoked to be a supporter of COS Racing.

Biking Oil Well Flats - Day Trip Series: Part 2

My mountain biking mentor, Bob, moved back to Florida summer of 2022. (Read story here). Before he left though, he had me hanging on for dear life down Captain Jacks and roughed me up on the Black and Blue Loop at Ute Valley. But some trails we didn’t get to and he assignment them for homework. One was Oil Well Flats near Canon City.

Since Routes is closed on Mondays for our cold-season hours, I made a day trip. It was a little over an hour to the trailhead and on a weekday in October, no other cars in the parking lot. The night before, I downloaded the MTB Project app. There was a detailed map at the trailhead, but heard from another Routes staff of a lot of turns and forks.

The trails were rated mostly blues and blacks. The blues were technical - both going up and coming down. I had to hike-a-bike on at least a few occasions. But it gave me an opportunity to stop and take in the views of the Pike-San Isabel National Forest in the distance. The route took me a little under 2 hours. I skipped most of the blacks, otherwise I might still be out there.

After, I drove into Canon City and had lunch at the Bean Pedaler, a coffee shop and bike shop in one. The huge brownie baked that morning was delicious. I sat and people watched other customers coming in - locals stopping in for a quick cup and tourists just finishing a rafting trip.

I walked around Canon City’s historic downtown and was pleasantly surprised by the old architecture, all the restaurants, and cool little shops. Come to find out it’s the 3rd oldest city in Colorado. And with The Royal Gorge and Arkansas River nearby, I’m sure they receive plenty of visitors.

Next time Bob is back in town, we’ll have to head down there for a ride and a brownie. I’ll show him I understood the assignment.

RACING THE ROYAL GORGE

Cy Knowles joined Routes staff in the summer of 2021, and will be a Junior at Palmer Ridge High School this Fall. He moved here from Minnesota a couple years ago where he did his first downhill mountain bike race in 7th grade. This was only the beginning of Cy’s love for MTB and racing.

Cy Knowles and Ethan Werschky on top of the podium! And to be clear…the other podium finishers didn’t stick around to claim their spots. Ha! So they did in fact win in a field of other riders within their division.

Cy recently completed The Royal Gorge Groove - an XC mountain bike race. Despite the very windy conditions and 1,700 feet in elevation gain, he and his relay-mate, Ethan Werschky, took first place in the U18 division. (Ethan also just started working at Routes!)

It took the pair just over three hours to complete the 24-mile course. 

Cy had only hiked in the Royal Gorge prior to this race. After biking it, he said he would, “100% do this race again”. His general sentiment? It wasn’t too “techy”, the atmosphere & vibe was great, and the views were simply amazing. To boot, he enjoyed a post-race burger at Happy Endings Caboose Cafe in Canon City.

He did this race as a warmup for his XC season, and also plans on doing the Revolution Enduro Race in Snowmass at the end of the summer.

We love having Cy on staff at Routes! He’s growing his skills as a bike mechanic like crazy, and he continues to bring the kind spirit we value to both the community and his fellow staff.

If you see Cy at the shop, on the trails around town, or getting a post ride burrito at El Rincon, be sure to say “what’s up”!