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”!