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.

SANTE FE OPEN SPACE

On Thursday, April 7th, El Paso County had its grand opening and ribbon cutting of Sante Fe Open Space in Palmer Lake - located on the east side of the New Santa Fe Regional Trail. It is a 60-acre site of rolling and moderate terrain with 1.75 miles of singletrack trail for hikers, bikers, and horseback riders. The open space consists of thick stands of scrub oak, mature Ponderosa pines, grassy meadows, and the remnants of an old ranch. The county purchased this beautiful piece of land that boasts views of Mt. Herman and the Front Range in May of 2017. The west entrance is ½ mile SE of Palmer Lake Recreation Area, which offers both parking and a restroom, and the east entrance is 2.5 miles NW of the Hwy 105 Trailhead parking area. Both entrances are along the New Sante Fe Regional Trail. The county has built maps at each trailhead and signage at each trail intersection. The open space is open daily from dawn to dusk.

This trail system is simple, well thought out, and beautiful. Whether you’re headed out for a leisurely stroll, a long gravel bike ride from Baptist Rd. to Greenland Open Space, or a run from the front door of Routes Outfitter and back to Trails End Taproom…you are guaranteed to enjoy this new addition to our delightful trail systems in the Tri-Lakes areas.

It’s exciting to continue to see our area grow its offerings like this. The northern El Paso County area on the Colorado Springs front range is simply amazing.

A beautiful landscape surrounds the newest Santa Fe Open Space trail system built by El Paso County Parks and Rec.