FARMINGTON – Aztec Adventures hosted the third annual Roost the Ridges enduro mountain bike race Saturday, attracting racers, fans, and families from around the Four Corners with exceptional participation from riders under age 18.
The event began at Lions Wilderness Park, where riders begin an 8-mile untimed transfer into the Glade Run Recreation Area. From there, riders completed three timed downhill segments across flowing ridgeline terrain.
“It was a fantastic day of racing held out on the course in the Farmington Glade Recreation Area,” reported Neil Hannum, founder of Aztec Adventures. “We had participants from Littleton, Colo., Albuquerque, Many Farms, Ariz., and the Silver Stallion Bicycle group from Gallup were also in attendance.”
In the professional race, the men’s competition was won by Logan Lewis, who completed the course in 9 minutes, 5.13 seconds, just a few seconds ahead of Dillon Burns, who completed the course in a time of 9:08.01. Finishing third was Phil Cowan, at 9:15.88.
In the women’s professional race, Brittany Cowan was the winner with a final time of 9:48.89, followed by Makenzie Pardoe (11:20.31) and Brooke Elliott, (11:26.14).
There were handfuls of racers taking part in the event outside of the professional competition, ranging in various skill and age levels. In the under-16 men’s race, 15-year-old Dylan Lewis took home first prize, completing the course in 9:38.77. Finishing behind Lewis was 15-year-old Caleb Osmera and Antonio Pell.
In the women’s division of the under-16 age group, 13-year-old June Bremner was the winner, with a final time of 10:34.74. Bremmer finished the race well ahead of runner-up Lavender Blacow, age 14, who completed the course in 14:25.13.
Later this month, Aztec Adventures will switch its focus to gravel bikes with the Galactic Grinder coming up on Saturday, April 20. The event serves up three hilly gravel orbits, transporting riders around the Alien Crash Site outside Aztec.
Starting in Cedar Hill, the 35- and 50-mile routes quickly encounter a sharp climb into the “San Juan Alps,” close to the New Mexico-Colorado state line. After traversing mesas and sandy washes, both routes filter into a 4-mile stretch of single-track in the Alien Run trail system before hitting some more punchy hills back to the finish. The 9-mile route offers a fun but challenging introduction to gravel riding and the terrain San Juan County has to offer.
Ten-year-old Ellis Bates won the boys race in under-13-year-old division, racing to a final time of 10:12.81, more than a minute ahead of 13-year-old Grey Saren (11:15.18) and Eli Snow, 10, with a time of 11:43.20.
For more information about the Roost The Ridges event and upcoming races, check out aztec-adventures.com.
