Here’s mud in your eye, Desert Rampage riders undaunted; St. George News Photo Gallery

Written by John Teas
March 1, 2014
Younger racer at the Red Rock Rampage mountain bike race, St. George, Utah, March 1, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

ST. GEORGE – The 19th annual Red Rock Desert Rampage mountain bike race kicked off Saturday morning with hundreds of participants.

“This was the very first mountain bike race in St. George that opened up this area to biking,” race director Glenn Ames said of the annual event. “Before that, everyone was going to Moab. No one knew about St. George … It’s a world class location.”

Ames has been mountain biking since 1981, and is one of the founders of the Red Rock Desert Rampage race and the Red Rock Bicycle Company, which the race is named after. Though he is no longer the owner of the bicycle shop, it remains a chief sponsor of the race. Ames has been involved in every race since its inception.

The Desert Rampage course, shown in dark gold, St. George, Utah, March 1, 2014 | Skid map via Utah Bike Racing

Around 350 people are participating in the race this year, Ames said. Both young and old are involved in the race, he said, noting one biker was as young as five years old.

The Red Rock Desert  Rampage race course is a 7-mile loop that traverses across land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and follows various segments of pre-existing bike trails in the area.

They also have separate race divisions based on experience. Beginners did one lap, with additional levels going up to four laps . Pro-racers did the four laps, making for a total of 28 miles.

The event is rain or shine, Ames said, noting a possibility of rain that morning. Still, he said the only thing that would really stop the race would be safety concerns or if the BLM had any possible objections to the race.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

Younger racer at the Red Rock Rampage mountain bike race, St. George, Utah, March 1, 2014 | Photo by John Teas, St. George News

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Originally from Iowa, John Teas transplanted to Saint George in 2012 from New Mexico. John is a photojournalist and feature writer for several automotive publications, educational media and corporate public relations as as St. George News. “I have a degree in life experiences and a love of all that is outdoors,” he said.

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