Air show: a pair of area riders perform to a crowd at Summerfest

MONTROSE — Local riders Phil Sanchez and Toby Wittington are addicted to adrenaline. They live in Montrose so they can hone their skills in riding and jumping dirt bikes. These skills were shared Saturday as the two professionals performed stunts to an awestruck audience that gasped each time the riders defied gravity.

"It feels like being Superman," Whittington said. Who later said he has been riding "forever."

"It feels like your floating," he added, "and the crowds out here are awesome."

Each trick the riders would have to gun their bikes in second gear to get the momentum to life off the steel ramp. In mid-flight, the riders would perform an array of tricks before landing on a ramp to cheers from the crowd.

Phil Sanchez, a graduate from Montrose High School in 1999, has been riding for 15 years primarily racing and doing some freestyle riding.

"Montrose is the only place to ride," he said. He added that the area around Montrose including the adobes and BLM land is a heaven for dirt bike riding. But riding in the adobes is different than riding in front of a crowd. And blowing wind with storm clouds made the attempts more challenging for the pair.

"You just don't look down," Sanchez said.