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Dirt Rag Articles
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Iron Horse Classic
Durango, CO
May 24-26
Any annual event that has been taking place longer than I've been alive impresses me. The 32nd annual Iron Horse Classic is no exception. Yup, for 32 years, the event has gone on, albeit with varying foci and events. While it started out as heavy-on-the-climbing road race from Durango to Silverton (following the train tracks and racing the train was its draw), it morphed into more of a mountain biking event, and now it's quite equally weighted. As a matter of fact, 2003 marked the first downhill race in nine years and the first criterium in fourteen years. Not a bad time for Dirt Rag to cover its first Iron Horse. This was truly a racer's event-only one day (Sunday) of venue, but three days of riding. Nice for us (we got to ride, too!) and even nicer for the racers and spectators.
The road race was held Saturday morning, and riders headed for the finish in Silverton. The downhill race took place later in the day, about six miles to the west of town in the San Juan National Forest. Word is the course was about twice as long as a "typical" downhill course, with much of it reclaiming the old downhill course, "Log Chutes Trail." Out of Pittsburgh and racing for Hopey Bicycle Steering Dampers, Pete Weir commented, "It was a lot of fun. The course was different from anything I've ever experienced. It was long, about eight minutes worth of racing. The winning time was 7:51...a lot of pedaling."
The cross country race was held Sunday in town, starting and finishing at Chapman Hill; mountain cross took place at the same venue, and spectators got to check out Dirt Rag and other vendors as they watched the racing. Monday morning, a section of downtown was blocked off for the crit races; the course was sweet, basically circling two full city blocks and providing great vantage points for the spectators. Later in the day, the trials competition took place behind Steamworks brewery, where Face Plant Ale (the year's commemorative brew for the Iron Horse Classic) and other tasty brews flowed freely. Next year, the crit will likely be held Friday evening, the opener to the weekend's festivities.
Jamie Moreheart, "Head Handholder" for the event, talked about the support the community gives to this and other cycling events. "All the prize money for the crit was donated by local businesses and residents." Apparently, because of the severe fire season last year, people were leery about giving out money, "but lots of last minute calls provided the support [the Iron Horse] needed." The community-oriented nonprofit that organizes the Iron Horse and will also organize the NORBA NCS later in the year is a pretty impressive example of what can happen when a community supports its outdoor recreating. And there was certainly much of that taking place-runners, bikers, kayakers, in-line skaters, walkers and climbers all have a distinct presence in Durango, an idyllic city nestled in the mountains of southern Colorado.
Thanks to Kenda and Salsa, our swag sponsors for the event. A hearty thank you to Durango Mountain Bike Camps and the Hagen family for letting us turn their yard into a trailer park, to Dave and Elke for a great ride, and to Dan and Alex for hawking the wares with verve.
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