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Iron BMX bunnyhops into Iron Horse weekend

First Iron BMX event launches in Durango

Before the festivities of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic take hold of the city, dirt will fly at the Durango BMX Track.

For the first time, the Iron BMX will invade the area to showcase a once-dying sport, and the riders who want to make it popular again.

“We want to build some hype and buzz for BMX again; we’re trying to build excitement,” Durango BMX track coach and operator Jordan Rupe said. “Our goal is to make it an annual event, so I want to learn from this year.”

While the Iron BMX is a non-sanctioned IHBC event, it is sponsored by the IHBC. The big weekend’s race has sprawled its influence across La Plata County with emerging events that surround the IHBC such as the Narrow Horse Triathlon and Narrow Guage 10 Mile run. Iron BMX hopes to ride the flow of the IHBC success and become just as popular as the other offspring events.

The entry fee is $10 per rider, and Rupe said he expects around 50 competitors in the event, but hinted at close to 200 spectators could fill the bleachers and parking lot.

Action is scheduled for Friday with registration from 5-6 p.m. The race is a multi-lap event with age group categories ranging from 5 years old to 18-and-over with both male and female divisions. There will also be open and money categories to compete in.

In the money category, bikers will race for a winner-take-all cash prize. Depending on how many riders there are, the cash prize will increase. The catch is that riders will not know how many laps they’ll race until the starting gate is dropped. Rupe will choose randomly out of a hat to decide how many laps riders will do.

The event will be spectator-friendly with plenty of parking and stands for families as well as concessions available from Serious Texas Bar-B-Q. There won’t be alcohol for sale, but spectators are welcome to bring coolers and snacks of their own.

Rupe, 28, has been a local advocate for BMX riding. When the City of Durango took over the Durango BMX Track in November of last year, it was Rupe who took the reigns to help manicure, produce and ultimately promote the dirty yet beautiful BMX track that sits patiently in the BODO area of Durango.

“The track has been here for 14 years,” said Rupe, a true Durangoan who graduated from both Durango High School and Fort Lewis College. “When I took over, I wanted to get something going with Iron Horse. I wanted to try something different.”

Since the track is a U.S. BMX sanctioned track, Rupe and the board members of Durango BMX host races every Friday night. When Rupe took over, there were only three riders. Now the track sees at least 25 riders every Friday night.

With bikes aplenty in Durango, this event has all the makings to get big air. Over 300 BMX-sanctioned tracks are in the U.S. with 12 in Colorado.

“It’s a great after-school program,” Rupe said. “We are teaching kids the basics about bikes and racing BMX.”

Rupe has taken a page out of IHBC Race Director Gaige Sippy’s book to gather ideas. He’s picked Sippy’s brain on how to conduct a bike event, and the IHBC’s influence has presented the area with good problems to have. With the Narrow Horse and now the Iron BMX, avid athletes can gush about which route to take.

“If you’re into road riding, then you can do the Iron Horse, but, if your kids are into BMX, then they’d have something to do as well,” Sippy said. “There’s a lot of people who will come to the area who might not be cyclists.”

With an ever-growing weekend, Sippy added that his relationship with Rupe is as solid as the concrete they ride on.

“We make sure we’re not stepping on each other’s toes,” Sippy said. “We can help promote, and we’re happy to help.”

As far as competitors go, Hayden Dubit, 10, will display his sick riding skills in Friday’s event.

“I feel like I’m going to do better than usual,” Dubit said. “It all depends on the competition of the bikers.”

Dubit’s friend and avid rider, Grady White, also 10, makes a voyage from Cortez to ride Durango’s track. Like Dubit, White plans to participate.

“(The course) is way different in Cortez,” White said. “They don’t have the high walls and jumps like they do here in Durango.”

Riders beyond 10 years old can be found at the track. Gregg Dubit, Hayden’s father and board member of Durango BMX, is a staple at the scene. His impression of the track can be summed easily: “It’s magic, it’s fun,” he said.

Dubit, 52, will compete in the open category Friday night and will also compete in the Iron Horse over the weekend.

“It’s our first year doing it, so I think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Dubit said. “The idea of doing a fun, multi-lap race like this is going to be interesting. It’s a biking town, and people will rally.”

jmentzer@durangoherald.com

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