Iron Horse Bicycle Classic a 45-year tradition

Tuesday, May 24, 2016 10:47 AM Updated Thursday, May. 26, 2016 8:51 AM

Three days of events will draw riders of all ages and abilities

Robert Hays hooks a humongous rainbow trout during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Cruiser Criterium is 2010. Durango Herald file photo

Joe Leder, front, and friends rode as characters from Super Mario Bros., during the 2013 Durango Cyclery Cruiser Crit downtown. The event was part of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Durango Herald file photo

Vendor tents line Main Avenue during racing 2012 action in downtown Durango, bringing additional retail opportunities to racers, spectators and visitors on Iron Horse weekend. Durango Herald file photo

Peter Schertz rides his “Uni-Hog” during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Cruiser Criterium in 2011. Durango Herald file photo

Racers in the Citizens Tour of the 2014 43rd annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race north on Main Avenue after the start of the abbreviated race that ended at Durango Mountain Resort. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

A rider in the 2015 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic’s Citizens Tour throws a fist in the air as he is passed by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad along U.S. Highway 550 in the race to Silverton. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Cyclists shadows are seen along U.S. Highway 550 during 2011’s Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Neck and neck heading to Silverton. A cyclist keeps pace with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train along U.S. Highway 550 during 2011’s Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Iron Horse Bicycle Classic race fans from left, Margaret Pulley, Sebastian Gibson, Shelby Creasha, and Heather Benton, cheer on riders in 2014 as they make their way up the hill towards the finish line at Durango Mountain Resort. JERRY McBRIDE/Durango Herald file photo

Edie Erwin, 8, cheers on her brother, Owen Erwin, 5, who raced in one of the 2015 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Sprite Kids Races in downtown Durango. With Edie are Aaron Blue, left, and Catherine Rathbone. Edie and Owen are the children of Jill and Dan Erwin. Durango Herald file photo

Cyclists blur with speed as they head down Camino del Rio during the 2011 Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Miranda Sheely, left, and her mom, Dana Sheely, right, of Frisco, meander down Main Avenue in 2010 during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Cruiser Criterium. Durango Herald file photo

Facing the competitor. Marvin Garcia of Gallup, N.M., takes a picture of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad engine as it backs into place before the start of the Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2011. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Stephen Campbell, center, of Houston, and Lauren Wimmer, right, of Norman, Okla., and other staff members from Camp Kivu in Durango cheer on riders as they approach the finish line during a past year’s Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Silverton. Durango Herald file photo

A lone cyclist warms up along Main Avenue in the early morning hours before of the Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2011. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train crosses Main Avenue as riders keep pace during the start of the Citizens Tour of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2011. Photo by SHAUN STANLEY/Durango Herald

Tom Mayer, left, and his brother, Jim Mayer, right, who were the inspiration for the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, and Ed Zink, chairman of the event’s organizing committee, center, take part in a cake-cutting ceremony in Silverton to celebrate the 40th running of the race in 2011. Durango Herald file photo

Riders in the 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizen’s tour head down Main Avenue. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fans cheer on riders in the 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Riders in the 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour head down Main Avenue. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Before the start of the 2009 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour, riders pose in front of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fans cheer on riders in the 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Cyclists and canines gather before the start of the 2009 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fans cheer on riders in the 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A rider warms up before the start of 2007 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file photo

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train passes riders in the 2005 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald

Riders get ready before the start of the 2005 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

Riders chat before the start of the start of the 2005 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

Riders take off at the start of the 2005 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

Fans cheer on riders in the 2006 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Durango Herald file photo

Flats are always an issue, and this rider fell victim in the 2006 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Durango Herald file photo

Fans cheer on riders in the 2006 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour on the way to Silverton. Durango Herald file photo

Riders take off at the start of the 2006 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

Rider take off at the start of the 2004 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

This 2004 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour rider takes advantage of an aid station. Durango Herald file photo

A Durango Police Department cruiser leads the start of the 2004 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic citizens tour. Durango Herald file photo

For 45 years, cyclists have been able to count on one race every Memorial Day weekend in Colorado. That race is the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

Longevity is hard to find for American cycling events, paling in comparison to European races. But the race committee and cycling community in Durango has made sure the event has survived despite a lack of USA Cycling accreditation.

“It’s pretty remarkable in the world of special events and bicycle special events,” said longtime race director and committee member Ed Zink. “It’s on a lot of peoples’ bucket list.”

Current race director Gaige Sippy said the Iron Horse is the second oldest continuous running cycling event in the country.

“It’s a true testament to the community and founders of the event,” Sippy said. “We’re blessed to have that come together.”

What started as a bet between brothers Jim and Tom Mayer has blossomed into a weekend full of events. When Tom challenged Jim, who was a brakeman on the Durango & Silverton Rio Grande Railroad on the line that runs from Durango to Silverton, to a race against the steam-powered locomotive, there’s no way they could have imagined the sensation the race between man and machine would become.

In 1972, Zink helped organize a group of 36 riders to celebrate the first trip of the train from Durango to Silverton. Durangoan Mike Elliott, an Olympic cross-country ski racer, was the first champion.

“We’re blessed to have had that come together,” Sippy said. “The fact we have a steam engine train and two mountain passes, that uniqueness of it keeps it going.”

By the second year, the event became a full three-day affair with a time trial and circuit race. Since then, more events have been added to include children and mountain bikers, with one of the most unique mountain bike races around as it passes through the bar of Steamworks Brewing Co.

“The mountain biking started in 1984,” Zink said. “Part of the longevity of it is because it’s been so adaptable. We’ve given people what they want.”

When the Iron Horse first began, mountain biking wasn’t a sport. The focus from Day 1 has always been on the road race, a 47-mile sprint from Durango to Silverton with climbs up Coal Bank and Molas passes. Riders climb 5,700 feet with a final descent from 10,910 feet at the summit of Molas Divide to the town of Silverton at 9,305 feet. Racers will reach speeds as high as 40 mph on the twisting descent.

Through the years, winners have included some of the top names in American cycling, including 1984 Olympic gold medalist Alexi Grewal, former Fort Lewis College star and Discovery Cycling team member Tom Danielson and legendary mountain biker Ned Overend, who at age 60 will be in pursuit of his sixth Iron Horse victory after claiming third a year ago before winning the overall omnium championship.

“It’s a roller coaster of emotions at the Iron Horse,” Overend said. “I’ve done well at it. It’s such an important event for the community, and I always feel some pressure to do well.”

Five-time women’s road race champion Mara Abbott of Boulder, one of the top women on a bike in the country, also finds a lot of charm in the event. Women’s cycling has always had its place at the IHBC, with elite riders such as Juli Furtado and Durangoan Carmen Small joining the action through the years.

“Mara travels the world, but she says it’s unique and loves doing it for the challenge,” Sippy said. “The fact you have pro riders on the course with amateurs, first-timers, that’s not an offering you get at other events. With a closed highway and other riders there to cheer them on, it’s a big deal for the professionals, too.”

In its 45th year, the IHBC is 100 times bigger than it was in 1972 with at least 600 racers to go along with an always sold-out field of 3,000 Citizens Tour competitors.

“We’re damn proud of this thing,” Zink said. “Any community can have a bike race, but not every community can have a bike race start and finish in two iconic towns with a closed highway. We have an army of volunteers who work together so that when people leave they say, ‘Wow, I had fun,’ and go back and tell their friends about it.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com