Cyclists lining up to start the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Citizens Tour and Quarter Horse to Purgatory Resort on Saturday couldn’t have asked for a much better day.

About 52 degrees and sunny at around 8 a.m., it was ideal weather for a ride to Silverton – or Purgatory, as the case may be – especially if it was one’s first time attempting the tour.

John Vanderlaan of Albuquerque has done a handful of similar events – mostly just for fun – but this was his first experience with the IHBC.

“A few friends had done it before and talked me into it,” he said. “It also seemed like a beautiful course to do.”

At the starting line, he was feeling great about the tour.

“It’s exciting to see so many people out here,” he said.

The excitement of being able to participate in this type of event as the pandemic winds down was not lost on Vanderlaan.

“It feels pretty cool,” he said. “It seems like just weeks ago you were stuck in your house, everybody wearing masks and everything, it seems like we’re really turning the corner.”

Saturday also marked the first Iron Horse for the Sandaus – Cole, Julie and Jake – of Durango. They, too, were excited to participate in the event, post-COVID-19.

“It’s a return to normal,” Julie said.

The Sandaus had planned to ride the Iron Horse years ago, but life had other plans.

“We were going to do one, and then he came along and derailed our first one,” Cole said, indicating his son, Jake. “That was 14 years ago.”

“So now he has to come with us,” added Julie.

Jake also participated in the Durango Swim Club’s 1,500 meter Narrow Horse Mile Swim on Friday.

“It’s a great way to get started,” Julie said.

The only thing the Sandaus had reservations about Saturday morning was the notable absence of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train – Iron Horse’s “iron horse” – which was not scheduled to leave at the same time as the Citizens Tour this year.

“They need to run the train,” Julie said.

“It’s kind of silly not to do it that way,” Cole added. “It can’t be that hard to plan.”

Less concerned about the missing train were Ann and Peter Voldstad, who moved to Durango three years ago when Peter retired. The couple were riding in the Quarter Horse, a 25-mile tour that ends at Purgatory Resort after a 2,300-foot vertical climb.

“We’re not competitive, we’re just doing it for a fun ride,” Ann said.

The couple were cautiously optimistic about the ride.

“We’ve had a little trepidation,” she said. “We’ve done big bike rides before, like vacation bike rides, and then we trained. It was really fun training, having a goal. Driving the car up yesterday, I’m confident we can do it.”

The Voldstads were glad they didn’t cancel their plans to ride in the tour.

“We had signed up last year, and then we got a reprieve,” Ann said. “We almost backed out of doing it this year, but we said no, we should really sign up. It’s been really great – it’s a beautiful day.”

ngonzales@durangoherald.com