Registration for the 51st annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic will begin next week.
Before registration opens to the general public on Friday, however, there will once again be a local registration party to allow locals to register a day early and make sure they get a spot in this year’s action. The local registration party will be held from 5-8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies.
Last year, during the 50th anniversary of the event, the Coca-Cola Road Race and McDonald’s Citizen Tour events both sold out in April, so interested riders are encouraged to register early. There are 2,500 spots available for the road ride.
The cycling celebration will take place over Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-28, and will focus on the event’s traditional races and adding a new festival at Durango Mesa Park.
The backbone of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, the Durango-Silverton route where riders “race the train” over two mountain passes for 50 miles and 5,700 feet of elevation gain, will take place on May 27, along with the citizen tour to Purgatory Resort.
Return transportation from Silverton to the Durango Transit Center will be back after an insurance issue last year. “That will be huge for a lot of people,” IHBC Race Director Ian Burnett said, noting that they’re working with the school district to get return transportation again this year.
The ride from Ouray to Silverton, however, won’t be back this year.
“We weren’t able to pull off the Ouray portion this year,” Burnett said. “It will probably be more of an anniversary type of event.”
On May 28, off-road riders will be challenged in the Subaru Mountain Bike Race and the La Strada La Plata Gravel Ride, both starting at Durango Mesa Park. The Mountain Bike Specialists King & Queen of the Mountain will also be decided Sunday; the omnium competition includes professional road race and mountain bike race.
The mountain bike race will include some new trails in Durango Mesa that will be built in the spring and less of the Horse Gulch area. “We’re excited to showcase those,” Burnett said about the new trails. He also said they plan to make the laps shorter so riders are coming through the start and finish area more consistently and add to the excitement.
While the mountain bikers are racing, there will also be a festival with music and food and some things for kids to do at Durango Mesa.
“We’re trying to make it a community social outing and make it fun for everyone,” Burnett said.
The event will begin May 26 with packet pickup at Chapman Hill. The roostmaster and dual slalom races aren’t scheduled again this year, but Burnett said they’re still working on some logistics to see if they can add an event similar to the roostmaster again.
“It would be fun to do something else to engage the community on Friday evening (May 26),” he said.
The tradition began in 1971 when Tom Mayer, a cyclist, challenged his brother Jim, a railroad worker on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, to see who could get to Silverton faster. Tom was able to pedal the distance faster than the steam engine, and the legend of the Iron Horse was born.
In addition to thousands of amateur riders and racers, last year’s event attracted professional athletes Savilia Blunk, Kira Payer, Ruth Holcomb, Sarah Sturm, Quinn Simmons, Colby Simmons, Brayden Johnson, Howard Grotts and others.
“We’re excited to build on last year’s 50th anniversary momentum to put on another incredible cycling weekend in Durango. The Iron Horse is a world-class bike weekend that cyclists in Colorado and beyond won’t want to miss,” Burnett said.
