The most notable missing ingredient from this year’s pandemic-truncated Iron Horse Bicycle Classic will be the iron horse itself.
The historic 19th-century train powered by a steam locomotive will not be departing for Silverton with the cyclists participating in the Citizens Tour at 8 a.m. Saturday.
To determine if you “beat the train,” cyclists will have to rely on wristwatches and cellphones. The rule of thumb: It takes the train 3½ hours to get from the Durango depot to Silverton.
During the pandemic, planning for the Iron Horse and other large-scale events was put on the back burner, said Jeff Johnson, D&SNG general manager.
When COVID-19 public health restrictions started easing in March and April, it was too late to coordinate the train’s schedule with IHBC organizers, he said.
“We were reticent to make large-scale plans during the pandemic, not knowing what the restrictions were going to be,” he said. “We hope we can do it next year, when everything returns to normal.”
D&SNG actually has a train leaving for Silverton at 8 a.m., but it will be a diesel-powered locomotive, not the 19th-century steam engine.
Still, if riders want to measure themselves against the train, the diesel takes the same 3½ hours to get to Silverton as the steam-powered trains, Johnson said.
Gaige Sippy, IHBC director, said the cycling classic also wants the old steam engines back.
“We are figuring out a time with the train to have it roll by Animas City Park at the start with our Citizens Tour riders, so they have that experience of racing each other to Silverton from there,” he said.
The train should be back in the picture for IHBC’s 50th anniversary next year, Sippy said.
“Racing the train is certainly an important element of our event,” he said. “This year, we’re both trying to catch our breath, get going again with our businesses and then try to get back to normal next year.”
Another problem this year in judging whether riders “beat the train” will be the starting point.
The 8 a.m. diesel will leave from the D&SNG depot at the southern end of downtown. Citizens Tour cyclists will get a jump on the train – leaving a few miles north of the depot from East Second Avenue and 33rd Street.
Sippy said starting cyclists on north Main Avenue helps logistically, and it might be the starting point for future tours.
“As the town gets busier and it becomes harder to slow traffic to ride bikes up north Main, it could be a great place to start the race going forward to avoid that in-town traffic issue we struggle with,” he said.
Starting farther north allows staging for races in Animas City Park and the train still goes by north Main Avenue, Sippy said.
Traditionally, the train that “races” against Citizen Tour cyclists carries veterans, but that too fell victim to the pandemic.
Precautions taken for COVID-19 prevented gatherings of large numbers of people – especially the elderly, who are the most vulnerable to the virus, and again the speed with which restrictions were eased prevented organizing a veterans train.
“Things are lifting in the past couple weeks, and we have engaged in some more community-minded relationships that we just didn’t dare touch even six or eight weeks ago,” Johnson said.
A steam-powered locomotive is leaving for Silverton an hour behind the Citizens Tour, departing from the D&SNG depot at 9 a.m.
The train’s route to Silverton covers 45 miles, while the cyclists on U.S. Highway 550 will cover about 47 miles. The elevation gain from Durango to Silverton is 2,806 feet for the train, while the total ascent for cyclists is 6,700 feet.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
