The first Todd and Ned’s Durango Dirt Fondo is sort of like fondue, but different.
Take Durango – a melting pot of mountain-bike culture, from the new school to the old guard. Just add some of the most flavorful names in the history of the sport – champions like Ned Overend and Olympic cyclist Todd Wells, the notorious John Tomac and cycling hall of famer Juli Furtado. Add some young guns, a few hundred others, heat them up over a little competition on some of the most coveted singletrack anywhere and you’ve got yourself a fondo.
It all will take place beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Powerhouse Science Center. The 30- and 50-mile course will send riders on a tour of some of the most beloved singletrack in Durango.
Incorporating much of the Telegraph Trail System in Horse Gulch, including the new Sugar Trail, riders will then descend the new Chapman Flow Trail, site of the 1990 slalom races, travel north to segments on Animas City Mountain and Dalla Mountain Park before continuing over for a steep and twisting navigation of Overend Mountain Park, and returning to the Powerhouse. There will be no road closures, and traffic laws will be in effect.
Riders can complete a 25-mile course with 4,100 feet of elevation gain or a 50-mile course with 6,400 feet of elevation gain.
Spectators will find good action at the start and finish line and also out on the course. Riders will also follow College Drive to climb to the campus of Fort Lewis College on East Eighth Avenue, and will cross Main Avenue at 32nd Street. Many viewing possibilities exist, such as the Half Ridge Trail in Horse Gulch, the Chapman Flow Trail, the Powerline Trial and Dalla Mountain Park.
Wildly popular in Europe, gran fondos are festive cycling events based around rides of a substantial distance. Because this year is the 25th anniversary of the 1990 World Mountain Bike Championship races held in Durango, wheels started turning.
“There aren’t really a lot of specific mountain-bike fondos,” Wells said. “I thought, ‘With Durango, we have all these amazing trails, how about we showcase them?’”
Speed trap
There will be two timed segments of the course called speed zones, where riders will race the clock for explosive excitement: Milky Way in Horse Gulch and the Spirit Trail in Overend Mountain Park.
“Just to turn on the gas,” race director Gaige Sippy said. “We’ll show you how fast your time was compared to Todd and Ned’s.”
Heavy lifting
Sippy, also race director of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, got on board immediately. “We have the resources to do it, we have the sponsors,” he said. “It’s got to be this year.”
Friendly competition
Fondos aren’t typical races, rather they are open entries with timed segments. “When you put a few hundred riders on the same trail, you’ve got a race,” Sippy said.
Everyone’s invited
“We want the community to come out and take part,” Sippy said. “We’re also inviting a list of people who helped make (the worlds) happen. In fact, many of the original racers who took the podium in 1990 will be back in the saddle. “Luminaries of the sport.”
Local appreciation
“Todd and Ned have their heads in the right place,” Sippy said. “They wanted exposure for Durango mountain biking, to showcase what Trails 2000 has done, raise some money for charity and get the community involved. Ned Overend called Durango instrumental in the sport. “Durango has a big place in the history of mountain biking,” Overend said. “I think it’s cool to commemorate it.”
Living museum
On Saturday at the Powerhouse Science Center, a robust exhibit on the evolution of mountain biking curated by local cycling guru Jon Bailey will be open to the public. “It’s really fun to look at the technology of that time,” Sippy said. “We’ve come a long way.”
Beginning with a land symposium Friday at Fort Lewis College, the event hosts the race, the after-party, the museum and benefit breakfast Sunday, and an all-star cast ribbon cutting ceremony at Purgatory’s new lift-served Divinity flow trail.
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Dirt Fondo schedule
FRIDAY
10 a.m.-4 p.m.: Land Symposium, Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Vallecito Room, Student Union. Hosted and sponsored by Trails 2000 and the Bureau of Land Management. www.trails2000.org/2015/07/land-symposium/
12-8 p.m.: Fondo Packet Pickup and Welcome Party, Mountain Bike Specialists, 949 Main Ave.
SATURDAY
9 A.M.: Start of Todd and Ned’s Durango Dirt Fondo for both the 30- and 50-mile rides. Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.
6:30 P.M.: 1990 Worlds 25th Anniversary Party, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio.
SUNDAY
9 a.m.: NICA/High School MTB League Benefit Breakfast, Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Hermosa Terrace, Student Union.
Noon-5 p.m.: Grand Opening of Purgatory Flow Trail. Free Lift service all day, Purgatory Ski Resort.
