The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic hosts a veterans celebration and a train ride to honor veterans and their families during the Memorial Day weekend.
Participants will ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Silverton at the same time the bicycle tour takes place. In Silverton, there will be a special ceremony and lunch.
“We monopolize town a little bit with all of our events, but the true meaning of the long holiday weekend is Memorial Day,” said Gaige Sippy, director of the IHBC. “So we wanted to make sure we recognized that piece.”
Gold Star family members, who have lost a relative while in service; Blue Star family members, who have a relative in service; veterans and their family members; and active-duty personnel are invited to the free event.
The event is intended to be a celebration rather than a somber day, said event coordinator Josh Freeman.
“Memorial Day weekend can be a pretty hard weekend for them,” Freeman said. “The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic is not a somber event; it’s a very celebratory event so we decided instead of calling it a Memorial Day celebration, even though it is on that weekend, we wanted to call it an actual celebration and have an uplifting event for these families.”
This year will be the fourth running of the event, Sippy said.
The idea for the event came from president of the IHBC board of directors, Chris Vivolo.
In the past, the Iron Horse, which has always been held on Memorial Day weekend, has done small things to honor Memorial Day. However, the veterans celebration is the most formal thing that has been done, Sippy said.
“Memorial Day was around before the bike race was,” he said. “We realized that it is a weekend to recognize those kind of things.”
The first three train cars, 100 seats, are reserved for the participants. They ride on the same train that bicyclists race against.
Those are seats that the railroad could sell out on Memorial Day weekend, but they donate them for military-associated families for free, Freeman said.
Several guests will speak during the ceremony at Memorial Park in Silverton, including U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton, La Plata County Commissioner Brad Blake and Silverton Mayor Chris Tookey.
A moment of silence will be held to honor the fallen heroes whose families are present.
“I’ve heard through conversation with Gold Star families that it’s really important to remember to recognize the name of their loved ones because it’s too easy to forget that they existed, that they served and that they paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Freeman said.
Veterans are offered a discount on the cost of registration if they want to participate in the bike events. About 100 veterans are riding this year, Sippy said.
“The messages are about thankfulness of service and sacrifice that these families all provide our country, because even when you have a loved one that’s serving, you have family members that are back at home that are enabling that service, and they need to be honored.”
rsimonovich@durangoherald.com
