Iron Horse Bicycle Classic

 

I’m just returning from sunny Colorado where I was racing in Durango, CO in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. The main event is a 48 mi road race starting at 6,500 feet in Durango, ending at 9,300 ft in Silverton and crossing two passes of 10,500+ on the way. There are three major climbs of from 1,000 – 2,000 ft averaging 5-7% grade with a total ascent of over 6,600 feet for the race. There is also about 4,000 feet of descent! At over 1,500 racers plus another 1,500 or so non-racing tour riders, it’s one of the larger road races in the country.

 

I had ridden the race in 2007 with the goal of finishing under 3 hours but I didn’t quite make it. This year I trained harder, had a better idea of what to expect and was very pleased to take 16 minutes off my previous time and come in at 2:51:42. That put me in 32nd place of 116 riders in the Sr Men Cat IV-V 19-34.

 

The festivities continued the next day with a criterium on a nice figure-8 course featuring a one block climb and a fast descent on each lap. I’m not sure but I think we started with about 40-50 riders. A group of 6 went off the front early and the rest of us were trying to team up and work together as numerous riders popped off the back. Lapped riders were pulled from the race and I ended up in 20th place and just happy to be able to hang with the group and not get lapped and pulled. I think my group averaged about 23.5 mph over the 35 min event.

 

Finally, the last event of the weekend was a 14 mi point to point time trial. The course starts off fast and flat with a few rolling hills and a gradual elevation gain of maybe 200 ft over the first 12 miles. It then gets brutal with a 4-500 ft climb to the finish over the last 1.5 mi. A glance at my computer showed I was averaging 23.9 mph over the first 11 miles. I finished in 38:53 for a 21.9 mph average. That put me in the top 10 with a 9th place finish out of 21 starters. The winning time was a Durango local at around 33 minutes.

 

I really enjoy this race. Good competition, stunning scenery, challenging rides, good organization and amazing crowd support makes for a fun weekend – recommended. Oh, and for you phat tire phans, I took my mtb and got to ride some awesome Rocky Mountain single track while I was there too. Lots of phun.

 

See you all this weekend at the Classic.

 

Jerry Arnold