The weather was mostly wet and colder than usual for the end of May, yet we were lucky enough to avoid rain and snow during the 3 bike events we attended. Overall we enjoyed our second visit to Durango and highly recommend the voyage.
Iron Horse Bicycle Classic
Here is a quick view of the course from the pro viewpoint. I was only a few minutes behind that group so luckily the weather didn't degrade much from what is visible in this video.We got started at 7:38 in a pack of 75+, rolling along at a nice and easy pace for the first dozen miles or so. At around mile 16 the leaders shed everyone but the best 25 ish, including me. A second group of 10+ formed as the road flattened, where only 4-5 of us actually worked up front. For the next dozen or so miles we had a good group effort, good pace lines, and friendly group. Nearly every climb I ended up taking a pull, out climbed most of second group, and caught some of the first group.
Once we hit the Coal Bank pass climb I stepped up to the front and left the group minus one person which became my pacing buddy (#207) for a significant amount of climbing. We were a good match and had fun pushing
each other yet no trying to destroy one another. He got away, I kept him in sight,
but didn't quite reel him in. Got within 20
feet at top of Molas pass, so close...He likely grabbed on to a bigger group and flew down because the little group of 3 I got in on the last descent didn't catch him.I had a decent finish picking a guy off at the line but watching the sprint get away. Not enough juice to go with sprint, maybe some mental issues but legs were worked from holding on during descent and getting into town. Guy I passed at the line yelled in disappointment; kinda funny, I've been there.
The Finish: dropped into Silverton, last hairpin I was on 260 wheel and 204 clawed back. 204 is a big guy so he crushed the false flats through town. 260 held back, got a rest, took off around, I couldn't match. 204 tried to match, got a gap on me, I clawed back. He looked back 100 meters from finish to see if he was safe. I was maybe 3 bike lengths away and sat down so he felt he was safe. Once he looked away I stood, drilled it, and caught him by a wheel or less. The picture to the right shows 260, 204 (DWC), and me a few hundred feet from the line. I would end up catching and passing 204.
Overall a good race. Legs were strong, kept a good pace whole race, tried my best to mitigate losses when dropped by lead group. Good descending but compact crank runs out of gears too fast. Pegged effort trying to hold group on descent which I paid for on the subsequent climb and finish sprint.
Legs. were. worked. Spirit was high.
Results: 13th out of 75 finishers in the 35-44 age group, and 60th out of 450 finishers overall.
The rest of the day
Interestingly it was nice to get kudos from other racers at finish. I typically don't get congratulated after a road race. Are the roadies usually less friendly than mountain bikers? Absolutely. This time, nice sportsmanship from a few of the competitors.I cooled down a bit, changed, had Ultragen for recovery since I knew I had a race the next day, looked for train, ate pea soup from Grumpys, looked for the train, found end of train tracks in dirt road, dropped bike off, waited for train, had difficulty with train, the only train in town was the wrong train, the wrong train left, the "right" train arrived and I waited to be told to board, decided to just board, some people had reserved seats, what a mess. Race organization could be clear on what to expect, where to get train, etc.
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| Grumpy's saloon | The wrong train |
Silverton organization is interesting. No train station, just tracks at the end of a dirt road. Looked for train station for 20 ish minutes, asked people but didn't know. 3.5 hour train ride back. I guess I chose the cheaper option and wonder how long the bus would have been with after race traffic.
Train is klunky, creaky, rough, and ends up tedious. Scenery is amazing. Probably nice to take a day trip to Silverton, grab a bite, shop, and return. Silverton seems quite well set up for tourism. Not a great option after the race.
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| The train ride down | Above Silverton |
Beautiful tough race. Need to do it again? Nah, mainly because of return logistics.
Mountain bike Specialists Cross Country race
Have you ever raced through a brewery? It's worth every penny.Lined up with world class athletes, Todd Wells for example. Got interesting looks. As expected I didn't have the legs to keep up even before we hit the dirt. Dead last by the dirt. Passed 2 in the first few turns because one guy screwed up, one tried to pass back, tangled handlebars, made me go down. Dead last again.
Passed one back before the end of the climb; he also had raced yesterday. Passed "tangle" guy back by the end of the lap. I ended up catching 4-5 people by the end of the race where at least one was having chain issues. Better than expected. Ended 29th out of 36 finishers so I apparently wasn't ever dead last.
Crowds were awesome again all over the course although crowd through town raised the bar a few notches. Steamworks is bad ass to let us ride through and fill the place with screaming fans, cow bells, and beer hand ups. Took 2 beer hand ups this time cause it was just that kind of race. Crowd went nuts both times. Didn't feel confident on the man made obstacles this time though. They weren't positioned the same as last time and I just didn't feel like wrecking. One crash per season is plenty. Less is more here.
Legs felt ok during the race and ok after. Not as crushed as iron horse race. Maybe due to downhill finish without massive sprint at end.
Emotionally feel excited from a great race weekend. Proud of my efforts regardless of results, and happy to be back from injury.
