if traveling to Silverton or points north, as closures and traffic redirection efforts start at 7:30 a.m.Īt 8:30 a.m., “U.S 550 will be fully closed in both directions between Purgatory Ski Resort and Silverton.
The Colorado Department of Transportation today warned drivers to pass through the area north of Durango by 7 a.m. Part of the highway threading through the San Juan National Forest will close due to the annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic from 8:30 a.m. Highway 550 need to leave early, change their route or bring a lawn chair and a good book.
My SRAM drivetrain never missed a shift and the new Panaracer Driver tires are awesome, they're the perfect dry conditions XC race tire.FARMINGTON - Motorists planning to travel north of Durango Saturday on U.S. In the gear department everything was flawless.
My goal was a top 20, and I got 18th in a pretty solid pro field. At this point the field had strung out a bit and I could climb at my own pace, so I passed a few riders on each of the following laps with nobody passing me for the remainder of the race. Anyone who says mountain bike racing needn't be spectator friendly, do a race with lots of spectators. A crowd of cheering spectators and having your name announced on a loudspeaker really does make the pain go away briefly. It was a drag because I got stuck behind some slower climbers on the first two climbs.įast forward to the end of the first lap. Of course these hopes were quickly shot down, so I was in the conga line of walkers. Hopefully I would move up on the pavement before the first bottleneck onto a very loose, steep climb that is pretty much impossible to ride if you're not in the top five. This means everyone started lining up for their start spots 25 minutes early, except for me. So what about my race? Well, the start was delayed and I was apparently the only one who knew. They take a window out of the front of the bar, you ride in through a crowd of hundreds of (wasted) people, then out the back down a steep ramp where more people holler at you as you navigate some man made features. (Back to this year's race) The Iron Horse MTB pro course goes through a brewpub downtown.There are some real sweet mountain bike videos from the early 90's shot there. It's a maze of trails that used to be known as the Test Tracks. Speaking of Ned, we have Overend Mountain Park in the city limits.Occasionally in town you come across various memorabilia from the event, like a banner hung in a bar, or multi-time Iron Hose winner Ned Overend's bike in a bike shop. Durango hosted the first ever UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in 1990.One really has to be here to understand just how mountain bike crazy Durango really is, but I'll point out a few things to give everyone a feel. The main event is the road race up to Silverton, but it sold out before I could sign up this year, so I just did the mountain bike race (which I think is more fun anyway). It's a stacked weekend of racing and pretty much the biggest event every year in Durango. Memorial Day weekend marked the official start of summer in Durango with the 41st Annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. 41st Annual Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, Durango