35th Iron Horse Bicycle Classic
Here in my part of the world of Durango, CO we have a bicycle race that began off a bet or racing the steam engined train from Durango to Silverton. Durango has an elevation of 6500ft and Silverton is 9300ft. In between are two mountain passes. One that summits 10,610 and the other 10,900ft.
Here is a link to a map.
Link
I have never done a road race in my life. I was approached to do this race by some friends to raise money for a local youth ranch. They asked if I would ride for them and help fundraise. I agreed. I decided to race in the Cat IV/V level for any higher required a prequal time that I didn't have. I borrowed a co-workers bike and did my training seeking advice from the local professionals. Yes I had done adventure racing (with success) and had only done one mountain bike race but this was a road race. This is 50 miles of grind. Anyway the day came and I lined up with the pack that I was to begin the race with. We cruised through the valley at 26-27MPH. It was slightly slower than I had wanted and/or anticipated but since I didn't feel eager to go up there and speed them up I just sat back and enjoyed the draft. Hey on any normal day I am all about doing my fair share of work but we had two passes and another steep hill climb! This was race day. I'll let the ego-maniacs battle it out. Well, after powering up the two passes and obtaining an average of 18.1MPH for the entire distance of the race I finished with a time of 2:41:51. This time earned me 32 in a field of 96 riders. In the Cat III class I would have placed 37th which I thought was an achievement for the guy who never road raced and didn't really know what he was doing against other 'pros.' In fact the sweetness of my time came when I read the results the next day in the paper and noticed I beat a member of the pro team that my company sponsors. This coming from when I was snubbed when I asked for a sponsorship for adventure racing (a VERY expensive sport). They acted like I wasn't good enough. Ha He who laughs last has the greatest laugh. I am not one to rub in these kinds of peoples faces but it is always interesting to watch them squirm.