Iron Horse Classic

In article <[email hidden]>, Dave

Quoted message said:

I've been to the www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com site and
have a few questions for anyone who has ridden the road
race or the route.

How technically demanding is the latter part of the ride
(Cascade to the finish)? How would you rate the climbing
(especially given that the start is 6500 ft. above sea
level)? How would you rate the course overall?

What was the weather like? Any clothing recommendations?

How did you like the race?

Any comments about the above or ??? appreciated.

Thanks,

-=Dave=-

Hi, Dave,

I haven't done the IHBC in several years, but my body
remembers it well. The course is a great one -- the last
of the classic road races in Colorado, barring the Mount
Evans Hill Climb -- but you don't get a lot of time to
lollygag and enjoy the scenery if you're doing the race
rather than the tour.

I've only raced it as a Cat. 4 and later as a fattie master,
but the bugger is generally fast from the gun. The
contenders try to shell you on the flat run-up to the first
climb over the railroad tracks, then on the climb itself,
and again by the Tamarron resort, and once again around
Needles Store before Purgatory, if memory serves. Survivors
fight it out on Coal Bank Pass, which is a tough stretch;
Molas Pass gets higher, but is an easier climb. The fast,
winding descent from Molas into Silverton is not for the
fainthearted -- I always lost ground there, but I can't
descend worth a damn. Can't climb much, either, come to
think of it.

Bring plenty clothes, everything from summer to winter
garments. It can be warmish in Durango but snowing on Coal
Bank. Last time I did the race, I damn' near froze to death;
couldn't feel my fingers on the brakes and was shaking like
a dog passing peach pits. Last time I covered it for
VeloNews, they were stacking hypothermic folks up like
cordwood in the fire station at Silverton.

That said, the weather can be gorgeous start to finish, too,
as I believe it was last year. The photos I've seen of
Danielson winning show him in shorts and short sleeves.

Cheers,

Patrick O'Grady Mad Dog Media maddogmedia.commaddogmedia.comOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

How technically demanding is the latter part of the ride
(Cascade to the finish)? How would you rate the climbing
(especially given that the start is 6500 ft. above sea
level)? How would you rate the course overall?

an elite climbers route. if your the best climber you will
win.

Quoted message said:

What was the weather like? Any clothing recommendations?

bring your winter gear to durango. adjust at the start
line. if theres any chance of a storm bring a WATERPROOF
jacket and some light gloves. it gets brutal up there
when it snows.

Quoted message said:

How did you like the race?

it is great. hard from the start and plenty of time to
use tactics.

the biggest logistics challenge will be to find a motel.
plan ahead. the mtb race is also great. not so technical you
cant jump from road to mtb racing and get crushed due to
falling off the bike....

Dave said:

I've been to the www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com site and
have a few questions for anyone who has ridden the road
race or the route.

How technically demanding is the latter part of the ride
(Cascade to the finish)? How would you rate the climbing
(especially given that the start is 6500 ft. above sea
level)? How would you rate the course overall?

What was the weather like? Any clothing recommendations?

How did you like the race?

Any comments about the above or ??? appreciated.

Thanks,

-=Dave=-

Dave, I would agree with what the others have said. I rode
the race last year, first time ever, in 40-45 group. Biggest
group, winning time about
2:25, much faster than me.

I am not a racer and all the road riding I do is in
Colorado, lots of long climbs, all at elevation, and I live
at 7800 ft., so keep this in mind.

Many groups seem to dog the valley, about 10 miles till the
climbing begins, because it is certainly a climber's race. I
feel that getting to Cascade (the base of Coal Bank Pass) is
really where the work is, short climbs, little breaks, but
plenty tough. Once you get to the start of Coal Bank, it is
6 miles, 1600 ft. gain, pretty consistent, but you can
settle in. Short drop between CB and Molas, and an easier
climb to 10,900, time to give it all you have left.

If you can beat 3 hours, your a pretty good local, but many
of these guys come closer to 2:30, and Tom Danielson was
2:05 last year. I really don't know how that compares to the
rest of the world, remember, we have Overend, Tomac,
Danielson, Roll, plenty fit guys (and this is just rodies)
and their not so famous buddies here in town, I think it
makes for a better than average fitness level.

BTW, I'm shooting for 2:50 this year, which I will be very
happy with.

Last year was beautiful, except for the very slow. Some
of the folks hit rain and a little snow on Molas, but we
are talking 5+ hour riders. It was canceled a few years
ago, after only a few (non-elite) made it over Molas,
just too much snow. BE PREPARED FOR ANY CONDITIONS,
decide on race day.

Fun, you bet it is fun. We will enter the citizens ride this
year, mainly because we are 3 guys who want to ride together
and would be in different race groups because of our age
differences. But the town really gets behind it, lots of
fans on the way, no more beautiful place to end a ride than
Silverton. Big bike weekend in Durango, bring your mountain
bike to play around on Sunday and Monday.

I think another fun aspect to it is you get these older,
less fit folks who want to ride it as well. Typically the
race groups start around
3:30, but some of these folks will start even earlier (by
themselves) because they can finish the ride, but it might
take 6 hours. It definately gives you a boost of energy
when you pass someone's grandmother going up Coal Bank,
just slowly (very slowly) spinning along and you know they
are just having a good time.

Email me directly if you need more information, see the
little note under my sig.
--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado (remove ".nospam" to reply)

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've been to the www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com site and
have a few questions for anyone who has ridden the road
race or the route.

How technically demanding is the latter part of the ride
(Cascade to the finish)? How would you rate the climbing
(especially given that the start is 6500 ft. above sea
level)? How would you rate the course overall?

What was the weather like? Any clothing recommendations?

How did you like the race?

Any comments about the above or ??? appreciated.

Thanks,

-=Dave=-

If you can climb, this is the course for you. I raced it in
2002, the year of the fires, in one of the masters groups
and had a great time. It starts off very fast, especially
for a group as large as ours ( over 100) but you can hang in
the pack because it's almost flat for nearly 10 miles. As
Patrick already said, it breaks up at the first climb over
the RR tracks at Baker's Bridge even though it's not a long
climb. After that, there's no more big pack. I didn't stay
with the front pack so I got into a few pace lines in the
flatter sections until we reached Cascade. From then on
you're either climbing or screaming down the mountain. The
roads are generally in very good shape and you have no car
traffic at all, because the road is closed. The down hills
are not really technical but they are very, very fast. I'm
very light but still reached over 45 mph on most of the
descents. Because you're tucked in for several minutes at a
time, your arms will get tired unless you've come from a
mountainous area. Your eyes will also water from the cold,
dry wind, presuming it's not raining that day. It was clear
and 35 degrees when we started and clear and 60 degrees at
the finish in Silverton. I wore arm warmers and a polypro
undershirt under my jersey, standard shorts and gloves, and
was as comfortable as you're going to get in a chilly race.

The only "technical" part of the course is the switchback
just before you get to Silverton. I was behind several
racers who had been dropped from the group that started
before mine and had to slalom around them on the downhill
and through the switchback. The road is not tree covered at
that point so visibility is not a problem.

When I raced it I had been living in Montrose, Colorado for
nearly a year and training in the mountains so I was in good
climbing shape. I had not ridden the course though and
didn't want to go too fast on Coal Bank and not have
anything left for Molas. However, I should have pushed it
harder over Coal Bank because Molas is not as steep or as
long. If you're not used to 4 to 6 mile climbs at nearly
11,000 ft. you're going to be breathing like the steam train
sounds. Also, I strongly suggest either a triple crank or at
least a 39 chainring and 25 cog. I used a 39 x 25 or 27 on
the big climbs but I like to spin a lot. The really fast
climbers used 39 x 21 or 23's.

I hope you get to go. The scenery is magnificent and you
can even sign up to ride the train back. It's the race
of a lifetime in some of the most beautiful mountains in
the world.

Good luck and have fun.

Vol