The Iron Horse Classic

The memorial day weekend pilgrimage to Durango has become part of my summer. A reason to get to Durango is always needed; the town is just too far from everything else to make the trip on a whim. Coming to race mountain bikes provides the perfect excuses to travel this far, and having a friendly family to stay at makes in all the better - Katie O'Blocks parent's put us up once again, making it way nicer than staying in a motel.The race course is a great mix of true mountain biking and spectator friendly entertainment. Starting on main street in front of packed crowds, the course took a pretty direct route towards the trails, starting with a brutal four minute climb up the "nature trail" towards the Fort Lewis campus. From there we rode around the rim overlooking town, then made a descent towards town, another climb towards campus, and then a lap through the trails around campus before a final plunge to town. But this is where it got really good. The course then proceeded to go THROUGH Steamworks brewery - in through a window off the street, past the bar, around a corner and out the back down a huge ramp. This is all on a route lined by huge crowds - people on the switchbacks out of town, people on the road to the trails. Crowds three or four deep around the start straight, and a baying pack of drunken lunatics inside the brewery.The race got started hard and fast - a one minute sprint from down town Durango to the campus trails and a sketchy holeshot towards the trails. I slotted into fourth place behind Ben Sonntag, Todd Wells, and Ryan Standish. I was amazed to see how many people were out watching - Mountain Biking is alive in Durango! I moved up to third place at the top of the climb, right where I wanted to be. Sonntag and Wells are both locals and have ridden these trails countless times. They're also very experienced, and I knew that following them would lead to a good day on the bike. It was also a little dangerous. I've never raced in a group with Wells or Sonntag; I consider them a little above my pay-grade (they're paid, I'm not...). Today's race gave me a good opportunity to follow them, and it paid off. By the time we got to the descent back to town, it was the three of us with a 30 second gap back to a chase group. We rode back into town at warp speed - tucked behind Wells who has a huge engine. Entering the brewery is mind blowing. The heat is immense, the smell terrible and the sound all encompassing. I don't think anyone threw beer directly AT us, but simply there was a constant mist of alcohol in the air. I strongly recommend to come down and race here, simply for the experience of racing through a brewery.