Mountain bikers often share the trails around Durango with some of the best cyclists in the United States. As they fly by, a glimpse of a jersey may give them an idea of who a rider might be. For the second time in three years, recreational bikers will be invited to ride alongside one of those professionals, who happens to be one of the nation’s most decorated athletes in the sport.
Todd Wells, in partnership with Trails 2000 and Gaige Sippy of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, will bring back Todd’s Durango Dirt Fondo on Sept. 16 in Durango.
Wells paired with fellow Durangoan and American mountain biking legend Ned Overend for the first-ever Durango Dirt Fondo in 2015. Trouble obtaining necessary permits derailed the event in 2016, but Wells and company are ready to build momentum with its return and hope to deliver the event for years to come. “I was disappointed last year we couldn’t pull it off, but we got it back this year,” Wells said. “It’s a great course and a little more toward the original vision I had for it.
“The last time I had ridden this portion of Missionary Ridge is when I first moved here in 1995, and it’s awesome. It reminds me of Breckenridge or Vail with the elevation and vegetation. It’s just gorgeous.”
Fondo events are long rides with an emphasis on group cycling rather than racing a clock or a competitor. For Wells, it is an opportunity to interact with people around Durango who love riding their bike as much as he does.
“The community has been so good to me and supported me so much,” the three-time Olympian and 14-time national champion said. “This is something I can do to give back. What Durango does really well are cross country mountain biking trails, and this showcases that and gives everyone a taste of mid-country trails without having to be too far from town. People are going to love it and ride trails they either rarely ride or maybe have never ridden.”
There are options for a 50-mile long ride or a 15-mile short course. The event will start and end at Buckley Park in downtown, and the long course is expected to take an average of between six and eight hours to complete. Intermediate to advanced riders will be challenged by the technicality of the long course.
The long course will take riders from downtown up to the Horse Gulch area, over to Missionary Ridge around 10,000 feet and work back to Buckley Park.
There will be aid stations along the route to support the riders and make sure nobody gets lost. It is fully supported by volunteers.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase high-country riding as part of it,” Sippy said. “We haven’t done that with a bike event here in several years. Todd is keen on getting people out there and showing them trails he enjoys riding. Last time, if you drew a point in the center of town and a big circle around town, it showcased those trails. This time, it will show you all the trails you can do right from town.”
Wells’ plan for the event is to have a new piece of trail open each year to coincide with the fondo. Trails 2000 has opened a new trail each of the last 12 years. They are currently in the process of working through the National Environmental Policy Act working to get permission to build a trail on federal land that connects the Sugar Trail of the Telegraph Trail System to the Skyline Trail. They hope a portion of it will be ready to open for the festival. “It’s a several year project,” said Mary Monroe Brown, executive director of Trails 2000. “We’re also working on trails in the Gulch. We’re so happy Todd appreciates that and wants to celebrate that about our trails.”
After the event, bikers will return to Buckley Park for the Trails 2000 Happy Trails Festival. Wells will personally serve burgers, and a kids race for children 10 and under will be held in the park. Wells’ son, Cooper, will be out there leading the charge on his new pedal bike after recently moving up from a Strider bike.
The IHBC is an official kickoff to the summer season in Durango. Sippy and Wells hope the fondo becomes an annual event to look forward to at the end of summer.
“It gives people a reason to train and something to shoot for and get excited about,” Wells said.
Registration is now open and will remain open until the night before the event. The cost is $40 for the long ride and $30 for the short ride and includes access to the Happy Trails Festival and a finishers gift.
As much as the race, Wells said he is looking forward to mingling with the community in the park once everyone has finished their ride and has stories to tell.
“For me, that’s what it’s all about,” he said. “Everyone that goes to the fondo is passionate about bikes. At races, I’m so focused on the race. I’m punching in for work and feel under pressure to focus on the race. With this, it is so much fun to hang out with everybody, hear everyone’s story.”
Plus, in Durango, you never know what other elite riders will join in the fun.
“Only in Durango can you show up and see Olympians like Travis Brown and Howard Grotts just show up to these kinds of events,” Monroe Brown said. “And a guy like Ned Overend, a world champion. People pay to experience being around guys like that. We have more national and world champions per capita in Durango than any town in the U.S. with more than 300 miles of trails within 30 miles of downtown. Those things set our community apart.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
Durango Dirt Fondo
When: Sept. 16
Where: Buckley Park, 12th and Main Ave.
Distance: 50-mile and 15-mile options. Copious amounts of Durango singletrack, a few road segments. Long course is technically challenging for intermediate to advanced riders capable of six to eight hours of effort. Course length and route subject to change based on permitting, weather, and other unforeseen circumstances.
Cost: $40 for long ride, $30 for short. Includes admission into the Trails 2000 Happy Trails Festival and a commemorative finisher gift.
Register: https://www.ironhorsebicycleclassic.com/fondo-registration
