Every year on Memorial Day weekend a big pack of cyclists race the train from Durango to Silverton, 50 miles and three mountain passes away. The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic has become a famous race over the years, and top cyclists come to compete in it. This year the women’s field included a few Olympic hopefuls, and a cyclist who has competed in every summer Olympics since 1980. The main event was cancelled because of snow–first time ever–so people competed in a Criterium on Sunday and a time trial on Monday.
My beautiful niece Katie, who skied in two Olympics, took up cycling a few years ago and is very good at it. Whenever there is a big cycling event in town, she stays with us while she races. I love to see her, but I never understood why she wanted to spend her time off work travelling to compete–she’s not trying to beat someone else, or to become a world champion. But these pictures showed me something I hadn’t understood before.
The pro women raced for forty-five minutes around a course set through Durango’s downtown; I took photos each time they rode by. The cyclists are going so fast that I couldn’t really see what was going on until I looked at the pictures later… and then I saw why she was out there.
I think she’s racing because of the way that it makes her feel inside. She’s totally focused on this moment, this curve,
calm, and fully engaged.
For those 45 minutes, she was a pure being.
It was like a Pow Wow with less stylish costumes.
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