{"id":40358,"date":"2022-05-27T20:29:55","date_gmt":"2022-05-28T02:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/one-wheel-one-amazing-trip-unicyclist-puts-smiles-on-hundreds-of-faces\/"},"modified":"2022-05-28T02:29:55","modified_gmt":"2022-05-28T02:29:55","slug":"one-wheel-one-amazing-trip-unicyclist-puts-smiles-on-hundreds-of-faces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/one-wheel-one-amazing-trip-unicyclist-puts-smiles-on-hundreds-of-faces\/","title":{"rendered":"One wheel, one amazing trip: Unicyclist puts smiles on hundreds of faces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Mike
Mike Tierney loves the interplay with people along the way, many of whom are incredulous to see a unicycle doing the entire Iron Horse course. (Courtesy of Mike Tierney)<\/span>Courtesy of Mike Tierney<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Because most people can\u2019t stay atop a unicycle for more than a moment or two, seeing a one-wheeled rider cranking up mountain passes and rolling into Silverton is quite the event.<\/p>\n

Mike Tierney of Aspen first attempted riding a unicycle in the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2005. He was urged to enter by fellow unicyclist Bill Manning, then the director of Trails 2000, who had cajoled the Iron Horse into allowing a \u201cuni\u201d division.<\/p>\n

\n

About this series<\/h4>\n

Peel This year marks the 50th running of the annual Durango-to-Silverton race pitting bikes against train. Ed Zink, who promoted and fostered the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic from the start in 1972, died in October 2019. He was eagerly anticipating the 50th anniversary, and this Memorial Day weekend\u2019s festival is being held in his memory. In conjunction with the Iron Horse organizing committee and as part of its 50th celebration, former Durango Herald<\/em> writer and editor John Peel put together a series of stories looking back at the race and ride\u2019s history. These stories and more were compiled in a book, \u201cIron Horse Bicycle Classic 50th Anniversary: Looking Back, Racing Forward.\u201d 907920Mandatory Credit: Jerry McBride<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

About six unicyclists began with the train whistle that year. Some made it down Main Avenue, some to the Animas Valley. Manning made it to Purgatory. There were few other two-wheeled riders around by that point, but Tierney kept going.<\/p>\n

He was no stranger to mountain passes \u2013 he trained on 12,095-foot-high Independence Pass \u2013 but he wasn\u2019t used to linking two passes together, and was still nervous about finishing. He got kudos from onlookers, but by the time he rolled into Silverton, \u201cthey actually rolled the streets up,\u201d Tierney recalled with a laugh. He was hoping to eat at the restaurant that had posted a sign, \u201cFree food to unicyclists or Lance,\u201d but it was already closed.<\/p>\n

\"Mike
Mike Tierney cruises past Molas Lake during the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic. (Courtesy of Mike Tierney)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

A few officials disassembling the finish line congratulated him, but otherwise the street was deserted. It had taken about six hours. A dozen people were anxiously waiting on a bus for him to arrive so they could all head back to Durango. As great a day as it was, the end was a little anticlimactic.<\/p>\n

Ten years later he tried again. This time, in 2015, he started early so he could blend in with other riders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a difference that made,\u201d he said. \u201cThat turned the event into a whole nother ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n

He mixed in with the event for the final 2\u00bd to 3 hours and had a ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lost a wheel,\u201d a passing rider would quip.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live in Aspen. I can only afford one.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he approached Silverton, word spread.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were people running out of stores: \u2018The unicyclist is here!\u2019\u201d Tierney said. \u201cYou could just see the wave build.\u201d<\/p>\n

He felt the appreciation and the love and felt the tears welling. \u201cIt\u2019s a moment that I want to bottle up for history.\u201d<\/p>\n

After that, Tierney decided to do the Iron Horse every year to push his limits and pedal a highway with no cars. He sees how it makes people\u2019s day to see him, and likes the feeling of giving back to the world in a fun, positive way.<\/p>\n

In spring 2022, Tierney, 63, retired from 42 years of serving on the Aspen Highlands ski patrol. He still runs a solar energy business, now in its 40th year.<\/p>\n

In an April interview, Tierney said he planned on making perhaps a final Iron Horse unicycle trip, his eighth, to celebrate the 50th.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just so cool how they support this thing,\u201d Tierney said of the Durango and Silverton communities. \u201cOver 50 years of doing it, and it hasn\u2019t shown any letdown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Unicyclist
Unicyclist Mike Tierney finishes the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in 2021 after riding from Durango to Silverton. (Shane Benjamin\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tierney starts riding Iron Horse early so he can finish with the crowds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40359,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,2111],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-40358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-iron-horse-bicycle-classic"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40358","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40358"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40358\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40358"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40358"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40358"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=40358"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}