ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
Word of the feats by Aspen unicyclist extraordinaire Mike Tierney has gone a mile high.
One of Tierney’s unicycles is part of a display at Denver International Airport that features the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic, an annual event held in southwest Colorado. The display for the Iron Horse also includes a picture of Tierney riding his one-wheeled cycle in the event and a description of his amazing accomplishment.
The highlights with Tierney and the Iron Horse are part of an exhibition called High Altitude Adventures curated by DEN Arts. It is described as “a celebration of athletic feats and endurance competitions throughout the state of Colorado.” It features everything from the Leadville Race Series to the Triple Bypass road ride and the World Championship Pack Burro Race, part of Burro Days in Fairplay, Colorado.
“It’s legendary stuff on the walls and there I am in a picture on the wall,” Tierney said. “My 36-inch unicycle is there with the Iron Horse number still attached to it.”
His inclusion in the Iron Horse exhibit came as a surprise to him. He donated the trusty unicycle that conquered eight Iron Horses last year to a display at Fort Lewis College’s Center of Southwest Studies that celebrated the Durango-area racing culture and the Iron Horse, started 50 years ago. He remembered that the exhibit would come down after this year’s race on Memorial Day weekend. He asked the curator to take a picture of his unicycle before it came down and then learned it had been borrowed for the DIA exhibition.
Tierney said he was flattered and honored.
“I’m not sure how they chose my story,” he said. “There are so many legends they could have chosen.”
The printed display at the DIA exhibit recounts how the Iron Horse was opened to unicycles in 2005. Tierney was one of six who launched — and the only one that finished. The 47-mile event crosses two passes higher than 10,000 feet in Coal Bank and Molas. Unlike other riders, Tierney had to keep pedaling on the way down and negotiate steep, winding roads without a brake. By the time he arrived in Silverton, well after the main pack and stragglers, most spectators had left the main street.
He returned in 2015 and left an hour prior to the official start, a tactic he continued for his next six tours. Spectators marvel at how he can ascend and descend the passes on one wheel.
He would still get passed by other riders but completed the ride in less than 6½ hours, time enough to enjoy the finish line festivities.
Tierney claimed that 2022’s Iron Horse was his last and he was able to stay away this year. Instead, he rode Aspen’s Ride for the Pass, a fundraiser for the Independence Pass Foundation. He wasn’t able to do both events in the past because they were so close together in time and wouldn’t have allowed enough recovery for the Iron Horse.
Tierney is well known in Aspen as a 40-year member of the Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol, where he was known as “Pinto.” He retired prior to last season. Cyclists also know him as the guy who is riding Independence Pass, Maroon and Castle Creek roads on a uni. He even rides mountain bike trails.
Tierney was able to check out the High Altitude Adventures exhibition on Father’s Day weekend, when he visited his son Logan in the Front Range. They ventured out to the airport with Logan’s twin, nine-month-old boy and girl in tow. Tierney said he observed people’s reactions when they walked through the corridor which holds the exhibition.
“When they see the unicycle, it’s a total doubletake,” he said. “I like that it’s still a crowd pleaser. It brings people a smile.”
The exhibit opened in April and will remain on display into September. It is located in the Jeppesen Terminal in Ansbacher Hall, level 6 north, before the A bridge security.
“I’m still humbled they are using my stuff,” Tierney said.
Scott Condon, Aspen Daily News Staff Writer