The Daily Sentinel: Two-wheeled wonder

Gateway Tour piques interest of 60-year-old. Michael Horn has surfed, skied and run, but none of those sports compares to the feeling he has when he’s on his bicycle. The 60-year-old Palisade man rides as much as he can, even though he was encouraged to stop after an accident broke his left leg three years ago on a training ride. “Cycling is an awesome way to stay fit,” Horn said. “Living here and being retired gives me lot of time to ride my bike. It’s a lot of fun.

“My favorite thing going uphill. I’m so used to it over the years. All rides I do are uphill so it became (a normal part of) the ride.” Sunday, Horn is participating in the third annual Gateway Canyon Classic Citizens Tour for the first time. “I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I think it will be a fun event.

Tony Cruz, the Discovery Channel Pro, is coming.” Cruz and other pro riders will conduct clinics Friday. The $175 entry fee includes the clinic, road race, time trial, three meals and a commemorative vest. Saturday’s time trial features a 20K flat course. The road race and Citizens Tour begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday. Participants in the Citizens Tour can ride 47 or 85 miles. Erik and Stephanie Brofos, who moved from a Colorado mountain town to Grand Junction, are riding in the event for the first time. “I was going to ride it with a friend last year, but I had to go out of town,” Erik Brofos said.

“He passed away a couple days after Thanksgiving riding near Buena Vista. He was taking time off from work and rode 12,000 miles that year. He lost a lot of weight. He was a good buddy originally from England I met in Vail in the late ’70s. “I thought Stephanie and I would ride it and finish what we started.”

Brofos said he never heard the cause of death of his friend, Andy Holmes, who was 50 years old, but Erik and Stephanie are looking forward to the Gateway Canyon Classic. The Brofos, who have a cabinet business, spent several years working in the downhill skiing industry, skiing in the winter and mountain biking in the summer in Vail. “We thought this area had more to offer,” Stephanie Brofos said. “We like having a longer warm weather season. We go back and forth (to Vail) a lot. We have a lot of friends still in Vail.”

They have recently got into road bicycle riding. “We found road riding more interesting and the areas it could take us,” Stephanie Brofos said. “When we hear about organized bike rides, we like to participate. We’ve done the Tour of the Valley. It’s a great way to meet people.” They’ve also participated in the Colorado-Eagle River Ride. Erik also has participated in the Evergreen Triple Bypass Ride from Evergreen to Avon.

Stephanie is riding the 47-mile tour in Gateway; Erik is preparing for the 85-mile tour. Horn, who grew up surfing in California, is sticking with the 47-mile ride. Surfing was fine, but Horn wanted more. He visited to Aspen in 1967 to try downhill skiing and ended up staying. “I skied in the winter and was looking for a way to stay in condition in the summer,” Horn said.

“I started bicycling in 1968 and got in racing into the ’70s.” He participated in races on Mt. Evans and the Aspen Alpine Classic. Along the way, he met Alexi Greywall, the first American man to win an Olympic gold medal in cycling, and rode with him frequently. Horn met Ron Kiefel, a seven-time Tour de France rider, when Kiefel was a junior cyclist. Horn had his left hip replaced in 2000, five years after breaking the hip when he crashed on a ride. He tried running, but a knee injury prompted him to get back on his bike.

Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He beat that. Three years ago, he moved to Palisade, where he owns a vineyard, and gave up skiing, but not cycling. That same year, he was training for a race when he crashed on his left leg and sustained a spiral fracture. “When I broke my leg, I asked the doctor when I could start cycling again,” Horn said. “He asked why you want to cycle again. He didn’t want me to. He said, I’d end up being a cripple. “There is some risk, but the gains so far out weight the risks. It’s too much fun.”

Horn doesn’t just ride, he competes in a number of senior (55-older) events. He competed in the Durango Iron Horse Classic (Durango to Silverton) earlier this summer. “(Cycling) does challenge you at any age,” Horn said. “It’s what motivates you to ride. I ride in the winter, too. I’ll bundle up when it’s 20 degrees. “If you do cycle year-round, it makes a big difference.”