LEADVILLE — Stand in line for a shower or a porta-toilet, rest on your bed in a gymnasium, hop off your bike at an aid station, climb on a bus or grab a brew at the beer wagon — and he is bound to come and shake your hand and hand you a flier. You can’t even escape him if you are face down on a massage table.
Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, on his 15th Ride the Rockies, is working the crowd so hard he would put a seasoned Chicago political huckster to shame.
Ireland just won a second term as mayor in May and has no interest in higher office now, so it’s not about that.
This time he is schilling for his town. Ride the Rockies rolls into Aspen today and he has been tireless about convincing people they will find a friendly, welcoming and (this has been the hard one for people to swallow) affordable community on their last night of the tour.
“People perceive us as inaccessible. They don’t try us. But we are trying to change our image,” Ireland said.
To that end, he is pushing an image decidedly different from the common perception of Aspen as a ritzy place.
He campaigns in worn bike clothes, looking as scraggly as every other rider. His red hair pokes every which way out of his helmet. Some people narrow their eyes and ask, “Are you really the mayor of Aspen?”
As he introduces himself again and again, he offers anyone who recognizes him on the streets of Aspen Thursday a free beer.
So far, he figures he will be giving away at least a keg.
Aspen is also giving away a free weekend complete with fine dining and massages to a lucky rider.
All the 2,000 Ride the Rockies cyclists need to do now is get to Aspen. It’s only 50 miles. But Independence Pass and a forecast of cold rain looms between Leadville and there.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com
