The co-owner of a Longmont wood processing yard told the Ironman 70.3 exactly what he thought Saturday — in big, red letters.
Raul Bustamante is the co-owner of United Wood Products Inc. along the Diagonal Highway between Airport Road and Niwot Road. Bustamante grew frustrated last year when use of the highway for the Ironman 70.3 half-triathlon made access to his business become nearly impossible.
This year, Bustamante reached out to local law enforcement asking whether a sign could be put up letting passersby know local businesses along the road would still be open during the race. After chatting with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and Colorado State Patrol, Bustamante felt reassured that would be a simple fix.
But when he called to double-check with Ironman race organizers that everything was set, his frustrations ballooned.
“She told me she was too busy and that she couldn’t do that,” Bustamante said of an Ironman representative. “She told me I needed to call somebody else, but she wouldn’t give their phone number. How am I supposed to contact them to make sure everything is OK?”
On Saturday, as cyclists shared the Diagonal Highway with vehicle traffic and once again made access seemingly impossible, there was nothing indicating that Bustamante’s business down the road was open. When another call to race organizers was ignored, he took matters into his own hands and put up a yellow sign the length of his pickup truck that was visible from the Diagonal.
Dave Christen, operations manager for Ironman, said in a statement that his staff did its due diligence ahead of Saturday’s race and sent staff out to ensure people could access the business.
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