The couple started researching wetlands banking in 2006 because they wanted to purchase neighboring property that had been part of their familyвЂ™s original ranch but couldnвЂ™t afford to just raise hay on it. Zink and his wife, Patti, have restored 50 acres of the 150-acre ranch to wetlands and were recently approved to restore another 15 acres. John Zink asked Ed, who was 20 at the time, if he would like to run the shop and Ed accepted the offer, according to вЂњWaterfall Ranch: The History and People of a Special Place in the Animas Valley,вЂќ a book about the ZinksвЂ™ family ranch. Zink got into business after his father, John Zink, purchased Crawley Sporting Goods in 1968.

вЂњHe was confident he was going to learn something from everybody he spoke to,вЂќ he said. Sippy also recalled Zink as a hard worker throughout his life and attentive listener. вЂњEd wasnвЂ™t a shaved-leg type of cyclist,вЂќ Sippy said. вЂњHe did that his whole life and inspired other people to walk in his footsteps, to help carry the torch he lit for Durango,вЂќ she said.Дirector of the Iron Horse Gaige Sippy said that while Zink had an extensive mountain bicycling resume, he wasnвЂ™t a typical cyclist. He had the vision and drive to think big and make things happen, especially when it came to planning trails and events, said Trails 2000 Executive Director Mary Monroe Brown. Zink later helped organize international events, such as the Olympics in Atlanta and Nagano, Japan. Mayer, a cyclist, famously bet in 1971 he could get to Silverton on his bike faster than his brother, Jim, who worked on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad line from Durango to Silverton.

Zink founded the Iron Horse with Tom Mayer, one of the brothers on which the race was based.

Iron horse bike week 2019