Pikes Peak Hill Climb

After the Courage Classic I was looking for a ride to do in August. I had seen and considered the Pikes Peak Hill Climb a few months ago, but had forgotten about it until now. I decided to sign up for the non-competitive ride about three weeks before it happened. There were concurrent races happening at the same time, including a few professional riders that were participating. The course followed the same route as the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb, which is about 12 miles and 4,800 feet up to the summit at 14,115 feet. It took me 1:58, and I finished 30th out of about 110 males of all ages in the non-competitive category.

The event itself was a first for me. I had a lot of fun even though I had to get up early to make the 6:18 a.m. start. I made sure I stayed within my limits since I wasn't familiar with the course and hadn't done any riding before at this elevation. It was pretty much a solid hill straight up with no real breaks. I didn't stop once, which was one of my goals. We had perfect weather...not too hot or cold and no wind. The views were great. There was a roaming motorcycle photographer along the course and some of his pictures are included below. Some are of me and some are just my favorites of the bunch. I'm wearing a black helmet and a blue jersey with white sun sleeves.

There were a couple uni cyclists that made it to the top as well! After hanging out at the top for a little bit I grabbed my backpack that has been shuttled up to the summit and cruised back to my car. The descent was great, but not the best I've done due to the many switchbacks and hairpin turns. Long, sweeping turns are ideal for fun.