Pucker factor 10

[IAM Rand]

So after my trip to TN for the Tail of the Dragon, I decided to do another ride closer to home. Living at the foot of Pikes Peak, I have kinda taken it for granted. I have been up in a vehicle 3 or 4 times and taken the Cog Railway once. One summer my job was to sell tickets. I took my grandparents up. I had yet to ride up to the top on my bike.

I got a wild hair up you know where and on Labor Day I decided it was time. The lower 2 thirds is wonderful. Getting above timberline is where the real fun starts. When they say, "Guard rails optional" they really mean it. It is a 2 lane road with little to no shoulder. Beyond the shoulder in some spots is um, well, not a damn thing. On the inside is not too bad but, when you are on the outside it is unnerving to say the least. It was a little breezy but, not enough to worry me. Just added to the fun.

On the way down you get to multiply the fun as you have gravity working with you. Didn't have to use the brakes too much as the engine did most of the work for me. Both on the up and down when I was around cars I could smell brakes a burning. There is a brake check on the way down and I was waved on without a second look. I only used my brakes about a dozen times coming down. Most of those were because I was behind a white knuckled tourist not familiar with mountain driving. I will have to do it again sometime but, for now I have scratched that itch.



This is just below the summit. If you look just above my bike and above the ridgeline you can see the moon. This was just about 6PM. A little chilly but nothing a hoodie and vest couldn't handle.

What you don't see is to the right of my bike is a car crash. No idea how it happened but in this area you have a little more of a level area but some big boulders. Colorado Springs Police is responsible for the crashes that happen at the top as it is considered in the City. The rest of the mountain is in either El Paso or Teller County. The officers did not look very happy at having to make the long trip to where the crash was. As bad as the crash looked, it could have been much worse if it was on the parts without guardrails.

 

[KSDrifter]

My bike is 430lbs (triumph 765). Going up there on a windy day would be horrifying!

 

[Smoke]

I drove up to Pikes Peak Highway in the 1991 Geo Storm one time.

The way the geo storm was built when you're sitting in the driver seat you can't see the hood of the car.

That's not a big deal when you're driving on Academy Boulevard because you can still see the road in front of you.

When you're driving up Pikes Peak Highway especially when you're above tree line all you can see out the windshield is Sky. I had no idea where I was at on the road.

And as @IAM Rand mentioned there are places on the highway where it's a significant drop if you go off the road.

Every time I went up Pikes Peak after that it was on foot.

 

[bedwards]

Tail of the Dragon was quite an experience. Didn't go on a motorcycle but in a Miata with the Miata club I was a member of. Ruined a brand new set of tires but had a great time doing it.

 

[Walkin Horse]

I went up in 2008 on the cog railroad. An amazing site from there. I sat on bench and got a Backwoods cigar lit and smoked it. On the way down the hostess assured us we could stop at any time. She said we have air brakes mechanical brakes diesel brakes and if that doesn't stop us we have two big springs at the bottom. Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs.

 

[olfart]

We took the cog train up one afternoon, but when we started back down the cog train derailed. We spent several miserable hours sitting in the train car waiting for help to come up the mountain. When we finally got moving it was near midnight, and people were getting sick rocking around in the train. Vomit rolling down the aisle didn't help. That's a trip I'll never forget nor repeat!

 

[Walkin Horse]

I was worried about getting sick coming back down, because I had to ride facing backwards. But it didn't seem to bother me.

 

[IAM Rand]

Tail of the Dragon was quite an experience. Didn't go on a motorcycle but in a Miata with the Miata club I was a member of. Ruined a brand new set of tires but had a great time doing it.

Try doing the same thing on Pikes Peak Highway, you will need a new set of underwear. Waaaaay back in the day, Pikes Peak had a ski area. The one and only time I tried it, the wind was so bad I did 1 or 2 runs then that was enough. There used to be a ski area at the Broadmoor. People said if you could ski the Broadmoor you could ski anywhere. I say, if you could ski Pikes Peak, you deserved to be in a Warren Miller film as one of the crazy people doing something unthinkable.

I would never do the Peak when it is really windy. The other thing that I really had a problem with was some idiot kid was smoking a little whacky weed at the top. As if the altitude isn't bad enough you gotta smoke pot. I have heard of mile high but almost 3 mile high and then some. Worst thing Colorado did was make it legal. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

 

[Rodan]

One of these days, I'm going to get around to driving up Pike's Peak... The last two years we've raced at High Plains Raceway in June, and both times there were cars there prepping for the Pike's Peak race. We should have taken the time to spend a couple of days in the Co Springs area and made the drive up the mountain, but we didn't. If we ever get around to it, we'll probably take the street Miata... it at least has a turbo to help out with the altitude.

 

[LVSteve]

There's a mini Pikes Peak climbing west out of Jerome in Arizona to get over the mountains and head towards Prescott. Two-lanes, narrow, with a monster amount of crowning/camber. Saw some worried looking faces in the cars coming down the hill. I don't recall too many guardrails.

 

[lihpster]

From listening to those who have raced up Pike's Peak, I understand that while the narrowness and unprotected dropoffs are issues, what also is a problem is weather. Specifically, the fact that it will change several times going up the hill some days. The lower section may be foggy, the middle section will have rain and wind, and it will be sunny up top. Or the other way around.

 

[Rodan]

There's a mini Pikes Peak climbing west out of Jerome in Arizona to get over the mountains and head towards Prescott. Two-lanes, narrow, with a monster amount of crowning/camber. Saw some worried looking faces in the cars coming down the hill. I don't recall too many guardrails.

Highway 89A... driven, and ridden it many times. I've come around corners to find vehicles coming at me in my lane, tourists stopped in the traffic lane to take pictures, you name it. It got bad enough that I stopped going that way unless I had to. Only 7000ft on top, though... nothing like PP.

From listening to those who have raced up Pike's Peak, I understand that while the narrowness and unprotected dropoffs are issues, what also is a problem is weather. Specifically, the fact that it will change several times going up the hill some days. The lower section may be foggy, the middle section will have rain and wind, and it will be sunny up top. Or the other way around.

This year's race was limited to halfway up because of 50+mph winds on top.

I looked into running the Virginia City Hillclimb, and one here in Southern AZ, but decided the events are just too dangerous. We stick to the racetrack, where there aren't any boulders, cliffs or trees in the runoff areas.