Pikes Peak attempt #3, very weathery September, 2004.

This report was originated on KLR650.net, and is imported here with minor editing for structure (due to the import process).  Typos, etc., have mostly been left as they are, fixed only for clarity in some cases.  Martin is the report writer.

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Well, after two weather-related aborted rides to Pikes Peak (related elsewhere), Laurie and I made it up there on Sept 27, 2004.

It had stormed up there the day/night before, and there was still some snow on the peak and in places on the road. Overall, the ride was wonderful. It was cool, and the sky was very sinister and dramatic all day, but the ride was easy.

My digital camera had gotten botched the day before on Rampart Range Road, and we hadn't discovered this until we were on top (we had decided to ride straight up and stop for photos on the way down--a good plan).

We bought a cheap disposable camera at the top and used it for photos. These cameras are not worth much, with cheap lenses and no real exposure control. Also, the image you see through the viewfinder is much smaller than the image you end up with, so many of our shots were framed badly and the subject was too small. I had to crop most of the shots after I scanned them, and then it was a pain adjusting the brightness, contrast, etc.

Anyway, here are a few of the shots that were worth anything.


This is the view to the south, taken from the observation deck at the top. That's a bit of the service road at the bottom of the shot.

This is the cogwheel train (a single car for this group of passengers) that rides up from Manitou Springs to the top.

Just outside this shot is the giftshop/snackbar (to the left) that makes this a good place to enjoy the view and have a hot cocoa.

This was about midday when we headed for home, and temps were in the high 30's F at the top. It was 50-60's lower down in the trees.

That's Laurie on her Shadow Aero 750 headed down on a stretch of road that had been snow-dusted as we came up an hour or so earlier. It was hard packed mostly, but loose gravel in places.

Here, we hadn't dropped to tree line yet, and there was a parking area we pulled off onto for this photo.

Much of the road looked like this--mountain on one side and abyss on the other. The shoulder of the road can be soft in places. Some of the great views were not good places to stop for photos.

This was a good view of how the road is very twisty. Tourist traffic was very light (almost nothing), due largely to the weather and the late season. We passed maybe four or five cars on the way down (and that one tour bus).

When we got back down to the Crystal Reservoir rest area, I took this shot back up toward the peak. This is 13 miles (or so) from the top.  It was also a perfect aspen-viewing day.

Last parting shot of Pikes Peak as we headed on the last several miles of pavement back toward US-24 and Manitou Springs.

An easy ride, even for Laurie's street bike.

You just gotta dress for all weather.