Pikes Peak attempt #2, 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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On Sunday, Sept 26th, 2004 we geared up and headed out again. Once more, events caused us to be delayed, and again it was in the afternoon. We rode to the Pikes Peak gate and talked to the ranger. He told us that although it was cold, and the top of the mountain was in clouds again, the weather was pretty good.

Laurie put on rain gear (as a windbreak) and we mounted up. The ranger then came over to us in the parking lot just as we were about to ride up to the gate. Bad news. In the time it took Laurie to put on her rain gear, the weather at the top had changed and it was now thunderstorming.

So much for that idea. At least we hadn't paid our $20 yet.

We decided to split up for riding home. She went back through Colorado Springs and then up Parker Road to Castle Rock and back south to Larkspur.

I, on the other hand, needed some riding worthy of the KLR.

I decided to ride the length of Rampart Range Road, from the southern end (in the Garden of the Gods recreation area) to the northern end, 70+ miles away near Sedalia.

I had ridden much of the north end, and some of the hundreds of forest roads, fire roads, one- and two-track trails in the Jackson Creek campground and riding area, but I was completely unfamiliar with the central and south parts. I had been up on Devil's Head rock formation a few times, too. That's the highest point of the Rampart Range, a spur of the Colorado Rockies that runs in front of the main mountain range like a protective wall (hence its name).

I rode into the Garden of the Gods (always beautiful--too bad it's not a larger area) and turned off onto the Rampart Range Road. It is known as road 300 in the trail maps and in the fire road system.

The first 8-10 miles was a bitch. Steep climb, rutted and rocky, often riding over rock instead of dirt. In other words, it was perfect and wonderful. Some of the tourist who were attempting it in their city cars were in deep doo-doo and knew it. I passed several cars that were awkwardly turning around on the narrow dirt road. A few jeeps, 4x4's, and some SUVs were on the road, but for the most part the road was mine.

The climb up onto Rampart Range is like this if you start in Monument, too. Same kind of rugged, moderately steep road until you make it to the top. From Woodland Park or Sedalia, the road is much more heavily traveled by all sorts of cars, campers, campers, and is very easy riding. Basically, it's just a dirt road that is well maintained. But from Garden of the Gods or Monument, it's more challenging.

At some point in the ascent, there was a shooting range to the left of the road. It looked like a former quarry that is an "unofficial/official" shooting area. Heck, it even has a road sign pointing it out. There were about a dozen cars there, and about 20 people shooting. After climbing past the range, I stopped along the on-coming shoulder of the road and looked down on the shooters (I was maybe 100' above the side of the quarry). I watched a while, just to see what kind of shooters were down there. Mostly handguns, but I think there were a couple of .22 rifles in there.

For those of you readers who have never had a bullet go past you, let me take a moment to explain the "crack and thump" phenomenon. First the bullet goes by, sometimes with a whizzing or buzzing sound if it's a ricochet and the bullet is tumbling. Otherwise, if it is supersonic, there is a tiny sonic boom as it passes you. This is the crack.

Then, the sound of the muzzle blast arrives, muffled a bit by distance. This is the thump.

As I sat on the KLR listening to the popping and booming (some large caliber handguns were being fired), I heard a high pitched ricochet go off and away from me. I started to doubt my position. I straightened the bike out and folded up the side stand.

CRACK. The bullet (probably a .22) passed somewhere in front of me. I didn't hear the specific thump that belonged to it because of the non-stop shooting below, but the crack was enough for me.

Now I'm not saying anyone took a shot at me, nor do I believe that is what happened. I'm just saying I was way too close to the range, a bit "downrange" from the shooters (although well over their heads). I started the bike and rode back to the right shoulder of the road and put my helmet back on.

I had previously been a SWAT sergeant for a few years, and have been "downrange" before. The first time I was exposed to the sound of bullets going by was in the Army. The "crack and thump" wasn't new to me, but right then I was in civilian mode, and although it didn't shake me up, I did have to deliberately "shake it off" and laugh. Got more riding to do.

Another few miles up onto the Rampart, and the riding got easier. With Pikes Peak in view, it was gorgeous even if still cloudy. The top of the peak was now out of the clouds, but it was still dreary. I pulled over again onto the on-coming shoulder of the road and took a photo of the bike and the peak in the background.

Just after I took this next photo, I was walking back to the bike and closing up the camera. When I was one step from the bike, its sidestand sank into the soft shoulder and the bike started to fall away from me. I grabbed the bike with one hand and slowed its fall enough that I got a partial grip on it with the other hand which still had the camera. I fumbled with the camera and the bike for a second, then grabbed the down-tube of the subframe and the bash plate and tugged for all I was worth. As the bike fell over, I feared being pulled off the road with it (it was about 300' of fairly steep drop). Just before the bike fell fully onto its side, the side stand folded, the tires lost traction and skidded toward me. The swing arm cracked my left shin pretty good, but the bike just laid down politely on its left side.

After catching my breath and setting the camera aside, I dragged the bike away from the edge so I could get some decent footing and I stood it back up. I still have one of those flat rocks you can see under the bike. It made a good, albeit heavy side stand support "foot".


(It was cloudier and darker than this photo suggests; I brightened some of these images because they were too dark)

Whew! Off for more riding.

The rest of the ascent looked mostly like this:

Looking back at one point, this was the view, looking south-east.

Pikes Peak is just to the right of this image. Colorado Springs is in the distance to the left.

That's part of the Rampart Range Road in the middle of the shot, and that is exactly what the clouds actually looked like.

BTW, that hump in the mountain range is Cheyenne Mountain, home of NORAD (and where they keep the Stargate!).

Here's another of Pikes Peak and the valley below. Part of the road up to the peak is in the center of the shot.

Most of the main forest road (300) looked like this, although it wasn't always this well-groomed.

I don't remember if this was a numbered side-road or an undesignated trail. I rode a lot of side trails and spurs, most of which were nowhere as well-traveled as this one. Some of them were single-track trails that the KLR was a tad too heavy for. That didn't stop me, of course. However, I did have to pick the bike back up a few times...

In places the Rampart Road was pretty sandy, as if they had put down more gravel to build the road surface up. The deep gravel/sand parts were the worst--partly due to being a surprise.

I took a brief sidetrack to Rampart Reservoir (camping, picnic area, fishing). I hadn't even know this was up here. The gate attendant waived the $5 day fee and gave me a 20 minute pass just to go check it out.

From this point north on the Rampart Range Road, traffic picks up and the road is in very good condition everywhere. Lots of tourist and camping traffic from Woodland Park come into this area.

Just north of the reservoir is a high grassland area that was also a surprise to me.

This was an ATV trail that I got onto for several miles. It finally connected back to a numbered trail and that got me back to Rampart Road.

As I neared Devil's Head (an area I knew well) I took fewer photos of the trail. From here you can see that it is 26 miles north to Sedalia and 47 miles south to Colorado Springs, about where I started.

Oh, and I had earlier taken the detour to Woodland Park (only 4.5 miles from Rampart Road) just to see where the connection was to US 24, in case I wanted to get onto the Rampart Range from there. Lots of good restaurants in Woodland Park. Good bars, too.

This was about the last shot I took, since I was entering familiar territory. There is a bit of washboard there, but it wasn't as bad as it looks in the pic. This was early evening, about 6pm. The sky looked like that the entire day--very dramatic. Temps in the 55-60 F range, very light breeze.

Wonderful.

Devil's Head formation is just over the trees. It is an amazing craggy peak with upthrusting rocks and deep crevices surrounding the fire lookout station at the top. This picture does no justice to the sight of the lone, ragged peak that has nothing around it for 50 miles.

The fire lookout station is 1.7 miles from the parking lot, up a fairly well maintained hiking trail. I've never been up there during the daytime, only in the middle of the night (several times). Dont ask. With a full moon, the view from the top is mystical. You look down on a hell of broken rocks and jutting spires all around.

Again, the photo is worthless compared to the sight from the top. If you hike up there, the metal stairs and catwalk to the tippy top is an experience in itself. There's a cabin below the actual peak where the forest rangers (volunteers mostly) live.

To those of you who are unfamiliar with the Rampart Range and Devil's Head, I cannot give you the words to impress upon you how cool it is to climb up to the top at night just soak it in. The lights of Denver and Colorado Springs glow beneath you, and rugged, ragged ground beneath you.

I was up there once at night (alone--bummer) and watched thunderstorms in the distance, both to the north and south.

Magical.


And probably a little bit dangerous, since you are the tallest thing around for many miles. Anyway, it's marvelous.

A closer shot of Devil's Head peak.

There were some more dramatic views of Devil's Head when I was nearer--I just didn't think to photograph them. Rats.

All along the Rampart Range Road, there are places where the rock formations are right alongside the road. Lots of places to climb out onto providing great views. There are also lots of unofficial gathering spots where locals and tourists build bonfires and (I'm just guessing here) indulge in adult beverages.

I saw many places miles off the main trails where people had been shooting. Mostly shotguns (shells left behind (litterbugs) and bits of clay pigeons scattered around the rocks), but some .22 casings and the occasional handgun shell casings.

All in all, it was probably close to a 200 mile day for me.

I've taken the road up from Monument up onto Rampart Range twice since these photos were taken, and rode a lot more side trails. You could spend a week, riding every day and not cover them all. And civilization in only a few miles away. Cool.

The day after this ride, Laurie and I made it out in the morning and had a great ride to the top of Pikes Peak. The weather was wonderful. The digital camera had gotten broken somehow (one of the last spills the day before) and is a goner. We bought a disposable camera at the top of Pikes Peak and took photos on the way down. Still got to get those developed.


I'll post a few (won't be a long thread like this one) when I get them back and scanned.