Road Trip Recap, Days 3 &4: Pikes Peak Hill Climb and Rural Colorado

Kinja'd!!! "MikeFetters" (mikefetters)
06/27/2016 at 11:57 • Filed to: None

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The last two days (Saturday and Sunday) of my Epic Road Trip have been filled with spectacular roads, jaw-dropping views and of course, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. After stopping in Montrose to post on the 25th, I headed East on US 50 to Salida. This road was absolutely gorgeous, and took me through a number of small towns and lovely passes. I’d recommend it to anybody who has the good fortune of being in this part of the state. Salida is one of Colorado’s small town gems, and is absolutely worth driving to. From Salida I headed North to Buena Vista (pronounced Bewwna Vista, seriously) and then East again on US 24 to pikes peak. All of these are truly excellent roads.

While the drive to Pikes was great, let’s be honest, the real reason for all of this writing is to build up to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and all of its glory. And oh my, was it glorious.

This year marked the 100th anniversary of the first hill climb in 1916. To commemorate the occasion, the field of racers was 100 in number, 65 of which were cars/trucks/a bad Polaris Razr and 35 of which were motorcycles/quads/sidecars. The diversity of vehicles was one of the great features of the race, and kept it exciting throughout the 8 or so hours of running. There were quite a few red flags during the race, and towards the end of the day the weather started causing problems, but overall it was an excellent experience. I camped at 9 mile, which was filled with very friendly folks, and was a great vantage point to take in the race, while also not freezing to death.I’ll post some images from the race later, but in the meantime you can check out my instagram (link below) to see some videos of the race.

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Today I’m in Denver all day, headed to Lincoln, NE tomorrow.


DISCUSSION (2)

Kinja'd!!! MountainRoadPhysicist > MikeFetters
06/27/2016 at 12:39

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Devil’s Playground is another awesome spot to view the race from. If you have time, I would recommend traveling along highway 34, just west of Estes Park.

Kinja'd!!! MikeFetters > MountainRoadPhysicist
06/27/2016 at 13:44

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Devils Playground is on the list for next time! I hadn't been before, so I figured I would camp out to be safe. 34 is a gorgeous road.