Day2 - On to the top of Pikes Peak

Today we started out at 8:30AM from Clayton, NM. While it is a nice little town, I am glad to be leaving. The wind is incredible out there. We fought a stiff sidewind for about 100 miles outside of Clayton and fought the same stiff wind for 100 miles on the way out. It was a serious wind!

Karen and I in the morning, ready to go.

A small church in Clayton, NM.

 

A windmill repair. 

Armando and Paula behind us.

We made it to Raton, NM by mid-moring. This is a very nice place to drive through. The Raton pass is about 6000-7000 feet elevation and just gorgeous. I have only stopped in Raton to get gas because this city always falls at a point that it was in a mid-day. I called Shari and arranged for lunch at Phantom Canyon and Brewing company.

    Here I am messing with the suff...

Armando and Paula riding in Raton, NM. 

Armando & Paula coming into Colorado Springs. 

We met up with Shari and her friend Randy in Colorado Springs at 12:30 just in time for lunch.

Phantom Canyon was a great place to eat lunch. We spent too long talking but I only get to see Shari every few years so it was worth it. We left the Phantom Canyon and headed for Pikes Peak.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

I am parking in front of Phantom Canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Randy and Shari. 

Shari and I at Phantom Canyon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pikes Peak is the most visited mountain in the US and the second most visited moutain in the world. It is 14,110 feet above sea level and is one of the famous 14ers (14,000 feet). This was as an interesting trip. The road to the top is only about 19 miles but the National Park Service said it takes 2 hours round trip. This road is gravel some of the way and there are several 10MPH switchback turns to get to the top. I tracked my altitude as we make our way up. It was quite spectacular. As the altitude got to 12000 feet the trees got smaller until about 13000 feet when we got above the tree level. From that point on we simply had rocks and snow. At 13000 feet we still had several switchbacks to go and from our inital vantage point it looked like we had miles to go. Once we got to the top it was quite obvious we had difficulty breathing. Just parking the bike was difficult as the ground was loose gravel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additionally, at the top of Pikes Peak is the souvenir shop that sells the "famous" Pikes Peak doughnuts. Apparently you MUST eat one as it contains no calories at 14000 feet. I ate one... note to self, don't do that again. The trip down Pikes Peak is just as spectacular but different on one respect: Going up you keep the engine on high rev's, going down you brake... hard.

At the bottom of the moutain, they make you stop to do a laser spot check on the temperature of your brakes. We passed.

We continued on to Boulder for the end of the day, just over 500 miles for the second day in a row. Prior to arriving in Boulder, Armando and I were having the late afternoon energy drop and decided to try a 5 hour energy drink. I was not expecting much but it did what is said it would do, I felt alert for the rest of the day. We washed our bikes and then went to dinner at 10PM! I am not used to that but this is an adventure so we deal with it...