Race to the Top (of the Mountain)

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.com

When Zebulon Pike first laid eyes on the Colorado mountain that now bears his name, he declared that no one would ever be able to climb it. He'd be astonished to see the fields of racers scream to the top of the mountain last Sunday during the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

And it was pretty astonishing. The daredevils who conquered the mountain did it in just over 10 minutes - a feat considering that it takes the typical carload of tourists 30 minutes to cover the same 12.2 miles.

Why does it take so long? Many of the 156 turns in the 12.2 miles are hairpins posted at 10 mph. Because there are few guardrails to prevent the errant rider from plunging thousands of feet down the mountain, the climb is a sight to be seen – especially given that to execute this course in the under-10-minutes goal of the top contenders, they have to sustain an average speed of 73 mph.

An Ominous Sky

Race day dawned in near perfection with clear skies and cool but comfortable temperatures at the starting line. At a pre-race drivers meeting PPIHC Chairman Bob Gillis discussed possible inclement weather stating that he wanted to get all the cars off the start by noon, all the bikes off by 1 p.m., and have everyone back down the mountain by 2 p.m., before the afternoon thunderstorms came in.

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.comThe best laid plans doing what they do, however, it was not to be. First, one car ran off the road, with no injuries but delaying the racing for 45 minutes while rescue crews and equipment did their job. A little while later, another car ran off the road while a second one suffered mechanical failure.

Meanwhile the top of Pikes Peak was looking ominous. The sky took on a deep purple color – not quite the “purple mountain’s majesty” Katherine Bates was referring to when she wrote “America the Beautiful” here – and at times the summit was hidden by clouds. There were reports from the top of spitting snow.

“I don’t want to be on top, waiting in wet leathers,” was a comment heard more than once down at the start. With only one route to the summit, each racer waits at the top once he or she gets there, until all have arrived, and they then descend en masse – no easy feat considering the the crowd (there were more than 150 contenders, by my count) the elevation, and the gravel.

The last racer took off at 2 p.m. It was a full hour later when the entourage made its way back to the staring line.

The Race

The race is timed using transponders. They mark when the racer crosses the start and when they cross the finish. This year, although many thought there'd be record times considering newly paved portions of the path, rain on the mountain the day before slowed everyone down. The current record holder, Nobuhiro Tajima, positively dawdled, requiring 10 minutes, 11.490 seconds, in his Suzuki SX4 race car, a full 10 seconds off his 10:01.410 record from 2007.

© Ken Bingenheimer / RumBum.comAmong the motorcyclists in this multi-division event, Gary Trachy did set a new course record on his 750cc Ducati MultiStrada at 11:33.710, the fastest time of the day for a motorcycle. A variety of other division records also fell during the day.

The road was lined with race fans reaching out to high-five and congratulate the contestants when they came barreling down off the mountain.

Speaking to rookie Pikes Peak riders several days earlier about this tradition, which is unique to the PPIHC, race official Sonny Anderson had told them, “I’ve seen some wet eyes turning into the pit area” after racers come down to that welcome. “Have fun with it. Have a good time. I don’t care what else you’ve ridden, you’ve never ridden anything like this.”