Bone Chilling Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Bike, Colorado, Colorado Springs, cycling, Pikes Peak, Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb | UltraRob | Monday, August 25th, 2014 at 6:03 pm

Yesterday was the Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb. The Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb includes both a USAC race and a timed citizens ride. The cycling hill climb starts the same place as the auto hill climb. The course climbs over 4,700 feet in 12 miles to the summit of Pikes Peak at 14,115.

I helped hand out timing chips at the start line and then shot photos up on the mountain once the USAC race started. The weather at the start was similar to the past years but ominous clouds were building over the summit.

Once I headed up the mountain, I encountered strong winds and it got worse the higher I drove. Clouds were blowing throw so I was having trouble finding a well lit spot for shooting photos. Riders were getting blown around on the road by the wind gusts.

When I was shooting photos, I was shivering and kept jumping up and down in an attempt to stay a little warmer. At the last spot I stopped to shoot photos just before the summit, there was fog and the rocks were covered in ice.

Although the riders were working hard going up, I could only imagine how cold they were as some of them were in shorts and short sleeves. Although many riders sent warm clothes to the top for the ride down, they didn’t have warm enough clothes and were concerned about get blown around on the way down. The race organizers and whomever could shuttled people back down to the start where the weather was a pretty typical August day.

In spite of the weather, I shot a large number of photos. Prints and digital downloads are available on my Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb photo page. You can also check out my 2013 Pikes Peak Cycling Hill Climb photos.