I am crazy some days but on August 29th, I was especially crazy. I was invited to ride up to the top of Pike’s Peak, 14110 feet. The ride started in Manitou Springs and I started my ride from the Olympic Training Center. That was the earliest I have ever gotten up to go on a ride and this was going to be the longest time that I have spent on the bike. I am figuring that I spent in total getting to the top of Pikes Peak from the Olympic Training Center five hours on my bike. Now I would love to say that I was able to ride up non-stop to the summit but I am not that good. I rode to Manitou Springs and met up with the group that was hosting the event and hung out there until 7:00 am when the ride was to start. Once we got going I made it half way up the dirt section, around seventeen miles, before I made my first stop. At Glen Cove, little over eighteen miles and two and half hours in, I took a break and got some food into me and refilled my bottles. From that point on I took my time and stopped a lot, mostly at switchbacks and other aid stations. At 11:30 am I summitted Pike’s Peak, with a total elevation gain of 7700 feet over 24.5 miles. 
It was a gorgeous day with a bit of wind, well a lot of wind. There were 30-45 mph gusts once I was past Glen Cove. At many points in the ride I could have turned around. I never once thought about it. I figured that this is one of those climbs that once I do it I won’t ever have to say I need to do it again. Yes it would be fun to summit again but not any time in the near future. At the top of Pikes Peak my first priority was to take some photos and eat some doughnuts, yes doughnuts. The visitors center at the top of Pikes Peak makes fresh doughnuts and after that long of a ride I figured I earned it.
