2018 PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB
P100
Feature
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM?
This is my third year at the Pikes Peak
International Hill Climb. For the last two, I
have competed for KTM North America and
Cycle News, with incredible support from
Pirelli and road race manager, Oscar Solis.
This year was to be slightly different, as
last year I had signed to ride the Spanish-
built Bottpower BOTT XR1R, a custom
motorcycle that uses the old two-valve Buell
air-cooled motor and was ridden to the 2017
Exhibition Class win by Travis Newbold.
That ride was short-lived. Getting money
to go racing is never easy, and this proved
just so for Bottpower, who sportingly
pulled out of the race at the end of April
and handed their entry to me, if I could
find a bike and program with which to
compete just six weeks before race day.
Luckily for me, my old team welcomed
me back with open arms. I felt like a dog
with its tail between its legs, because I
was the one who left them, thinking they
wouldn't want to run me for a third year.
What's the saying? To assume only makes
an "ass" out of "u" and "me…"
My 2017 KTM 1290 Super Duke R had
not turned a wheel since last year's race.
It sat in KTM's workshop for a full year on
a battery trickle charger, so all that was
needed to make it mountain-ready was a
fresh gut of oil, some new spark plugs and
some new tires.
(Below) Early,
early morning
on top of Devil's
Playground. It
was cold. Really,
really, cold.
