Pikes Peak 2010

[Trentk]

awesome story, please post the vid soon and perhaps a total cost to do this one.

thanks,

[jdwrigh]

Nice editorial Michael. I also wrote my own version regarding the happenings of race week and as soon as it is online I will post a link.

As far as costs go, here is what I experienced this year:

Entry - $550 (this can be as low as $400 if you register early but it can also go up to $1,000 if you wait to the last minute as it goes up $150 every month and a half or so. See the website for details).

Hotel - $750 (I took two days to travel there and back since it was a 12 hour drive. If you drove all the way through you could save $175 here or so).

Gas - $300 (I get about 19 miles/gallon).

Misc. - $150

Total - $1,750

This also assumes that you have the correct bike setup. You will probably want TT tires and a sway bar minimum which would be about another $800.

[Troy31]

Congrats to Michael and Jeff for making it to the top. Hope to see you guys back here next year. Good job Michael on you time improvement, I'm gonna have to work extra hard next year to try to stay in front of you.

The green waved and we took off. I was side by side with the second place qualifier, Troy Smith, through the first corner and then had to slide in behind him. I ran with he and Bob Kline for a couple of miles at a pace way over my head and then I blew a corner. I turned into a sweeping left at somewhere over 60 mph and the front end just pushed. I got on the brakes and corrected to drive straight off and prepared for the impact but went off in a place with no trees and no drop off. I turned hard and popped over the ditch back onto the pavement with the engine still running so I dropped it into first and took off. I knew any hope of keeping up with #1 and #2 was over so I had to calm down and still run a smooth race and now I was by myself only loosing 5-10 seconds.

If you were keeping up with Bob and me you were probably doing over 70, not 60. Next time you get a push don't hit the brakes, let off the gas and shift you weight forward and the front tires will bite. I've learned that the hard way. In 08 I had mine push in one of the lower lefts on race day and just stayed in it, quad finally turned just as I hit the outside of the road. I got lucky and don't try that anymore. Craig was behind me at the time and said he thought I was going in the trees.

As far as cost to race, at a minimum you need tires and sway bar like Jeff said. If you want to be towards the front of the pack you gonna need a lot of motor work, be as close to 50" wide as you can, lowered, as much weight off the quad as possible, and a lot of motor work.

[Jeeper0505]

Hey Troy, glad to see you on this board.
My off was definately lack of skill but fortunately it turned out ok. I'm sure we were well over 70 but figured I was hauled it down a bunch before I went off.

As for costs for me, I take my two kids and a trailer for all the stuff so we burned 165 gallons for the entire week; $440.00

Race fuel. bike was really thirsty this year; $50-60

New set of Hoosiers; $360.00

Hotel. we had a big room for all three of us; $975.00 (Troy cheats by living at the base of the mountain!).

Entry. Gotta do it as early as you can; $400.00

Food for the week; $150.00-$300.00 (figure you gotta eat anyway so this may or may not add to the total).

Extra tickets for family to see the race; $205.00

New trailer tire after a blowout; $85.00

Memories and a trophy; Priceless....

[Troy31]

Found this site searching for pictures and video, not much out there this year unless your name is Millen or Tajima.

My race week expenses are pretty low compared to you out of towners but I make up for that in the months leading up to the race. Should only be another $2k to finish the quad for next year.

[jdwrigh]

If you want to be towards the front of the pack you gonna need a lot of motor work, be as close to 50" wide as you can, lowered, as much weight off the quad as possible, and a lot of motor work.

Hey Troy,

Glad to see you on here with the rest of us on the sunny side!

I echoed your comments in my write-up as well and I even mentioned you for helping me earlier when I was going to race my LTR. It was a great time!

[racerguynn]

Great Job guys. Will be up there with you next year. Entry opens Nov 1. Did you guys notice a bunch of trash talking by Layton or the quad/bike reps. Ive talked to a lot of people who said a lot of things were said to the point of people not coming back unless Layton is fired, same with Bill and Sonny.

[redneck racer]

sweet write up Jeff and Mike. glad you both finished and had fun. also glad you kind of kept it on the road (Mike) and didnt fall off a cliff. see ya all at the next race.

[jdwrigh]

The article is now on the home page of AZQ. Thanks Jeremy!

Buck also placed it on the Team Big-O website here:

http://teambigotires.com/PPIHC.asp

Thanks again guys. You made the half-day I spent writing that worth it!

[Jeeper0505]

Just posted the first part of the on board video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grvFI8bkw00

First time ever posting to YouTube so hopefully it will work ok.