Tag Archives: Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon

Colorado

Pikes Peak & Margaritaville (Elks Lodge 309 – COS, CO)

After I finished my early morning blog post yesterday (Saturday), I drove over to the start point for the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon in Manitou Springs.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I’ve volunteered to drive one of these vans many times in past-years.

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The volunteer drivers met up at a table on the corner of Manitou Avenue and El Paso Blvd, right next to the old Cog Railway train display.  Click HERE for more info on this 1890’s train from www.rgusrail.com.

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I was assigned to van #2.  I picked up the keys, a gas card, and a box lunch, courtesy of Subway®.  It was a little after 5 AM when we loaded up the first vans with race volunteers/officials and we headed up to the top of Pikes Peak.  After passing through the toll gate; where you usually have to pay $12 per person or $40 per carload, it is 19 miles to the top.

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Once at the top of Pikes Peak, we lined up the vans alongside the summit road and waited for the first runners.  Click HERE to see more on the drive up Pikes Peak.

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We set up cones and tape to help direct the runners to loading zones.  There would be two loading zones, one for shuttling people to Glen Cove and the other for Devil’s Playground.  These are the two designated areas that the vans would shuttle runners to and from.   Devil’s Playground is primarily a parking area where many of the runners with friends and/or family could park their cars, and Glen Cove is where the runners can board a bus for a return trip to Manitou Springs.  The volunteers also set up a nice tent with refreshments for the runners at Glen Cove while they waited for the bus.

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Rear view of the Summit House at the top of Pikes Peak.

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Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The ultra-prominent 14,115-foot (4,302.31 m) fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, 12.0 miles (19.3 km) west by south (bearing 263°) of downtown Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike who was unable to reach the summit. The summit is higher than any point in the United States east of its longitude.  Click HERE for more info from wikipedia™.

Here’s a few pictures from the summit just after sunrise:

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The battery in my iPhone went dead so there are no more pictures during the day.  Yes, I know you’re disappointed 🙁  I even brought along a charger with a USB connector but my van didn’t have a connection.

The weather was great all morning and I probably made about 7 ‘runs’ once the runners started getting to the top.  I made about 3 trips to Devil’s Playground and 4 to Glen Cove.  As in years past – it was great fun… and when else can you take multiple trips up (and down) “America’s Mountain” for free?  It was also interesting to hear all the stories from the runners about their trials and tribulations during the ascent.  Some runners even encountered mountain goats on the trail.  The general consensus I heard from the runners was that this was a good year weather-wise, and the officials did a good job of staggering the start times so that the waves of runners didn’t bottle-neck as in years past.

For the results of the Pikes Peak Ascent click HERE.

After we got back down about 3 PM, I gassed up the van and drove over to the rental agency (InterMountain Coach) to help shuttle the other volunteer drivers back to the parking area in Manitou after they dropped off their vans.  My van (#2) would be used again on Sunday for the Marathon so I didn’t have to drop it off.  I did a quick-charge on my phone while I waited at the rental agency and snapped a picture of the trip odometer.  I did 115 miles for the day!

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If you’d like to volunteer to help out in future race events, contact a volunteer coordinator at this link here.  Or just email Jeremy Jost @ jostjc77@yahoo.com

Remember, it’s not just for the free t-shirt –  but the experience!

I turned down the free dinner that was offered for the volunteer drivers and headed on back to the Elks Lodge for “Margaritaville Night”.  Stilla and I had already paid in advance for the buffet style dinner of pulled-pork and BBQ chicken.  This is an annual charity event held here at Elks Lodge 309.  This year, the fund-raising event is to help out an 8 month-old child that is battling cancer.

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We met up with friends and fellow FCRV members Biff & Linda.  They saved us a good table out on the grass near the pool.

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The food and entertainment was great, but a quick rain-shower passed through that made us take our meals inside for a short time.  It cleared up quickly and we were soon back at our table.  Biff & Linda headed home after the silent auction results were posted; but of course, we only have to walk out the back gate to the pool to be back at our house 🙂  So we stayed on as the party continued into the late evening with lots of dancing and entertainment.  There were even a few people that jumped, or otherwise –  somehow ended up in the pool 🙂

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Another good day!  Check back to see what we’re up to next…

 

 

Colorado

Shuttling Vans for the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon (Elks Lodge 309 – COS, CO)

This is a very early morning post to fill you in on Friday’s activities.  It’s now 2:30 in the morning on Saturday and since I volunteered to drive a van to pick up runners at the top of Pikes Peak for the 60th Annual Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon, I have to be at the starting line by 5 AM.  I went to bed early – which apparently was a mistake since I’m up already and ready to go… so I thought I’d get this post done.

After picking up the Harley from Mike’s shop, aka “Chuck’s Auto” that I left there on Thursday after the flat tire incident, (link HERE for that post), I rode over to Manitou Springs.

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Stilla stayed at the lodge to spend the day at the pool with our two daughters and grandson.

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I met up with about a dozen other volunteer drivers in the parking lot behind the Moroccan Restaurant next to Memorial Park in Manitou Springs to pick up passenger vans from the local rental agencies.

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It took several trips back and forth from a few different rental agencies in town, but we ended up shuttling in over 40 passenger vans.

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We packed all the vans tightly into the small area of the parking lot allotted for our use.

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I’ll be back here before 5 AM (on Saturday) to pick up one of these vans to drive up Pikes Peak so we can shuttle the runners back down from the top after they finish their run.

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We finished getting all the passenger vans by 3 PM so I wandered the tents that had been set up in Memorial Park.  This is the runner registration area, and vendors (for running-related stuff) had also set up shop under the tents to peddle their wares.  There was also a beer tent set up with tables, but unfortunately it wasn’t open yet 🙁

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There was a spaghetti dinner scheduled for later on in the evening here that I could have attended, but I already had plans to meet Stilla and others back at the Elks Lodge for Pizza.

I took a ‘short-cut’ through Garden of the Gods to get back to the Elks Lodge in time for the Friday Night Pizza.

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It’s always nice to ride through scenic Garden of the Gods and since I grew up here it always seems like a trip down memory lane.

When I was a kid living down the street on Beckers Lane from the Garden of the Gods Trading Post; I remember the owner’s wife (Mrs. Straussenback) would take me and my brothers into the trading post for treats.  They used to have a little glass-enclosed case with the mummy of an Indian child inside that always fascinated me.  It’s long gone now.

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I rode through the balanced rock area of the Garden of the Gods.  (Don’t forget to click on the links in green-font to see more)  We used to walk here from the house as kids and play on the rocks.  There used to be steps and a guardrail so you could go on top of the rock in the middle of the road back then.

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The “Kissing Camels” rock formation as seen from a distance.

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When I got back to the Lodge it was Pizza time.  It was also initiation night for our friend Bob McCord.  Bob & Mary are also in the same camping group (FCRV Rolling Springs) with my Dad and stepmom Elaine.  You may remember them from previous posts.  Bob finally joined up with the Elks so he can take advantage of the RV parking at Lodges across the country, like we do.

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Bob & Mary McCord at Elks Lodge 309 on his initiation night.
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(L to R) Stilla, Linda, and Biff at Elks Lodge 309 Pizza night.

OK, that’s all for now… gotta run and pick up my van to drive up Pikes Peak.  Check back later for a recap of the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon.

Colorado

Sitting Still (Elks Lodge 309, Colorado Springs CO)

Not a whole lot going on… it’s been about a week since I last posted.  Here’s a quick summary of what we’ve been up to since we parked at the COS Elks Lodge again:

• We’ve visited with our daughters Jennifer and Joleen a couple/few times and showed off all the pictures of our most recent trips with the grandson.

• I washed the Coach… front , back, and drivers side… still need to do the passenger side and roof.  Now if I could just get some waxing done in between rain showers.

• I went swimming with grandson Kaan in the Elks Lodge pool in between rain showers.  Are you seeing the trend for rain showers here?

• I got my South Dakota plates through our mail forwarding service Americas Mailbox.  I wrote about this HERE.  I hope to get personalized plates; “URBNSKP” for the Coach when it’s due for renewal next year.

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New plates on the Silverado – Urban Escape Vehicle 1 (UEV 1).
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New plate on the Harley – Urban Escape Vehicle 2 (UEV 2).

• I helped dad pick up his Coach from Pikes Peak Traveland.  He had new slideout awnings put on.  Dad is still recovering from surgery on his nose where the doctor’s removed some skin cancer.  The surgery turned out to be a little more extensive than expected and he still has to go back this Friday for one last procedure (hopefully).

Pikes Peak Traveland didn’t complete the work the first time we went to pick up his Coach.  The technician(s) forgot to put in the additional screws on the awning rail that Dad requested.  So they had to keep the Coach an extra couple days to remove one of the awnings again and do the job right.

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• We attended taco tuesday at the Elks Lodge with Biff & Linda.

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Stilla, Linda, and Biff at Elks Lodge 309 “Taco Tuesday”. Seems like we picked up right where we left off a couple months ago before we took off…

• I attended a Drivers meeting for the Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon.  They even had a free meal from Rudy’s BBQ.  I’ve volunteered many times over the last 7 years or so that we’ve been in Colorado Springs to drive a van.  I’ll be shuttling the runners back down from the top of Pikes Peak after their run, usually a half-dozen trips or more.  Check back in for a recap of that event which is scheduled for this upcoming weekend (14-15 Aug).

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Park Ranger discussing braking techniques at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon.
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Transportation directors Brett Iverson and Joe Simpich provided detailed instructions at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. (Joe is in the orange shirt)
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Rudy’s BBQ at the Drivers and Volunteers meeting for the 2015 Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon. (Transportation director, Brett is in the purple shirt on the right)

If you’re interested in volunteering for this event click HERE.  They’re always looking for good drivers and when else can you drive up Pikes Peak (numerous times in a day) for free?  It’s a lot of fun.

Stay tuned…