FAN FEST

it's a tradition, Fan Fest the night of the last practice day. 40 000 people meet in the streets of Colorado Springs to eat, drink, watch historic racing vehicles on display and some fmx air shows. we didn't spent too long on location, woke up at 2.00 am, werent ready to party, and reached a good sleep very early.

"Steph Oldschool" is wacked, so am i

GO PRO

Go Pros are great, and conveniant, but all the accessories are crap. so many vibrations on my bike climbing the hill, that GoPros clamps broke twice, and i was lucky on raceday, some cool peeps gave me my GoPro back when i was coming down after racing. well it sure isn't perfect yet, but they sell so much of those that i'm sure they'll improve soon some better clamping systems. otherwise, i do have some ideas....

at least you can check what it is when all riders are going down the hill after each practice run. most of us just coast watching the view. crusing in the middle of 150 bikes at 14000ft is something for sure.

WICH FUEL ?

after riding the practice with high octane, i went back to pump gas to compare. of course the altitude in Colorado Springs isn't the same, so we drained, put again some 112, drained again tried different fuel cocktails. Damn the bike felt so fast in the city compare to the mountain.

PPIHC PRACTICE DAY 3

Last day of Pratcice. Top section. the pits take place on "Devil's Playground". breathtaking when the sun comes up. it's a bit cold at 4.00 am.

a morning in heaven. long fast curves full speed chest on the tank. great sensations. the end of the top section was a lil less fun for me as it was long straight uphills, i felt like i could ad cranks & pedals to my bike like a ol fashioned moped, she was battling so hard and couldn't get higher rpm's.

after Practice, Stephane who walked for hours in the mountain to find good spots and i were exhausted, everybody was left before we realised. and we just stayed a bit chillin with Travis 747 and his cool dog "Baja".

Driving the Boogie Van down the mountain was sketchy. after half way we had to stop for 45mn to let the brakes cool down, the ranger measured 480°f !

ROAD RACER or SUPERMOTO ?

many different riding styles meet at the PPIHC. it's just up to you, but during raceday those tight turns were invaded by small rocks and gravels, i was moe confident with my leg out.

DEVIL S PLAYGROUND

the beginning of the top section offers big fast curves. that's something.

RIDERS MEETING

Every morning at 5.00 am before practice starts, there is a riders meeting to warn all riders of the dangers of the mountain, and remind everybody the safety procedures. it ends with a prayor because one of the racer's a priest, and a fast one. well i believe in my own church, the Church of Coolness, but this won't hurt me, and right before hitting the mountain W's, it helps getting more confidence.

THE CARS

Pikes Peak is more known for cars, the race started back in 1916. this looks way more sketchy and risky driving a car than riding a motorcycle. unfortunately i didn't get to see much the cars, as we were practicing separatly, but i could hear the agressive sounds emanning from the supercharged engines. here are few photos by Stephane Oldschool.

THE DUCATI BOYS

in the 1200cc and plus class, it was faster than fast. Alexander Smith, Marck Cernicky, Roger Carlin Dunne, Greg Tracy where destroying chronos in the mountain reaching sometimes 140 mph !

JOE KOPP TRIUMPH

Legendary Racer Joe Kopp was racing this strange but interesting Triumph on the exhibition class.

AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH

it was the desert thru the windshield just few hours ago and now we can see the snow, well it might be colder than estimated.

VAIL, CO

RIDE TO COLORADO

From California to Colorado Thru Nevada and Utah. A unique experience

MX FAN

a year ago at Thunder Valley National MX, Colorado, i was supposed to shoot action photos, but spent more time takin photographs of the crowd, and when i saw this dude, i couldn't believe it. he said" next ones are ONEindustries, Hart & Huntington, Makita, Racer X, Fox racing " !!!! sure this man is dedicated to MX.

photos ©Dimitri Coste