Pikes Peak Descent (in full) - Cycling Inspiration & Education 

Mike, Last January I was bored laying on my couch and looking for something to do this year. I saw this video and it immediately got me going. Well, last month I finally drove to Colorado Springs and climbed Pikes Peak. It took me 3hrs and 23 minutes and my descent was 52 minutes. I still can't believe I did it! Thank you for inspiring me and my next one will be Mount Evans!

Thank you for this and all your marvelous videos. I used to live in Colorado Springs (and was lucky to live in a home about 2,000 ft. above the city). If you plan to ride up Pikes Peak, I urge you to spend up to a week getting acclimated to the high altitude and extremely dry and thin air. The altitude in the center of Colorado Springs is 6,035 ft. From experience, that feels like an order of magnitude higher than Denver (5,280 feet). WEATHER WARNING: In the summer, I urge you to get an early start on your ride. Most days along the front range of the Rocky Mountains dawn with crystal clear skies, with at most a faint wisp of clouds above the summit of Pikes Peak. That seems perfect, almost benign. But I can tell you from experience that in a matter of a few hours as the plains below Pikes Peak heat up in the summer sun, that the updrafts meeting the cold air flowing over the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains will turn those wispy clouds into menacing dark green thunderstorm anvils. Colorado Springs is notorious in the mid- to late afternoons for explosive thunderstorms that develop astonishingly quick. In particular, Colorado Springs has one of the highest counts of lightning strikes anywhere in the world, something you should heed carefully. If that's not enough, violent hailstorms can accompany the thunderstorms, pummeling cyclists and motorists with punishing, even dangerous torrents of baseball size (and baseball hard) icy hailstones. A friend owns the biggest auto body repair shop in Colorado Springs, and I have often seen cars exposed to hailstorms that looked like a golf ball. Take that seriously. One Saturday, I was driving to Colorado Springs from Denver when a powerful hailstorm struck. I got as far as the US Air Force Academy along Interstate 25 before traffic fully stopped. With menacing, gigantic dark grey-green thunderclouds above, the skies dumped three feet of hailstones in 15 minutes, completely stopping traffic. I peeled off and drove through Black Forest and the Air Force Academy to spare my car from the worst of the hail. As I did, I saw a large group of cyclists on a charity Century ride from Denver to Pueblo, helplessly exposed to the intense hailstorm. It was there that I saw a retired B-52 bomber on static display. Huddled beneath it were at least 100 cyclists seeking protection under its huge fuselage and wings. If you get acclimated to the altitude and dry air, prepare correctly, bring plenty of fluids, food, proper clothing, and get an early start, the ascent of Pikes Peak is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As this video shows, it's a doable ride with not too many steep parts. But the immense altitude and altitude change will challenge even the strongest climber. While you are in Colorado Springs, set aside time to ride through the Garden of the Gods and the US Air Force Academy. Both are sites of some famous races and offer spectacular scenery. In particular, the Air Force Academy was the site for the 1986 World Cycling Championships (won by Moreno Agrentin of Italy). The roads and terrain inside the Air Force Academy are excellent. On the east part of Colorado Springs is the Team USA | 7-11 Velodrome, a concrete outdoor facility that hosted the track events for the 1986 World Championships. It's where the US Olympic Team track riders frequently practice and race. I hope this helps you. Ride safe and enjoy Colorado.

I’d like a real-time version, as well.

Fun fun fun!!! That early section and switchbacks almost make you piss yourself. I am always just as impressed with your descents as the climbs. My knuckles get white just watching you blaze down these winding roads. much respect and thanks Mike Cotty and Col Collective crew.

More videos like this needed please. I'd like to donate to this channel.

Loved the video of you going up, and I would totally watch this at 1x speed given the beautiful views and your music selection/taste. Great work and I'm looking forward to more climbs from you guys!

Oh my! Your best yet, Mike. You are such an inspiration to us mere mortals. And thanks for the view of your GPS. How you set up your display is interesting.

dude your line is PERFECT! it's exactly how i would ride also. DEF my favorite video so far! great work bro!

Just got done watching the climbing video of this and now watching this one, wow thank you so much for these! Absolutely gorgeous scenery and great information about the climb and decent. I am doing this on Saturday and this has helped immensely. Thank you :)

Very nice video once again, can't believe how fast he's taking these sharp turns !

I ride Colorado on my TREK Domane 2.0, as this is my home state, and I will tell you that even at 6300ft, you can pick up speed quickly and for me, that is a rush!! There are plenty of hills to ascend and of course descend!! I love to get the climb out of the way first, then rip the hills as fast as I can go! Ride safe.

great video - love the tips - and commentaries.. and great sound track too....

Chapeau, Mike! The climb was a beast, this looked pretty technical.

Thrilling, beautiful and educative video, thank you

great advice you give guys, love the way to make these videos . all the best !! thanks for the motivation

Great,stunning place,gorgeous music!!!!

Excellent video! Thank you, Mike Cotty!

Great video and great music!!

👍👍👍great views ! great audio ! thx !

Thanks for this amazing footage. I live a couple hours from there and now I want to do this one this summer!!

Wow! Great decent makes the climb worth it. I took the easy way up in August via the Cog Train. Was very cold at the top

always one..but great ride chapeau Bro'😀

Epic Climb and Descent! Absolutely stunning scenery! Beautiful roads and views. A very different kind of epic than what we are used to in Europe with it's narrow and really steep roads but at a MUCH lower elevation! Thumbs up to the Col Collective for taking us through this wonderful mountain! A quick question: what action cam was used when filming? And where was it placed?

Mike - my favorite thing on the planet is to fly to Colorado and ride my bike up and down mountains (I like the down part much more). I have RU-vid videos of Trail Ridge Road, Cottonwood Pass, etc., and this takes it to a whole new level. I use my K-Edge dual Garmin-GoPro mount where you get a bit of the tire on the bottom of the frame, but I loved your perspective. I assume it was mounted on the stem - did you do anything special? Again, thanks for sharing such an awesome video.

Having a blast heh ! no doubt !! muy bien Muchacho ... it has to be that way !

I gotta save this one!! Michael Cotty actually sitting down on his bike!!!!! :-)

Thanks for this awesome upload...GREAT video!

Everything was fine until mile marker 9. From that point on, the sufferfest was on!!! It was an INCREDIBLE RIDE!!!

Way to cool. This a must do on my list. By the way great music.

stunning, great video - inspiration and motivation... do the thinner air really make a big difference in speed and acceleration?

Oh-The people in the SUV are doing some of the "video taping",I guess it's good to have a friend along the way,for that run,...lol!

Btw Mike, that was mega! Great run 👍 What was your top speed and what was your average for the entire descent.

. Finally, someone not descending Pike's Peak on a mountain bike.

For the last few years, there's been a regular, organized, supported ride up Pike's Peak in the summer. This year's is August 13, 2016. facebook.com/pikespeakcyclinghillclimb/ . It's good fun, and cars aren't allowed on the road until late morning/early afternoon. There's also a fully supported ride/race that goes up Mt. Evans (14, 130') on July 23, 2016.

Great one! But perhaps you could do a shorter video but real time descent next time? Like one section, without cuts. Just a thought, keep up the good work. Thanks as always!

YEAH!!!-THIS IS THE"REAL SHIT",RIGHT HERE,DUDE-WATCH HIM PASS THAT SUV GOING THE SAME WAY,...LOL!

That’s Crazy, just wondering what tires you were using on Pikes Peak.

Nice job! Thanks.

Great music!

Was this in August? What were the temps like at the summit? What time of day did you descend? I know your ascent video was shot first thing in the AM, according to the video. Amazing.... my palms and feet were sweaty the entire time just watching. Can hardly wait to give it a go myself this summer. Thank you so much for making this amazing video!

Mike, great videos, love them. I was wondering what 8 fields you use on your Garmin? Do you change them often or stick to the same 8?

Great video again. Enjoyed the ascent and descent. Great music too! Who are these bands you choose? What was your top speed on this descent? The road surface looked smooth. Chapeau Mike.

downhill got to be chilly even in summer

Great video and lovely location. What wheels were you using? I ask because that looks like an extreme test of carbon clinchers braking and descending capabilities - a wheel that survives that without getting cooked is going to stand up to anything the rest of us can throw at it.

The video and soundtrack are amazing! Do you have a song list?

Dang dude, are you one of those Red Bull downhill racer guys? You take those turns so fast! Cool music by the way.

Great video. The one thing that I hope all notice and practice are your good lines, you kept youself safe on the blind corners by not crossing over onto the other side coming out of corners. As a motorcyclist and bicyclist, the one thing I've seen that makes me cringe is the cyclists that cross over the centerline in mid to late corner. So dangerous!

AWESOME!

That would be an amazing ride on a well designed & built gravity bike

Well lookee heeer Mikey's been the big ole US of A.. ya'll have a nice day now y'hear :p

Love that song Make You Complete, but I can't find Apelayo Music in internet search. Anyone help?

I will love to know the name of this song playing at the minute start it at 8:43 I like the Loop Song which is doesn’t pop on any of my Country Music samples! Please and thanks 🙏🏼

Nice place. Here I only have a 1015 m to 120 m descent. It's just 10 minutes.

Mike, do you ever have any issues with brakes or braking on these long descents? I have heard that in most of the Haute Route events there are carbon clincher failures due to excessive braking temperatures. But you don't seem to have any issues on your Mavics, is that correct? What would you recommend for a "heavy rider" (over 100kg) - carbon clinchers or alloy wheels? Thx.

whats that awesome tune staring at 15 min

cycling Rocks 👍

How long did the descend took? I mean..even speed up the vid is 18 Minutes long :o

You'd be like,No dude nobody else try's this shit dude,only me,...

I ride a handcycle and want to try the climb. Not so sure about going down. We only have 1 breaking surface.

If you feel like 14% while it is 5%, be aware of the altitude.

I wonder how easy on the breaks you needed to be. I'm thinking modern hydraulics should be no problem, but I suppose friction breaks might have problems.

I wonder why no cars ever race on the Pikes Peak downhill

Where can we get the music?

What time does the road open to the public/cyclists?

Funny but I read "The Col Collective" as something having to do with the state of Col-orado. But, I think that is "Col" in the European sense of "Col de Tourmalet" or "Col de Galibier".

F#%>k yes! Ride it like you stole it

I bet "Jasper"W/the Canyon Aeroad cfx 'ill take ya,.......

All the videos before were done better :) Thank you

The one time I wished I had disc brakes.

great video. but one advice from my personal taste, better use one music track for the whole video. the atmosphere is totally different with these different tunes.

Must've been cold. lol

Great. Now ride Barr trail down.

Ruined by shit music and the footage is sped up. Couldn't watch it.