Despite the extraordinarily late evening on day 3 I was up at 5:30 the next morning. (Let’s hear it for time zone differences..) I was moving slow but got the bike packed and was out the door at 8AM. I was feeling a bit excited because I had called the Pike’s Peak hotline and they were open to the summit the day before. I was off!

After a short jaunt I arrived at the highway start, paid my $15 and started my way up the Pike’s Peak Highway. At only 2 miles in, the views were fantastic.

I had attached the Go-Pro and had my Nikon out, but I haven’t gone through the cards yet to see what I have, so this will be a bit abbreviated. I wound my way up to just above 11,000 feet and the summit was closed for a bit while they cleared it. (I wound up spending about 2 hours there, but I acclimatized a bit thanks to it, and I feel that it helped me when I got to the Summit.)

After a while, they opened the summit, and everyone wound their way up the last six miles of road, with lots of tight switchbacks and hairpin turns. I was the most fun I’ve had on a motorcycle at 20 miles an hour. We made it to the summit, and it was very busy.

I got my donut and water, and enjoyed the view. (The donuts they sell are the old fashioned cake style, but the outsides are super crisp. Between that and them being warm and fresh, It’s amazing!)

I ran into a cryptid!

I also enjoyed the view, it was even more stunning with snow on the lower peaks. I was feeling the effects of the altitude and I was a bit sore, so I said my good byes and headed toward Albuquerque.

My AirBnB here is in an artist’s compound in the heart of the city. It’s like a quirky little island in a busy town. I swapped to the kitchy digs, as my host had a bunch of family over.

I finished my day off with the first green chile Lotaburger I’ve had in 28-ish years.

Hard to say what tomorrow will bring.