Great Race Day 9, Colorado Springs

Sunday, July 2, 2023, The finally

The morning was absolutely stunning, bright blue skies with puffy white clouds, and green mountains with snow drizzling down the top of Pikes Peak. The air was crisp with a breeze. It was starting out to be a great day.

We left the Antler’s hotel in downtown Colorado Springs and headed north about a half hour. The scenery was stunning. To the east we could see a mountain with beautiful red rock formations at the top. In the distance was a butte, to the west was Pikes Peak and the mountains on either side of the peak. We were surrounded by Nature’s beauty.

We were on the watch so we had to focus and not let our surroundings distract us.

After the thirty minute drive north we headed west into the hills. We wound around the hills, there were people everywhere, but the traffics seemed to stay out of our way. We were focused on holding speed and not missing a direction.

At one point we turned into a housing tract. We climbed up a hill, and when we crested the top, the views were breathtaking. There were red rocks jetting out of the earth with greenery surrounding the rocks, and mountains behind them. The houses in the neighborhood backed up to the views. Straight below was a little lake filled with kayakers.

We took a moment to enjoy the sights, and quickly returned to the task at hand. We wanted to run a clean day!

We ran through the shortened course, and felt like we had a really clean day. Right after crossing the last check point, a truck with a hailer and flashing lights was directing us to move off the road. Three hundred or so motorcycles passed by us. That could have been disastrous, we felt so lucky to have finished just in time.

After being off the clock we were directed to The Garden of the Gods.

The traffic was crazy, the long 4th of July weekend and beautiful weather brought everyone to the Garden. Despite the crowds and traffic, it was well worth the slow speed traverse through the park.

If you know Brad you know he is good at multi-tasking. We had a little time to spare before the finish, so we went and did a little real estate investigating. We looked at a property near the finish. After a short stop at the property, we headed for the finish.

We ended the day on Tejon Street in downtown Colorado Springs. The race‘s motto is “To finish is to win”. We finished and were thrilled we made it the 2300 miles from St. Augustine to Colorado Springs in Jane. She maybe another year older, but she ran perfectly.

The endurance part of the rally is taken for granted. We spoke to several of our friends who were not as lucky. After fighting mechanical issues, 3 of our friends could not finish. We had 2 friends that were in accidents, and fortunately were not injured. We also have friend who ended up with altitude sickness, they were also forced to sit out. The race started with 123 teams and 102 racers completed the rally.

In the late afternoon we had a winners ceremony. There are 5 classes in the rally and each class has a winner, and there is an overall winner.

In the midst of the presentation, it started raining. They had announced the X-cup (College age and younger participants) division winners, and a huge wind blew the finishing gate over. The race MCs didn’t skip a beat. The blow up arch was quickly moved by racers and staff and they continued on.

Howard Sharp and his son Doug won their fourth race. They have been running for more than 20 years. They drive a 1916 Hudson Hill Climber.

We had an awards dinner and ceremony where they presented the other winners. The awards are given to 5th place in class, and 10th place over all.

Although we didn’t finish in the top 10 this year, we were thrilled to be able to compete and finish. Brad is still struggling with back issues, and sitting for 10 days in a car was a major concern.

We have mentioned our sponsors throughout the race. We are so grateful to both McCollister’s and their team, and our friends at Mustang Country. We would like to add one more person who really made this possible, our doctor. Dr. Joe Zappala, rehabilitated Brad and I for the past nine months. Brad herniated a disc in early September, and I had 3 tears in my shoulder.

Thank you Dr. Z!!! We made it through and finished feeling strong!

Thank you also to the race director Jeff Stumb and his team from Coker Tires. We have enjoyed seeing this beautiful country over the past eight years.

We also need to mention John Clausen. John lays out the course every year, and typically drives it 3 times before the race. John has had some health issues this year, but fought on, and directed his crew of 50 volunteers from behind the scenes. Thank you for the challenging and incredible rally.

Last but not least, thank you for continuing to follow us on our journey. We appreciate the comments and support. We look forward to another rally next year from Kentucky to Maine.