I gained ~2700' and I'm claiming the peak. Disagree? Fight me.
I started at Glen Cove (~11,450') and biked to the Pikes Peak summit at 14,115'. While I hiked-a-bike a bit near the end, that was just to be expedient and also give my biking muscles (the one I sit on) a rest. If, as usual, I'd got an earlier start I could have started lower.
But, considering that's more gain than Mt Sherman and the only people who care about where you start like to dress in spandex (and not just when biking), I'm confident in claiming the peak.
Especially since I ride a 23-year-old heavy mountain bike and the tires don't seem to admit being inflated to a proper PSI.
While there was a lot of traffic - much more than when I attempted Mt Evans - almost all gave me a wide berth. Some shouted words of encouragement.
When I made it to the top, there's a large summit building that houses a gift shop and my gosh it was packed. I felt more like I was at a mall in Las Vegas. I had to wait there for several minutes until a thunderstorm went the other direction. The downhill was good, aside from a couple spots where I had to gain some elevation. I'd lowered my seat & I powered through the first one out of the saddle, but for the next one I raised the seat to get through it. However, those two only gain about 50' or 100' total so would only present a problem if you'd completely sold out getting the summit.
Also, don't expect much beta from the people who work there: this is basically a high altitude tourist trap. It's completely oriented to people driving to the peak and visiting the two gift shops along the way. At times I felt like I was in the Poconos or something.
The video is (obviously) unedited. I was biking vertically, the reason for the Dutch angles is because I didn't want to wipe out. I'm sure you can find much better videos online if you want.
