When the USA Pro Cycling Challenge prologue time trial gets underway on Monday, the first neighborhood it will hit is Ridge Road.
The 135 or so racers on 17 professional teams can expect a warm welcome from residents of Ridge Road.
The neighborhood seems to keep a welcome mat for pro racers. The road has hosted many races over the years and seems to embrace its front-row status.
Ridge Road is a steep and narrow as it leaves the Garden of the Gods and heads south toward U.S. Highway 24 on Colorado Springs' western edge.
Folks like Jim Matthews can’t wait for the race. Jim’s property abuts the Garden of the Gods and he’ll have a good view from the top of the hill.
He’s going to invite friends and enjoy the festivities. It helps, perhaps, that Jim is an avid mountain bike rider.
Across the street, Bill Branford said he’ll probably watch, as well.
Neither man is too concerned about the crowds or the idea of being landlocked a few hours. It’s worth it to the community to put up with the commotion, they said.
At the bottom of Ridge Road, riders in USA Pro Cycling Challenge prologue will have to negotiate a hard left turn onto Pikes Peak Avenue. They will approach the turn at speeds upwards of 50 mph.
Down the steep hill on Ridge Road, other neighbors are making plans, as well, for race-watch parties.
These are race veterans, like Patricia Ratliff, who has seen many races over 26 years on Ridge. She’ll probably stay home, work and watch the riders zip at speeds approaching 50 mph past her driveway gate.
Then there’s Jan Brewington at the bottom of the hill, at the corner of Pikes Peak Avenue where the race takes a nasty turn east.
Jan Brewington stands atop red rock outcroppings, extensions of the formation in the Garden of the Gods, on the north edge of her property. She intends to sell spots on the rocks to race fans who want a aerial view of the racers flying down Ridge Road.
Jan is volunteering to serve as a route marshal to ensure no one jumps a barricade or tosses something onto the course.
She’s also cashing in by selling viewing spots on the red rock outcroppings on her property. $5 buys you a spot!
It’s probably a bargain because not only do the rocks offer a sweeping view of Ridge Road, they overlook the corner where racers might crash if they are not careful.
Jan Brewington lives on the corner of Ridge Road and Pikes Peak Avenue where races in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge time trial will have to make a difficult left turn at high speeds. She said city crews have been sweeping the street daily, painted new stripes along the road, replaced street signs for better visibility and marked cracks in the road for riders.
In addition, her husband is inviting friends for a watch party and her daughter plans to sell water to spectators.
Ridge Road has hosted many races over the years.
In 1991, the Junior World Cycling Championships had riders climbing up Ridge and into the Garden. Neighbor Patricia Ratliff and her family sat in chairs at the end of her driveway to watch the action.
And they used the peleton to create a classic photo spoof and a family treasure.
Her son, then 4, sat on his little bike at the end of the driveway, posing as if he was riding up the hill.
When the peleton flew past, a relative snapped a photo. It looked like the little guy was in the race!
Patricia Ratliff's family watched the 1991 Junior World Cycling Championships in chairs at the end of her driveway. And they used the peleton as the backdrop for a spoof photo, making it appear her 4-year-old son was in the race.
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This is a complete tangent, so forgive me.
But I noticed Jan’s house looked as if it was built right into a rock outcropping.
Sure enough, it was!
Folks along Ridge Road love bike racing and they love their homes among the rocks. In fact, some of the homes were built around the rocks. Jan Brewington's home has a room that incorporated the edge of a rock outcropping.
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Wow. That rock in the wall of the house is really interesting. Gotta wonder how they keep that sealed. I would think water would run right down that rock, and right up against and into the house. Maybe that explains the off color patchwork below the rock.
No, it doesn’t leak there. The patching is just some additional mud we needed to do after painting. We obviously aren’t finished refinishing the room.
Still you are right that keeping it sealed against drafts is a problem, and building a house into a rock formation definitely presents drainage challenges. Still this room with the rock in the wall has been there since 1924 or thereabouts.