Bazemore And Friends To Make 14,200-ft. Trek To Top Of Mt. Evans (1 Viewer)

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BAZEMORE AND FRIENDS TO MAKE 14,200-FT. TREK TO TOP OF MT. EVANS

MORRISON, Colo. (July 12, 2006) - It's apparently not enough for Whit Bazemore to endure 6.5Gs accelerating down a quarter-mile dragstrip to 330 mph in less than five seconds. He'd rather add some muscle-crunching, brain-cramping torture into his already exciting life as a professional drag racer by attempting to conquer 14,200-ft.-high Mt. Evans on his bicycle.

Bazemore and a group of his buddies aim to pedal to the top of the peak just outside of Morrison, Colo., where he'll compete this weekend in the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals, driving the Matco Tools Iron Eagle Dodge Charger Funny Car in the NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series.

A small group, including Bazemore, ESPN race analyst Mike Dunn, former ESPN reporter and race-car driver Parker Johnstone, and Matco Tools' motorsports marketing director John Torok will make this 28-mile attempt Thursday morning in advance of this weekend's NHRA event at Bandimere Speedway.

"We're going to ride from Idaho Springs up to the summit of Mt. Evans," said Bazemore, who along with one or two of his companions on the trek, rides a Custom Seven Bicycle. "It's 28 miles and about 7,000 feet of climbing. It's the highest paved road in North America.

"It's an extremely challenging bike ride, simply because the altitude is so high. 14,200 feet is higher than a lot of private airplanes fly and we're riding our bikes that high. There are mountain goats and probably mountain lions up there. It's very challenging, a very difficult ride. The landscape up there is surreal. It's beautiful."

And it's like experiencing the ultimate Zen moment, according to the avid cyclist, who took up the sport for therapy after nearly crushing his legs in a motorcycle accident in 1996. "It's not about speed," said Bazemore. "It's about finding yourself. It's quiet, barren, you're pushing yourself, you're just suffering and making yourself do something that you really don't want to do while you're doing it. When you do it you really feel like you've accomplished something."

While Bazemore has made this attempt before, he has yet to reach the summit. "I didn't make it last year," he said. "There were three reasons I didn't make it: One, I didn't feel great; that was the main reason. Two, I had a time constraint. And, three, the weather turned bad."

So, will this be the year he will conquer Mt. Evans? "I'd like to do it in three hours, but maybe it will take four," said Bazemore. "There's no time limit. It's been snowing up there, and because it is so high you really have to use some mountaineering sense. If the weather doesn't cooperate, you can't go on. It can be very dangerous if the weather's not good.

"It's also a difficult descent. It's 28 miles downhill, at speeds as high as 60 mph
 
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