Mt. Washington Auto Road

[clutch]

Is climbing up Mt. Washington Auto Road worth the fee, time and effort coming down on a bike?

[Uncle Snake]

Once.

[lrrs313]

Yup. If the weather is good. Coming down is easy. Stick it in 1st pr 2nd and idle down.

[G21forme]

Do bikes run like shit up there at that altitude?

[e30addict]

Considering that "altitude" is a huge junk of the western U.S., they run just fine. ;-)

[G21forme]

Considering that "altitude" is a huge junk of the western U.S., they run just fine. ;-)

I suck at geography so had no idea a huge chunk of the western us was at 6300, only reason I asked is I've ridden up some smaller mountains and feathering the clutch required a bit more throttle.

[DucDave]

Is climbing up Mt. Washington Auto Road worth the fee, time and effort coming down on a bike?

If the weather ON THE SUMMIT is nice, absolutley. But dont judge the summit based on the base! Pay attention to the weather board when you pay at the gate!

[njsrikar]

I did it on my 1988 Kawasaki Ninja 750!!!! was a hell of a ride!! it was foggy/cloudy on the top, couldnt see 10 feet away, but was fun.

while coming down, I thought those 'stop to cool down your brakes' were only for cars as bike's brakes do not heat up so easily. but then, around half way down, my rear brake was failing . thought my 20year old bike gave up and didnt realize it was because of over heating. then i saw the sign board , stopped for 10minutes and brakes came back ...

that was in 2009, my first time. since then I climbed it multiple times on 4wheels, but want to do it on a bike again.

[greenmonster]

i remember the smell of brake dust as we and other cars descended...ahhhh, memories!

[e30addict]

I suck at geography so had no idea a huge chunk of the western us was at 6300, only reason I asked is I've ridden up some smaller mountains and feathering the clutch required a bit more throttle.

I was kinda messing with you. It does make a bit of a difference, but it's not a huge deal on FI bikes. I enjoy the ride more than worry about the performance side of things.

[jerseygirl]

Play the no brake game on the way down

I like doing the Mount Washington Auto Rd so yes, go do it!

[Rossco]

Yes.

Pack layers, as will be chilly at the summit. Also doesn't hurt to have a rain suit handy.

Great views at the summit if it's clear.

[Stromper]

Absolutely yes

Check the weather it has different weather than down here

If generally clear its awesome

[Stoneman]

It's a blast, we do it every year - sometimes multiple times. As others pointed out, bring extra clothes & rain gear. We used to get there as early as possible in the morning to avoid traffic and see how fast we could get up, then down...

[ctbandit]

I went up there on a clear day and it was breathtaking to be cliche about it. Totally worth the dough.

[mrezra]

I want to do the bicycle TT up there one of these days.

[Cheese]

I make the trip yearly and it's a hoot! You probably won't drag knee but as Kerry said it's a good exercise in throttle control.

Issues are weather, traffic and that it's cash only base and summit.

[Hammerspur]

I did it about 30 years ago on my '78 XS750 Yamaha: K&N's, jetted, pipe...
Ran crappy during the climb for sure, but the poor mixture was also noticeable around the entire region at higher elevations.

[RandyO]

I've only been up once, during a bike only day about 7-8 maybe 10 yers ago
it was on a group ride that Stoneman led (I think, there were a lot of bikes and I was riding sweep)

it was the 2nd warmest day on record ever for Mt Washington summit 71° calm with skies clear as far as you could see

I would not ever expect to get up there again when it is like that

at the summit, they have fewer than 20 clear days a year, the average temperature is colder than Anchorage, and even when the temp is above freezing, the windchill is ususally below freezing

[snwbrdr435]

Hike up it

[clutch]

Thanks for bringing dawn to Marblehead on taking a close look at the weather on top of the mountain.

[Stromper]

Me and my boys were lucky in late July in 2010 clear for 60 miles have a vdeo