You need four different motorcycles to road race, motocross, trials, flat-track, and hillclimb...right? There was a time, not so long ago, when it was possible to have just one motorcycle, and race in any event with a chance of success in all of them. Those days have passed in the world of serious competition, but with Vintage events cropping up all over the world, it's still possible to have serious fun - with a chance of winning - in every category, with a single bike.
That's the vision of photographer Dimitri Coste, who is gradually traveling eastward in the US with his Triumph special, competing in events along the way, in his own version of 'Then Came Bronson' (a 70s TV show in which Bronson's HD Sportster magically became a Husqvarna when it touched dirt!). Dimitri has already won first in his class at the Catalina Grand Prix last year, and today, he's in Colorado, competing in the Pike's Peak International Hillclimb.
The organizers of Pike's Peak made a special exemption for Dimitri to ride, not because of his bike, but apparently the Vintage class refers to the riders! As he is under 50 years old, it took a bit of string-pulling to get an entry, but he's already there, and had practice blasting up to the 14,110' peak, which is still covered in snow.
 |
| The tech inspector commented, 'I haven't seen drum brakes in a long time...' |
Dimitri's gear is worth noting; as his brother Jérome Coste is the designer of Les Ateliers Ruby, most of his riding gear is a Ruby prototype; they will shortly launch a line of leather jackets, and
'I spy' a Ruby badge on that full-face helmet...something they will release next year.
