Pikes Peak
"Tava" or "sun", is the Ute word that was given by these first people to the mountain that we now call Pikes Peak. The band of Ute people who called the Pikes Peak region their home were the "Tabeguache", meaning the "People of Sun Mountain". The Ute people first arrived in Colorado about 500 A.D., although their traditions state they were created on Pikes Peak. In the 1800s, when the Arapaho people arrived in Colorado, they knew the mountain as ""Heey-otoyoo' "" meaning "Long Mountain". Early Spanish explorers named the mountain ""El Capitán"" meaning "The Leader". American explorer Zebulon Pike named the mountain "Highest Peak" in 1806, and the mountain was later commonly known as "Pike's Highest Peak". American explorer Stephen Harriman Long named the mountain "James Peak" in honor of Edwin James who climbed to the summit in 1820. The mountain was later renamed "Pike's Peak" in honor of Pike. The name was simplified to "Pikes Peak" by the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1890.
Pikes Peak International Hill Climb
Following world war two, Louis Unser returned to his winning ways at Pikes Peak, winning a further three more times between 1946 and 1970, these wins were tightly contended with rival Al Rogers. During this time the event was part of the AAA and USAC IndyCar championship. In 1953, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) sponsors the event, bringing with it an influx of sports cars. In this period the course record was broken every year from 1953 until 1962, this is the largest string of record breaking runs in the event's history. The majority of these records were set by Bobby Unser, the younger brother of Louis. In 1954 motorcycles return to the event, the first time since its inception 1916. The motorcycle overall victory that year went to Bill Meier riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.