10/17/2017
This was originally going to be the start of the history of Pilarcitos Cyclesports and specifically BASP - well, it's going to be history now.
Today we're going to talk about equipment - in particular one of the defining pieces of BASP, the "Bridge of Sighs" or, as Summit Bikes loved to call it - " The Suffer Bridge". This started off with our concept of a welded aluminum structure that we could assemble/disassemble with relative ease in 2010. We tried it out during the off-season and built it first at Coyote Point for a trial.
When we built it Alec and I rode to the top, looked down and determined we wouldn't be able to afford the insurance necessary for this beast - WAY too steep for the majority of our customers. We took it down, went back to the shop and reengineered for a much more comfortable descent.
When it was loaded onto our 3rd trailer, here's what it looked like. We used it from 2011 to our last event, our final Night Race at Sierra Point in November, 2015.
In this photo you can see the bridge structure, all aluminum, is stacked on top of the marine-grade plywood deck and the wood steps and risers.