Dennis, where did you start from on your trip to Pike's Peak 50 years ago? In late June, 1973, I left San Luis Obispo, CA, on the maiden voyage of my freshly(as in still twisting wrenches at 4:00AM), re-assembled Seeley, with Pike's Peak as the destination. I was traveling with 3 friends and co-workers, with two of them riding CBX's. Both of them had charging problems the same day in Nowhere, Nevada, and the delay caused us to miss the Hill Climb.
We did continue on to the Springs, where most of my relatives lived. It was about a 3500 mile trip total, and I swore I would never ride that far again!