By Matthew Juber
Some of you may have heard stories about LHS teacher Don Olsen’s crazy trip this summer. I had the pleasure of getting the entire story from him, personally. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Mr. Olsen, he’s a teacher in the math department, and has been teaching here for an impressive 26 years.
Equally impressive is his passion for riding his motorcycle, a 2008 Harley Davidson Streethog. This summer Olsen embarked on an epic journey: to climb Pike’s Peak on his Harley.
When asked what motivated him to attempt this exciting, and risky, trip up Pike’s Peak, he responded: “I was jus planning on taking a vacation this summer and in the back in my mind I had he idea of maybe trying to go the top of Pike’s Peak. Even when I got there it was still only in the back of my mind. And finally the woman that was working there convinced me to try it.”
The ride itself was dangerous, and Mr. Olsen was ill-equipped to handle such a challenge. It was cold, with 35 mph winds, and he hadn’t brought a heavy coat or gloves. This, combined with the slush and poor road conditions, had Olsen riding over wet gravel and enduring hairpin turns. However, he was determined and after a long two and a half hours, going around ten miles an hour at times, he finally made it to the summit.
That is when Olsen realized it wasn’t the end of the trip: he still had to make it back down. Once he reached the bottom safely, he said that it was “a huge confident booster” knowing that he made it all the way up and back down safely. Asked if he would do it again, Olsen replied: “Yeah, I would. I’d know a lot more about what to expect.”
