In 2013 the Spider Grips Ducati team gained sponsorship from performance exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic and asked National Champion Micky Dymond to pilot the Pikes Peak Multistrada. Micky had won the Hill Climb motorcycle division in 2005 and was a close friend of the team. Teams, officials, journalists, and spectators all arrive in the dark and cold early morning hours for practice and qualifying on Pikes Peak. Artist Christopher Woolley also watched in the thin mountain air as Micky rode in anger up the steep mountain road. In between runs Micky would sit and visualize each corner of the road creating a mental map. His mindful approach to the race gave Chris the impression of a Zen Master. From that performance Chris created the painting Koan, the name comes from the Zen of perfecting the art of asking the question rather than just focusing on the answer. The painting shows Micky and the Ducati passing one of the towers of boulders on the way to the top which the artist saw as pieces of a puzzle.

Micky set the pole in qualifying for the race but as fate played it’s part on race day, Micky was to be the first up the mountain. To be the first up the hill can be perilous and what Micky found was a course that was cold and dusty. After several miles of racing Micky’s Ducati suddenly lost all grip and slid into the gravel. What started as a blistering record run suddenly disintegrated out from under him. Micky felt like he’d let the team down but the they wouldn’t hear of it. Micky is a team favorite and his dedication far outweighed any stolen race result. Over time he and Christopher became friends and when the painting and team prints were presented Micky was so moved that he signed and presented his helmet to Chris. Micky also shared the painting in his book Legends Of The Road.

This helmet is a carbon fiber Kali, custom designed by Troy Lee especially for Micky Dymond which he competed with on race day, Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2013.

The discipline Micky applied to Pikes Peak he also devoted to a successful cross country bicycle racing endeavor, however in 2019 Micky had a severe bicycle crash which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Micky’s recovery has been good but he still has a ways to go. A portion of the proceeds from this sale will go to Road2Recovery.com specifically to help with Micky’s rehabilitation.