The Assault on the Peak is scheduled for July 14. Registration will open soon and costs $75.

If you are planning to ride your bike in the 2012 Assault on the Peak, you better get your climbing legs in shape.

Race organizers have moved the date to July 14, about two months earlier than previous Pikes Peak rides. And there will be a bike race this year, in addition to the fun ride.

"We've tried to plan it around some other hill climb races in the state," said Pat McDonough, Assault on the Peak race director. "There will climbs in Boulder on the weekends before our event, and then the Mt. Evans Hill Climb will be the weekend after us. We think this earlier date, rather than late in the season,  will be much better for us.

Video: Leroy Papowski, first winner of Assault on the Peak
Video: Mike Tierney, unicyclist rides Pikes Peak

The Assault on the Peak offers cyclist an opportunity to ride on the Pikes Peak Highway, a 19-mile stretch of blacktop that begins in Crystola and ends at the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak. Cycling is not allowed there the rest of the year.

The Assault on the Peak course will be about half the length of the old course, with cyclists beginning at the starting line for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, near Crystal Reservoir. From the start to the summit the course will be about 20K, or 12.4 miles, in length.

The shorter length, along with a more affordable $75 entry fee, should attract more participants. There were about 350 riders in 2010, the inaugural year. But that number dipped to about 210 last year.

"I really think that a lot more people will be able to finish this kind of distance," McDonough said.

Those who enjoy a good sunrise will appreciate this year's Assault. McDonough said the event will likely start at about 6 a.m. so that cyclists can make their way to the top and back before the road is open to auto traffic.

"The big thing is dropping entry fee to $75," McDonough said. "We had to make a lot of these changes to be able to get it down to that."

The bike race to the summit could quickly grow to become a classic, with riders burning their legs on the steep grades above 13,000 feet. Pikes Peak is a mountain that has challenged runners and auto racers for years. With paving completed from top to bottom, the Pikes Peak Highway provides a great course.

"They really take care of it," McDonough said. "It's really one of the nicest roads in the area."

Based on earlier times - the record from Manitou Springs to the Summit is 2 hours, 17 minutes - McDonough said that the strongest riders could reach the summit finish line in an hour.

Like the 10-minute mark in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, an hour for a cyclist could become "the magic number," McDonough said. "That would be an impressive ride."

Registration will open soon. The event website is being worked over. McDonough said a press release with more details will be distributed in about a week.