Suffering

Your legs hurt, your shoulders and neck hurt.
Your lungs are burning, yet they keep going faster in front -- gotta keep up.
You don't want to sit anymore on the saddle, but your legs are too tired to stand.
You know you can't make it any further.
Yet you keep pedaling.

The hill is to steep. If you go any slower you'll fall over.
One more pedal stroke -- you can make one more pedal stroke.
It's too steep -- you can't see the top.
On some rides you're fortunate because you have your own cheering section (CINDY!) at the top of the steepest part -- otherwise you'd never make it.

The next day you have to do it all over again.
And it hurts.
Bicycling is all about suffering, and pain. How long can you keep going, can you do the next pull?
It hurts.

Ride the Rockies is amazing in all of the different people who come out to suffer for the week.
My group is very fit, very strong and we pass way more people than pass us. We trained hard and we know we're ready. Yet we suffer in some way every day.

I met an 83 year old woman doing the tour. Trust me -- its not an easy ride, doable but not easy. No matter how fast, or slow, you go -- you still have to drag yourself over the mountains. 83 -- REALLY?! How cool is that! She was so fun. She was riding with her daughter -- they went nice and slow, had a good time. She's been doing this ride 12-15 years. She admits she doesn't do every mile, every day -- but heck there weren't too many easy miles out there. 83 years old!

There were others -- some in their 70's. There was a 7 year old with his dad on a tandem. We came up behind them -- he's back there gesturing with his hands just carrying on a wild conversation - - mostly with himself as his dad was busy pulling the weight of his 7 year old and the heavier tandem up a small climb -- I laughed so hard and his animated hands! What ever point he was making he was VERY adamant! Wish I could have taken a picture.

I saw some folks just laboring up the smallest of climbs -- they weren't very fit, overweight. But there they were - riding the rockies. Go get 'em.

A group had a fun jersey -- it said Death Before Sag. Sag is where you give up and jump in the van instead of riding. Unfortunately there were WAY too many folks giving up at the bottom of climbs. One lady in the gym sagged the day we went over the 12,000+ climb -- she didn't even try -- she had decided the day before. Got up, put on civvies and make-up. Come on -- at least try! DEATH BEFORE SAG!

But the coolest thing I've seen -- we were at an aid station at the top of Monarch pass -- a tough, steep climb. And the path to the water and etc. was uphill gravel. And there -- breaking through the crowd -- was a guy with a prosthetic leg pushing a guy on a handcycle up the hill. He'd made it up the mountain but didn't have the strength to go any further (particularly through the gravel). Wow -- that will remind you to quit complaining.

We saw many handcycles. One guy with the prosthetic, one guy with only one arm, one guy with one arm with a hook. Can you imagine descending these mountains with only one arm? Yikes I freak out with two. And the handcycles -- they were all acommpanied by an able bodied rider behind them -- for encouragement and because they were a bit hard to see they were so low. An able-bodied rider? Can I say that? Anyone climbing those mountains on a hand-cycle are sure able bodied. Humbling. Gotta quit complaining.

How bad can my butt hurt, can my legs scream, can my lungs burn, can my back/neck hurt? Really - - how bad? When they're out there climbing, riding, suceeding.

Nope -- gotta quit complaining.