The one where I almost cried on the side of the mountain but the awesome crew at Cycling house and Barbara and Becky wouldn’t let me…

Mt. Lemmon is one of the epic climbs in US, with many cyclists/triathletes making Tucson their winter training base. Going in on the last day of our camp, I knew I wasn’t as trained on hills as I should’ve been. But what the heck, nothing ventured, nothing gained … and Barbara, Becky and I started the climb together before I was easily dropped.

The climb went on and on and on and on and … There were some curses thrown, plenty of songs belted out of tune (for what’s a ride without me singing!), lots of photo ops and the crew encouraging me (although I may have scared Ellen when I suddenly yelled out “this is where you want to be”, a reference from The Greatest Showman)

But taking 2+ hours for the first 11 miles, I gave our support van an anxiety attack.

Do I call the ride done and take the bump up or turn back?

Do I continue on for maybe another 2-3 miles (that probably was my physical limit) and make my descent?

I didn’t want to have to make either decision …

By a stroke of huge luck, Becky offered me her e-bike that she had got just that morning. The bike was 2 sizes too big for me but I wasn’t going to throw away my shot, which coincidentally was the perfect song playing at that moment!

The e-assist! Ha!!

Oh, the joy of moving 2-3 times faster than before, apologizing gleefully to all the people I passed and making it 11 miles in just 1 hour into the arms of Linsey waiting up top!

1st 11 miles on normal bike – 2.5 hours

2nd 11 miles on e-bike – 1 hr

No regrets!

I was incredibly lucky to have had an opportunity to finish the climb although split in two parts/bikes and it helped me think about realistic expectations of my summer. In the meantime, my training is going to include hills, hills and more hills!