Why We Climb.

September 21, 2004 on 4:32 pm | In Road, Health & Fitness | No Comments

It’s a Sunday morning and 11 people gather to push themselves out of their comfort zone.  Sunday is no day of rest for this crew.  Although this day starts out with a typical scene found across America - sitting down together to ingest large amounts of pancakes and coffee.  It’s what is done with those 1000+ calories that differentiates this group from the armchair quarterbacks.  It has been set forth that the summit of the highest mountain in the Eastern US must be reached - on bicycles of course.The 35-mile climb will take this group just under 3 hours.  During this time there are moments of serious difficulty.  When you ride in a group this size, someone is always pushing up the pace.  The best way to to maintain that pace is for everyone to stay together in one slipstream, taking turns pulling at the front.  There are times when it really hurts to keep the pedals turning, but it usually only stays at that intensity for less than a minute.  If you’re able to hang on and stay in contact with the group, everyone gets pulled along at that faster pace.  When you fall off the back, it becomes very difficult to reconnect to the group, and in the long run it hurts worse.  Those are the mechanics of pain and suffering on a road ride.  The question is, why do we do it?It’s all about the rewards!  The gratification of reaching a mountain top on your own power is tough to beat.  This climb to Mt. Mitchell gets steeper as it goes, with the last 4 miles being the most difficult.  But the views are so much more vivid with the blood and adrenaline pumping!

It’s all about the bikes!  Once you’ve been riding for a number of years and you’ve honed your body mechanics to a finely-tuned spin, climbed and descended many mountains, and know what it feels like to be “in your center” on a bicycle, you owe it to yourself to ride on a high-performance machine. LOOK carbon fiber frames fit the bill in every conceivable way. 

It’s all about the camaraderie!  There is nothing like a bike ride to build trust, respect and friendship (or destroy it).  On a hard ride, you truly find out what a person is made of.  Sure, you may not agree with a person’s every behavior, but if you ride together it puts little disputes in perspective and let’s you get through to the depths of true friendship.

It’s all about the food!  A meal never tastes better than after you deplete your body.  Forget fad diets - low carbs? Are you kidding?  Without carbohydrates none of this crew would have made it up the first rise.  It’s your body’s fuel people!  Eat and enjoy and ride again.

It’s all about the rest!  Now sit on the couch without an ounce of guilt and get ready for a great night’s sleep.  It’s the cyclist’s way to achieve a better Sunday Of Rest!

Enjoy the pics from our old website as we climber to Mt Mitchell on the Blue Ridge Parkway.