Climbed a mountain yesterday...by accident!

[KathiCville]

Two weeks ago I did my first 20-mile ride in more than 10 years. (Yahooo!) Well, yesterday, I headed out around 1pm to try for 20-25mi on the same route. Wasn't sure I could do it, because Turkey Day and a cold had both kept me off my bike most of the last two weeks. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

Well, duh, while driving out Interstate 64 toward our Blue Ridge mountains (30 mins away), I got distracted and missed the exit I needed---THE last one on I-64W till you reach the top of the ridge. So, up I go into the mountains, muttering under my breath at the prospect of having to drive miles out of my way to get back down and then to my original destination.

Next thing I know, the wheels start turning (in my head).......By the time I reach the top, I've jettisoned plans to ride my regular (gently rolling) road, and instead try my luck riding a small part of the beautiful, curvy, daunting, up-and-down ridge road----better-known as the Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway. The goal of riding on the Drive/Parkway has been on my radar screen, but NOT for another two or three months. I figured I needed to build up more strength and stamina before tackling a road that has some pretty serious elevation changes--at least in the eyes of this newbie cyclist.

Anyway, I parked at a quiet overlook on Skyline Drive, unloaded the bike, put on every additional stitch of bike clothing I had stored in my truck (brrrr....) and started pedaling. I figured I'd be good for 8 to 10 miles max, given the Drive's long ups and downs.

Around 4 miles in, I'm feeling pert darned good and loving the views west of the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and beyond. So far, so good! Nothing I can't handle......Another pleasant half mile of pedaling goes by and---suddenly--- I'm at the base of the steepest hill I've faced since getting back on my bike in February for the first time in a decade.

I took a deep breath: "Yowza, how am I going to manage this?" Then I thought, welllllll, it can't be tooooo long a climb, right? ...... I gamely geared down to granny level and dug in. Every curve revealed another stretch of---you guessed it---UP. Not a single plateau in sight! A mile and half into the climb, I'm thinking, "What sadistic critter designed this d*&^ned road???" I could have turned back, of course, but by then both curiosity and sheer stubborness had kicked in. I was determined to find out just how long this climb could possibly be.

FINALLY, a full 800 feet in elevation gain later, I made it to the top---2.5 miles of non-stop climbing from base to crest! I set no speed records (think tortoise/molasses) and had to stop briefly (30 seconds each) three times along the way, but I DID IT! And when I got to the top I even had enough left to go another mile+ before turning back!

As I was coming back down that 2.5 mile stretch, I could NOT believe that I'd actually climbed the darned thing.......And, of course, even though I was fairly bundled up, I was freezing my butt off every inch of the downhill ride. Even so, I was so shamelessly proud of myself, I was grinning ear to ear! (And, yes, I did let out a full-volume, no-holds-barred "Yaaaaahoooooooooooo!" for part of the descent........) The few cars that passed me must have thought I was nuts---a small woman on a bike, smiling like mad...on a frigid afternoon...on a Virginia mountaintop!

The last four miles were gently, but relentlessly uphill back to my truck---tough, because I was really getting tired by then, but not nearly as tough as that earlier climb. By the end of my 17.5 mile ride, my toes were freezing and my butt was annoyingly sore from my brand-new Terry saddle, but I was one HAPPY gal!

So, what started off as a dumb driving mistake turned into my biggest cycling accomplishment to date!..........And the whole time I was slogging up that incline, just hanging on to the top, I kept thinking of great TE threads I've read in the last couple of months---some inspiring, many laugh-out-loud funny, until---I swear---I could hear a few hundred women cheering me on, pushing me up that long, steep mountain road!