OK, everyone: a big Thank You!!

I have needed so much encouragement this year, and you all have really made the difference in my season. That is not an overstatement. I am deeply grateful. I did well yesterday, and your support was really the reason.

After I read the first few replies to this thread, I went home and prepared my clothes, bike, bottles, etc. The next morning, I woke up with a severely sore upper back, from moving all my things the day before, including hoisting boxes of books up a ladder onto a storage loft platform! I was starting out with sore neck, back and legs. But, knowing it was the last big ride before tapering, I decided to go. It helped that although it was dark, wet and cloudy, it wasn't actually raining at the moment I left. I did leave late, though (9:30am) because I took time to see if my neck would actually warm up and work!

So, all dressed up in my winter tights, wool socks, winter shoe covers, fleece layers, hood, long gloves, all the stuff...off I went. At the park gate, they said the wind had not really developed at the top, so I went ahead and rode all the way up to Hurricane Ridge. It spat rain and sometimes I rode through the clouds, but it actually wasn't a bad ride, and I had some laughs with a hitchhiker with whom I kept playing leapfrog!

It was cold at the top, so I rested in the lodge for a bit, and decided I would ride back down to the tunnels and come back up for a repeat. However, on the way down, the weather deteriorated into rain and true fog. The visibility was bad, so I decided not to go back up the mountain late in the day. I rode all the way to the bottom, and I only had about 5 hours of riding and 5000 feet of climbing in. I was tired, but the clothes were working, so I decided to do repeats of the lower road until I got in 8000 feet of climbing.

Once I made that decision, I turned around and started back up the 10% grade. I immediately knew it was going to be a tough slog. And then, it really started to pour. It took me another 2-3 hours to get in those last 3000 feet, and I climbed every one of them in the late afternoon pouring-@ss rain. I set my computer to show feet climbed, and I made little deals with myself with when I could eat and stop only after climbing so many more feet.

I REALLY wanted to quit and go home. But, I knew that if I did, I would feel like a quitter, and that if I stayed out there and did what I had decided to do, I would be able to look myself in the mirror at home and feel like a winner. Corny, I know. But, that is what kept me out there.

All in all, I got in 9 hours on the bike, with 8000 feet of climbing over 60 miles. I was slow, but I got it done, and now I know that I have gotten in 75-80% of the Shasta climbing 3 different times in the month prior to the ride. Now I can taper for 2 weeks! YAY!! And, I have a massage tonight to work on my neck.

I cannot thank all of you enough for your patience with my whining and shameless begging for encouragement. For me, just getting to Shasta and having a good time will be a big victory in this particular year. And, you TE members are largely responsible for helping me to get this far. Please accept my very sincere thanks. I am deeply grateful.