October 22, 2008
Lorrie

Do you recall the song entitled “The Hills Are Alive,” sung by Julie Andrews as she and the Von Trapp children sing and dance happily across the hills of Austria in the movie The Sound of Music? Some of you may be too young to remember the movie, but it’s a good one and I enjoy it every time I watch it.

I do love hills, especially driving real fast up and down them, or seeing horses float effortlessly across them while they run. I especially love rolling hills with tall grass and lots of trees. I’m usually drawn to scenic pictures that have hills, and the song “The Hills Are Alive” always makes me feel good.

I live in Chicago, so my chances of seeing hills are slim to none. The only opportunity to see something that might resemble a hill is when you pass a land fill, or enter a ramp to a highway. So, when my friends asked if I wanted to ride with them in the Hilly Hundred, I didn’t hesitate to say yes. However, after checking out the details on the event website I became completely terrified. Doubts of abilities started crossing my mind. I seldom have to shift gears when riding around Chicago, and I have never had to shift the big chain gears on the front. How was I ever going to climb hills that lasted up to two miles in length, some with steep elevations?
During the drive down to southern Indiana, I tried to hide my fears. Inwardly, I kept singing the song “The Hills Are Alive,” trying to convince myself that it was going to be fun. I never let on that I was scared to death.

The day of the ride was chilly, but beautiful. We checked the route on the map to see where we were headed. I got more terrified after looking at the map. It reminded me of the graph on the Minimed site that allows me to upload and read my BG and CGM levels. The escalation map and my BG level graph look identical, showing lots of peaks and valleys.

I sucked it up and decided I would just have to get through this. So off I went with my friends beside me. I practiced shifting gears, both the front and back gears along that first mile. Just as we reached our first mile, I saw the first hill up ahead. It actually looked like a mountain to me. As I got closer to the hill I started shifting quickly in the attempt to maintain my cadence. I shifted to the lightest gear on the back and the smallest chain ring on the front (we call that the granny gear). Thank God I had that gear or I wouldn’t have made it up that hill. Finally, completely winded, I made it all the way up. At the top there were lots of bikers pulled off to the side trying to catch their breath. My friends and I had to do the same. I felt a sense of relief thinking that this first hill had to be the hardest of all. On the map, it looked like it was the steepest. Well, I was wrong! After about another mile, there was another, then another, then another. Some hills had names: Heartbreak Hill, The Three Sisters—which by my count there were several additional step sisters and Cemetery Hill—after this one, I now know how it got its name.

I’ll admit that there was a lot of cursing along the 50 mile ride. My legs burned and felt completely exhausted after each hill. We stopped for lunch 25 miles into the ride. As I sat on the grass eating with my friends, and trying to ignore the pain I was feeling in my legs, I was trying to overcome my temptation to jump in the back of the sag wagon and head back. As we all got up from the cozy grass and headed slowly to our bikes, one of my friends simply said: “Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever.” A quote by Lance Armstrong. That quote came at the right time. As soon as I heard that, I was re-energized and ready to take on the remaining 25 miles. Instead of letting the hills challenge me, I challenged them to try to beat me and I conquered each.
At the end of the ride, I felt like I could do anything. 50 miles was the furthered I’ve ever cycled in one day, and I’ve never cycled across hills this steep. Yes, the hills were alive and so was I. What a great day.