As I’m deep in thought I roll up to Andrea and Annabel. Oh
no, Andrea is crying! She tells us how sad she is that our missing team member,
Becky, isn’t here to see all of this. Rob sees girls and tears and decides to
cycle on! Caitlin comes to a halt to join us in a mass cuddle and we try to
cheer Andrea up. She can’t decide whether to laugh or cry so makes a weird
noise in trying to do both! We all end up laughing and make a little video to
send to Becky.
We leave Andrea to take a little moment by her self and
Annabel and Caitlin soon break away from me. I continue to take it slow as I notice
the first climb approaching… I suddenly see that dreaded 10% incline sign!
Nooooo! I get my head down and battle through. Andrea soon comes up behind me
and we stick at it together. We make a deal to get through the day together
which is a great encouragement for me to keep out of the van. I’m just hoping
my knee can hold it together! The climb is steep and soon enough the blazing
sun comes out. The good thing about being slow is I’ve always got the van close
by to refill my water bottle. 1, 2, 3 bottles later and we get some relief for
our thighs with a beautiful downhill ride. It feels good to have that breeze! I
love seeing those milestones fly past. “Killing the Ks!” becomes our saying of
the day as we sail down the mountains together. The roads are wonderfully quiet
and the sounds of birds fill the trees. But then I see it…. That 10% incline
sign… Here we go.
I’m so pleased that I got through the first climb that I’m
almost excited about the second one. The sun beats down ever hotter and I start
to become exhausted. Thank goodness Andrea is there to help me through! We even
have to laugh at how much strength its taking just to push that pedal round.
For me, it’s all about finding the little pleasures along the way to keep your
spirits high. In this case one of them is rolling our tires through fresh
buffalo poo. Ahh, the satisfaction! We
pass Caitlin and Helen taking a break from the sun in a rare, tiny patch of
shade. We push on as I’m sure I can see the top! Is it the top…? Could it be…?
The sweet relief of down hill! …..Is short lived. Up and up
and up we go. Although it’s hard, I’m so proud of myself for getting through
it! There’s a beautiful moment where Andrea and I are cycling along the top of
the mountain and we are at the same level as all the other mountain tops as far
as the eye can see. We got there using just the power of our legs! I can’t
believe it. I shed a little tear. All of a sudden we’re rolling down again,
this time for real. 11k, 9k, 6k, killing the Ks! With 5k to go all I can
imagine is everyone at the end waiting to cheer us in and I feel so grateful
that we are doing this as a team. Out of no where we speed past a waterfall and
at the same time we pull our brakes. What a treat in this heat! Still clad in
our cycling gear we sit under the waterfall laughing and joking.
Only 4k to go. We continue downhill until we reach the town.
Full of adrenaline all I am looking for is that yellow van parked up. We see it!
I can’t believe my eyes. I did it! I actually did it. My knee held up and
Andrea and I arrive at the hotel to all of our team mates cheering. The tears
come rolling out and I’m so happy. This was my first full day of riding since 7
days ago. I’m so grateful to Andrea for sticking with me and knowing how much
this day meant to me. This will forever be one of the best days of my life.
Words by Alex Spaulding
Words by Alex Spaulding
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