Day 6 – Humbled

By Mark Heggestad
We biked 57 miles today from Mitchell, OR to east of Dayville, OR.  It was cold.  When we started our ride the temp was 36 degrees, and it did not get up over 55.  The day started with a challenge – in the first six miles we gained 2,000 feet of elevation, riding to the top of Keyes Creek Summit.

We attacked a 4,400-foot mountain as soon as we began today.  The first six miles was a continuous incline with no reprieve.  At Mile one I was amazed at the ease of it all.  At mile 2.5 I started huffing-and-puffing a little, but was still quite pleased with myself.  How can this be so much easier than I anticipated?  After only five days I am completely prepared for this.  I am completely acclimated.  I am confident.  This is no mountain, this is a little hill.  At mile 3.5 the mountain struck back.  The incline steepened.  I questioned my ability to finish the climb.  At mile 3.8 my legs were quivering.  At mile five I considered giving up.  Finally, at 6.2 miles, almost one full hour after I started, I reached the summit.  I was fatigued and exhausted.  I did beat the mountain, but it was a humbling experience.  Maybe the mountain did win.  Or maybe I should stop thinking of it as a competition.


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The Old School House

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 7, 2017 at 5:50 AM

    Love your account of the phases of the mountain! Keep it up...and enjoy the journey!

    ReplyDelete

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